At Webtrends Optimize, we love data driven test hypotheses; they are quantifiable and justifiable. Data tells us what pages are worth testing on, the bottlenecks and problem areas, make us aware of potential issues as well as elements of the design that users find easy to understand and use.
However, the problem with data is that it does not hold answers about why our potential customers behave the way they do. It is up to us to draw conclusions and find the reasons behind data, and here neuroscience and User Experience (UX) psychology can help us to understand what happens beyond numbers.
Neuroscience and UX psychology offer a very powerful guidance for creating a CRO roadmap and heuristic evaluation of a client’s website. Coupled with the data insights, we are able to come up with solid hypothesis for our projects. We also find that data findings are matching what UX psychology and design theory tell us too.
It is fascinating how many customer decisions happen quickly and that a lot of the decision-making process occurs at the subconscious level and the customers may themselves not be fully aware of. Triune brain theory tells us that three parts of our brain operate simultaneously and in order to appeal to all facets of people’s personality it is important to factor all nuances of design and UX.
Let’s see how the theory can be applied for CRO ideation and hypothesising.
Reptilian brain – the one that is spooked easily.
The triune brain theory we will focus on in this blog was developed by American Neuroscientist Paul Donald MacLean. MacLean’s brain theory described three layers of the brain that evolved sequentially reptilian, mammalian and neo-cortex and are responsible for different types of behaviour. The theory was developed in the 60s and since then the research has shown that the brain is more complex and interconnected, the theory is very useful in understanding different ways we process information and different triggers our visitors are experiencing when interacting with the products.
Reptilian brain, also known as the basal ganglia, is the oldest part of the brain and is responsible for our flight and fight responses.
It is focused on immediate survival, procreation and dominance.
Safety is the main concern for the reptilian brain and a lot of behaviours happen automatically and subconsciously.
This part of our brain likes repetitive and automated actions, bolder colours, vibrant images, does not like small print or being overwhelmed.
Here how we can use this knowledge for CRO:
1. Test images and iconography frequently
We are wired to process imagery within milliseconds and a lot of processing is happening unconsciously. Images are better retained in the memory, plus our brains are evolutionary set to recognise patterns which makes image recognition easier.
The same can be applied to icons. They offer a shortcut to processing information and makes our lazy reptilian brain more receptive to the messages.
2. Reassurance and safety
Our visitors have learned to not to trust what they see on your sites. They will compare the prices, check product reviews and the Trustpilot rating. Does the website have a way of contacting them? Are there reviews or Trustpilot ratings? Are there any endorsements or testimonials?
Any security badges on the payment pages or even a simple message will reassure your website users that the information they are sharing will be safe.
Any trust elements on the site appeal to the oldest part of our brain.
3. Use urgency when necessary
Urgency goes hand in hand with FOMO. Testing scarcity messaging like “low stock” or timers to prompt visitors to complete that transaction often bring great results, but you need to be careful not to abuse them. If there is too much information and stimuli visitors may just flea the field as the stimulus becomes too overwhelming.
4. Shortcuts are welcome
As has been said our reptilian brain likes repetition and automated actions. It appreciates any tools that help it to remember information such as ability to go back to the field they previously left or go back to the searches a visitor made.
This is also why it is helpful to have consistent calls to action and not to overwhelm a user with the choices.
Mammalian brain – the one that loves being part of a team
Mammalian brain developed later than the Reptilian one and goes back about 200 million years ago when mammals developed neocortex responsible for basic problem-solving skills. Mammalian brain sit with amygdala that control emotional responses.
The "mammalian brain," particularly the limbic system, is responsible for handling emotions, memory, social bonding, and complex social behaviours. Let’s look how its functions translate in CRO experiences:
1. Social proofing
As mammalian brain likes to be part of the group, any social proofing message will appeal to it. It is not just about dynamic messages when we show how many people viewed a product, but product reviews, endorsements and testimonials all help us to feel that we belong to a particular group.
2. Product recommendations
Any recommendations based on brand affinity to help us make decisions will evoke an emotional response. The aim of product recommendations is to save us time and effort, therefore giving time back to users and offering a reward of finding what they are looking for.
3. Test your online reward systems
The mammalian brain reward system also drives motivation and reinforcement. The reward system releases dopamine in the body —which creates feelings of pleasure and satisfaction, reinforcing behaviours that trigger its release. We have all experience a dopamine rush on competing the purchase but, interestingly, there is also dopamine release on performing smaller actions online such as completing a form or submitting a quote request.
Test messages like “Congratulations on getting free shipping”, or points for purchases are also ways to evoke this rush.
Another area to test is staged checkout versus one page checkout. Do staged checkout give visitors a satisfaction of completing micro-actions or do visitors prefer to deal with the whole process at once? The answer will be individual for each product.
Neo-cortex brain – the one that will read the small print.
When there is a complex decision-making process required our neo-cortex brain will step up.
It is the youngest part of our brain and is responsible for higher-order brain functions such as sensory perception, spatial reasoning, conscious thought, language, and advanced motor skills.
This is the part of our brain that is activated when you are reading the small print (i.e. the cancellation and returns policy) and will go further and compare your brand with others.
Here are examples of test ideas that appeal to our logical brain:
- Testing layouts i.e. information arrangements, tables, pricing information.
- Testing copy and increasing the visibility of information which is crucial for making decisions.
- Test grouping of the elements. According to the law of similarity, elements that are semantically linked together should be grouped together.
- Test messages that appeal to customers’ knowledge, values and aspirations. For example, sustainability messages or messages about the quality of the product.
To conclude
There is a fantastic UX saying, ‘Your customers spend most of their time on other company’s wesbites.'
They will expect your site to have the same layout and have the same checkout process that is used in the industry. We should not expect customers to spend time and energy to figure out what to do and how to compete the actions they came to do on the site.
Visitors experience daily information overload and as a result they go back to their core coping techniques of flea the field or over time learn to ignore the noise and focus on what is important.
Whilst triune brain theory does not give you all the answers, it does offer you another tool on how to understand your visitors and what they are going through when visiting your site.
CRO can help to understand what is important for your visitors, prioritise information, design elements, direct attention to the important call to actions which will helps to make the decision, and ultimately, help to keep all of our three brains happy!
