What are the cognitive shortcuts used to simplify the decision

• 3 years ago
• Market Updates
• Posted on August 1, 2019

People tend to shorten their decision-making process with unconscious cognitive processes that help them simplify the task at hand. Today, there are a great number of brands who compete with each other through various distractions, which often makes the purchasing process difficult for the consumers.

This is why people will often follow their instincts as a guide to avoid the complexity of the process, and this might be the the reason why people are not choosing your brand. In determining its communication strategies, it is important that you are aware of these “shortcuts” in consumers’ minds.

According to cognitive bias theory, these instincts and the resulting unconscious behaviours can be categorised into 7 different groups:

1. Consumers buy what they already know

People repeatedly choose the same products or brands over the years. This is due to the fact that as humans we are prone to go with the default option and we do not like to disrupt the status quo. People think that something has worked for them once, it will work again and prefer not to think further about it. This is also a stage where consumer loyalty starts to be created. Brands can focus on customer satisfaction and promotions for brand loyalty to be able to make use of this shortcut in their strategy.

2. People buy what other people recommend or buy

As human beings, we are open to influence from other people. When other people provide reassurance that a product is a good choice, this creates a very active shortcut in the decision-making process. Influencer marketing is a great tool that uses this shortcut to into people’s mind. Brands use this channel, and the effectiveness of this method can be quite high if it is used well. Ratings and reviews can also be highly important.

3. People buy with their heart rather than with their head

The emotional effect of the advertising is a well-known fact and there are several examples that create a difference in terms of branding and the management of perceptions. Emotional interactions between brands and consumers create an instinct that will influence purchase choices. Brands great at using people’s emotions and attract them to their products. The more this is done, the more people have an urge to buy particular products as a result of unconscious cognitive bias. Therefore, the messages that structure the communication between brand and consumer plays an important role in the creation of this effect.

4. People tend to choose the simplest option

In our daily life, we are overloaded by messages from brands, ads and promotions. This causes a cognitive burden of choice for consumers, making an easy escape sound sweet. This is why simple communication is substantial in order not to confuse the consumer. Besides, too much variety within the brand may lead to confusion and can make people turn to simpler brands. Sales promotions are another topic relevant to this theme. To reach a positive result, sales promotions being implemented should not be complicated or confusing.

5. People buy the most logical option in the context

The relation between context and what people buy is quite impressive. People’s mind chose an anchor to help compare a product to competing products that sets a value they use as reference for their decision-making process. For example, the placement of products can make a significant difference in the eye of consumers.

6. People buy what pleases them at that moment

According to behavioural science, people value today more than tomorrow. Adding an immediate value on a product stimulates peoples’ mind and pushes them into a buying decision. Fast delivery, immediate free-spending promotions and similar options are tools that can be useful for influencing decisions from that perspective.

7. People buy brands that match their ethics and values

Lately, the effect of ethical concerns and values on consumer’s intentions and behaviours has increased. The extent of this may be different depending on the country and on different cultural contexts. However, the impact of ethics and values is undeniable, and it obviously creates shortcuts in consumers’ mind while they are making their decisions. Therefore, paying attention to the target group’s ethics and values and making brands more accountable is an important factor to consider.

“As BGA Partners,  we are target partner of many local and global companies willing to increase market share and brand awareness through strategies on several channels. With the advantage of being the integrated advertising agency, we are in sync with the global strategies of companies and enable them to deliver a single, clear message in all different advertising channels. First and foremost, we let our target partners have their targets. Up until today, we have been the target partner of great numbers of brands. Now we are ready to share your mission!”

For further further information, please contact BGA partners at