Typing vs. telling

Typing rather than talking changes behaviour.

Customers are more willing to buy, for example, when they type their search rather than use a voice assistant like Siri or Alexa.

When we type, we subconsciously associate it with taking action.

When we use a voice assistant, we instead associate it with gathering information and deliberating.

Unfortunately, customers are unlikely to tell you they decided to buy because they typed rather than talked. They can’t.

They won’t imagine it’s possible that how they search can influence whether they buy.

Thankfully that’s what behavioural science is for.

Revealing the forces that shape behaviour that we’re not consciously aware of.

_{Ref: King, Dan & Auschaitrakul, Sumitra & Lin, Chia-Wei. (2021). Search modality effects: merely changing product search modality alters purchase intentions. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. 50. 10.1007/s11747-021-00820-z.} 

See: Influencing Action