Effects of What We Imply
1. The Unavoidable Nature of Branding and its Effect on Business Growth
We hope customers understand how useful our organization is—at the least, we hope it's implied.
There is a television trope that has a character, maybe standing in front of a coffee shop counter trying, with maybe too much effort, to make sure the barista sees them put a tip into the tip jar. The tip itself or to whom the tip goes is not important; what's important is what's implied about the character through the sight of them tipping. This is a funny bit because most of us have played this part in real life.
How we are seen means a lot to our fragile egos. In business, it can be the difference between growth or bankruptcy. And the moment we are observed—seen, heard—we are given a brand.
It's a cold realization to know branding is the act of being judged, categorized, and cataloged by others—those who love us, hate us and those who could care less. We could estimate that those who rely on personal brands know this acutely. Our minds can't help to brand, but it's needed. This judicial act has kept us safe, and on the top of the food chain.
Power and Limitations of Our Best Tool
Consciously and subconsciously, in each moment, we brand every element around us, from the floor under our bare feet to the lighting above. Any change—colder, brighter—could shift or capture our attention. Our brain is the tool that allows us to see, feel, hear, judge, categorize, and catalog. It is the most intricate, delicate, and powerful tool ever to exist, and it sits precariously on a stick atop our bodies, and for good reason.
What makes the brain truly powerful is the software it runs, our mind. Minds have the ability to pick an animal out of a complex, never-before-seen photo in 150 milliseconds.1 Having our eyes, ears, nose, and mouth a short distance from the brain speeds the response times for actions such as detecting danger, finding food, and communicating. (Or even recognizing the colors some of us use to paint our kitchen these days.)
Every second, we are bombarded—and can handle— ten million bits of data per second; that's the equivalent of 10 HD movies2. Yet while we read these words, we see the room that surrounds us. In our head, we can hear these very words spoken aloud, just as we can hear any change to the noise in the background. We understand the words, and yet, at the same time, we can have a full conversation in our minds with someone who's not in the room. But without much effort, our brains can also be distracted, swayed, or tricked.
What's 2 + 2?
Even if we tried, with the might of Captain Marvel, the number "4" would still pop into our heads. We can't stop it.
What about 17 x 24?
Chances are we're not going to answer that (And why would we? The answer is probably below.) Even if we didn't know the answer, we do have a vague intuitive knowledge that 12,609 is wrong. We also know 123 is not possible. But we wouldn't be certain if someone said it was 568.
This exercise sheds light on two modes of thinking we all have as people, business providers—and especially as customers:
System 1: The Automatic System
System 2: The Reflective System
These two highly creative names were coined by psychologists Keith Stanovich and Richard West.3
Struggle in Our Heads
As business leaders, we'll love being aware of the strengths of both systems. As managers, we'll fly over the moon!
Our System 1 is for quick response. It's perfect for everyday needs like when we need to recognize a face we're supposed to know at a luncheon. It helps us avoid accidents with other "idiot drivers." It takes very little mental effort and helps us multitask or quickly manage a complex environment. It thrives on pattern recognition and uses past experience to make quick decisions without stopping to analyze the details. System 1 might be the prime reason why we get better at our jobs—get into a zone—and don't notice the day has gone by.
Like our accountant should, System 2 excels in logic and reasoning. It problem-solves and makes well-thought-out decisions. If we have a complex problem, be it strategizing channels to use for market saturation in an undefined market or reading through a client's long but well intended, verbose emails, System 2 helps us evaluate evidence, consider alternatives, and come to a rational outcome. It's crucial to our critical thinking, to challenge our assumptions, and evaluate an argument.
These both have downsides that can reduce our business growth, encourage pouring out profit while chasing our tails and can be so distastefully pungent they can plague a society.
System 1's reliance on mental shortcuts makes it susceptible to biases. We come up with the same solution for different problems—we're trying to be efficient when it's likely our actions create the opposite effect. This can make errors in judgment about people—customers—and the environments we work in. And because we "know" our business well we become overconfident, causing us to overlook details, context, and perspectives. Its automatic response can lead to snap judgments based on stereotypes, reinforcing our prejudice in certain situations and of those we know little about. Since System 1 is rooted in habits, it is very resistant to change; it does not like to adapt to new information or situations. Doesn't seem a fan of new branding either.
System 2 is slow, it requires significant mental effort and concentration. Its deliberate, step-by-step nature is not always practical in fast-paced environments, and it seems that our environment gets faster with each passing day. System 2 can only handle a certain amount of information at once, which can lead to overlooking important details or struggling with multitasking. If customers or employees keep making dumb mistakes, maybe it's not them, maybe we give them too much? The process in which System 2 works in can be taxing on us and lead to our mental fatigue, especially when dealing with complex problems for extended periods.
The "Fine" Trap
Worst of all, when System 2 is overwhelmed or tired, it defaults to the less demanding System 1.
For many of us, there is no better example of this than when our minds are buried under the weight of 30 to 40 delectable frozen choices that ice cream shops often offer us. From shakes to sundaes, from Malts to Floats, from mango to Rum Raisin, from Caramel Fudge Brownie to Vanilla Bean, too many delectable choices short out our System 2 and default to the—satisfactory—System 1 answer of "One scoop of mint chocolate chip, please."
We don't think about it much, but nearly 70-80% of the things we buy are things we bought before.4 That's our lazy System 1 at work. And sadly for most of these items we continuously buy, there are—or were—better, cleaner, healthier, tastier versions available.
But do we want to replace something that "works fine" by performing an exhaustive deep evaluation, consideration, and rational thought process? Well, no. Neither do our customers. Easy wins—almost every time.
Sell Without Speaking
After we create a good product or service, the next task is to make a purchase easy. But how do we make customers see our vision for them and our value in their life without drowning them in System 2? We imply.
We spend a lot of time and effort trying to convince customers of the benefit of what we sell, but if it's not as easy as 2 + 2, we'll spend a lot more time, effort—and money on marketing and advertising. Yuck!
Let's open our company website and ask ourselves, do we overstate the obvious, or do we speak to our customer wants? Do we talk more about our business or what they get from it? Every day, in nearly every business action that will affect our customers, we need to ask ourselves, what are we implying here?