Editor’s note: Terry Vavra and Doug Pruden are partners at research firm Customer Experience Partners. Vavra is based in Allenale, N.J. Pruden is based in Darien, Conn.

We read with interest a recent article detailing the irrationality of human behavior jamesclear.com/common-mental-errors?. The article identifies the author’s pick of the “five (most) common mental errors that sway people from making good decisions.” We agree that at times we all fall victim to each of these mental failings. But our goal here is not to offer another New Year’s resolution to be made or broken. Rather, our goal is to encourage you to think about how you can use such irrational mental behavior to the advantage of your business.

Confirmation bias 

Specifically, of the five irrationalities the article mentions, we focus on the most pervasive: confirmation bias. As you may remember from a psychology course, confirmation bias is defined as:

“The tendency for humans to search for and favor information that conforms to or confirms previously held beliefs while simultaneously ignoring or devaluing information that contradicts or is in opposition to current beliefs.” 

In everyday practice it might be thought of as the principle that keeps some people watching and believing only what they see on CNN while others are watching and believing only what they see on Fox.

Using this failure in logic 

How can this mental error have anything to do with effective marketing? Our preeminent marketing resolves to improve customer loyalty and to encourage positive word of mouth can both benefit from confirmation bias. Management teams that celebrate the sale of a new smartphone, new car or any other new product or service – but then move on to pursue the next new customer without bothering to reinforce the recently acquired customer’s commitment to insure repurchase – are missing out on a tremendous opportunity. Similarly, managers who simply wait and hope for positive word of mouth to be generated about their business are betting on a lame horse. 

Improving repurchase

Confirmation bias suggests each newly acquired customer will be very receptive to information and outreach that reinforces his or her purchase. That means they’re waiting for reinforcement. Reinforcement that if not forthcoming may jeopardize their long-term status as a customer. They’re looking to be told they’ve made a smart buying decision. Satisfying this need is the process we’ve labeled aftermarketing in our work and writings. Aftermarketing is a program of interactions with current customers to make them completely devoted to your brand and to keep them coming back and making additional purchases to fulfill their category needs. And, in the process, to become the best possible advocates for your brand, product or service.

To prove the point of customers’ receptivity to information, historically advertising research has discovered that the highest viewership for car commercials is not from current shoppers but rather from new owners – those who have recently purchased the brand and are focusing on the commercials to collect facts and information that help them confirm the wisdom of their brand choice. In the absence of any confirmatory information from the manufacturer, they are searching the manufacturer’s advertising in a desperate outreach for confirmation!

Creating positive word of mouth

Years of listening to customers of every kind of product and service has convinced us that customers of most brands, in most categories, buy because of habit, availability, price and/or emotion. They are busy people who typically think or know very little about the products or services they buy except for the basic function they deliver. But confirmation bias suggests they’d like their brand choice further confirmed by knowing that family and friends are also buying the same brands and products/services. To stimulate the benefits of confirmation bias, you need to recognize that your customers need information about your brand that they can pass along. The secret to stimulating word of mouth is to provide content for customers to enjoy and to pass along to others.

The power of confirmation bias

You don’t need to be selling a product that’s as expensive as a car; nor do you need to be running commercials on national television to harness the power of confirmation bias. 

You have the opportunity to do the research and provide current customers with the information they desire and will use through a stream of communications that reinforce their purchase of your brand and provide them with stories to tell their friends about your product. And thanks to confirmation bias they will be listening when you offer up communications like:

  • videos of your employees helping others – like Comcast Cares;
  • stories about your daily operations, like the story of the FedEx agent who saved a wedding by personally delivering the bride’s gown or the Dominos staff using a boat to deliver food to a customer stranded by flooding;
  • reminders about your after-sales services;
  • podcasts about how to use your product/service to get the best value for the money;
  • an automotive manufacturer or dealer sending out e-mails to remind customers how to change the car clock between Standard and Daylight time or what to do about tire pressure when a Polar Vortex hits;
  • a head-to-head comparison chart pitting your brand against the top competitors on a list of key issues; and
  • testimonials from other satisfied customers.

The simple rule is to never stop promoting your product or service. Your customers will consume the information themselves and pass it along to family, friends, relatives, neighbors and co-workers. Your communications will greatly increase the probabilities of repeat sales and improved word of mouth, improving your chances of making your next sale.