Sep
15
Instead, people follow patterns of behaviour.
If your instructions fit with their normal pattern of behaviour, things will go fairly smoothly.
If your instructions are at odds with their normal pattern of behaviour you will struggle to get the result you want. Let me give you an example:
At the gym this morning, they were fixing some plumbing.
To let the plumber get into the ladies changing room to carry out the work, they swapped the changing rooms around. "Ladies" became "Mens" and vice versa.
So that we all knew about the change, the gym attendants had written the words, "Ladies" and "Men" on two bits of A4 paper and had stuck them to the changing room doors. Job done you would think. They certainly must have thought so...
...because they didn't mention it when I picked up my towel.
I nearly walked into the wrong changing rooms. Fortunately I noticed the sign, turned around and headed in the other direction.
To cut a long story short, at the end of my session I went for a shower, wrapped myself up in a towel and wandered, gently steaming, through the changing rooms towards my locker.
...to be greeted by three women!
Fortunately, they were better dressed then I was. Unfortunately, I seem to have grown beyond the size of towel that covers everything necessary all at the same time.
There was an awkward silence.
Eventually I broke it,
"Morning girls! Nice to see you!"
"Umm, is there not a sign on the door?"
The ladies were kind enough to stop staring (I'm not at my prettiest in the cold light of day) and trooped out towards the changing room entrance.
To my great relief, the sign declaring that this was now the "Mens" changing room was still there.
Red faces all round.
"We didn't see the sign, we just came in like we normally do!".
Still, we're all pals now.
My new friends were following their regular pattern of behaviour and demonstrated just how difficult it can be to make people change from that behaviour.
A sign isn't enough, you have to intervene, you have to declare what the new course of action is and show them what to do. People don't read signs, remember?
So it is with your website. People follow patterns of behaviour. Some of it they learned on other sites, Amazon or the BBC perhaps.
Most of it they developed themselves. Often, the behaviour pattern is influenced by words, but you've got to lead each and every visitor through the course of action you want them to take.
Get your website to match the general pattern of behaviour and you've struck gold.
If you manage this, you won't forget to tell me what it is, will you?
If your instructions fit with their normal pattern of behaviour, things will go fairly smoothly.
If your instructions are at odds with their normal pattern of behaviour you will struggle to get the result you want. Let me give you an example:
At the gym this morning, they were fixing some plumbing.
To let the plumber get into the ladies changing room to carry out the work, they swapped the changing rooms around. "Ladies" became "Mens" and vice versa.
So that we all knew about the change, the gym attendants had written the words, "Ladies" and "Men" on two bits of A4 paper and had stuck them to the changing room doors. Job done you would think. They certainly must have thought so...
...because they didn't mention it when I picked up my towel.
I nearly walked into the wrong changing rooms. Fortunately I noticed the sign, turned around and headed in the other direction.
To cut a long story short, at the end of my session I went for a shower, wrapped myself up in a towel and wandered, gently steaming, through the changing rooms towards my locker.
...to be greeted by three women!
Fortunately, they were better dressed then I was. Unfortunately, I seem to have grown beyond the size of towel that covers everything necessary all at the same time.
There was an awkward silence.
Eventually I broke it,
"Morning girls! Nice to see you!"
"Umm, is there not a sign on the door?"
The ladies were kind enough to stop staring (I'm not at my prettiest in the cold light of day) and trooped out towards the changing room entrance.
To my great relief, the sign declaring that this was now the "Mens" changing room was still there.
Red faces all round.
"We didn't see the sign, we just came in like we normally do!".
Still, we're all pals now.
My new friends were following their regular pattern of behaviour and demonstrated just how difficult it can be to make people change from that behaviour.
A sign isn't enough, you have to intervene, you have to declare what the new course of action is and show them what to do. People don't read signs, remember?
So it is with your website. People follow patterns of behaviour. Some of it they learned on other sites, Amazon or the BBC perhaps.
Most of it they developed themselves. Often, the behaviour pattern is influenced by words, but you've got to lead each and every visitor through the course of action you want them to take.
Get your website to match the general pattern of behaviour and you've struck gold.
If you manage this, you won't forget to tell me what it is, will you?
