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The Brainy Business | Understanding the Psychology of Why People Buy | Behavioral Economics


Jan 21, 2022

Today I am very excited to introduce you to Elina Halonen, a behavioral insights strategist who has worked in the space for 15 years and co-founded a London-based insights consultancy working with global brands on branding, communications, and product/service development projects. She has expertise in behavioural analysis & design, consumer insights & market research, Cultural understanding, desk research & trends, branding & marketing strategy, and more. 

Today on the show we talk a little about the COM-B and MOVE models, as well as Elina pre-committing to us all that she is going to write a book, called the Behavioural Blueprint!

COM-B is for: Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavior.

MOVE is for: Meanings, Observations, Viewpoints, and Experiences. We dive into what these models mean, a couple of examples, and so many other great topics.

Show Notes:

  • [00:40] Today I am very excited to introduce you to Elina Halonen, a behavioral insights strategist who has worked in the space for 15 years and co-founded a London-based insights consultancy working with global companies on branding, communications, and product/service development projects.
  • [03:13] Elina and Melina have been connected on LinkedIn for years and officially meeting for the first time for this interview! 
  • [03:53] Elina shares about herself and her background. 
  • [05:15] For the last couple of years she has worked as an independent consultant and has worked with various research agencies. 
  • [08:02] Tips for starting a business in an emerging market? Find a niche where you can raise awareness for what you do. Some areas are easier than others. Find a way to educate the market.
  • [09:52] You will need a lot of creativity to promote yourself and what you do. 
  • [12:07] If you pick what you are going to do, you have to be all-in on that thing for at least a year to give it a chance to be successful. 
  • [14:55] Elina’s first degrees were in marketing and it was always about consumer behavior. 
  • [16:42] All of business is a long game. 
  • [17:22] Give information generously. Make sure you add value to people.
  • [20:31] She works with market research agencies and brings her behavioral science expertise. 
  • [22:19] There are different ways of talking about behavioral science depending on what it is you are doing. It is not one size fits all.  
  • [23:01] When they do a project, they think about the target behavior, what is the business objective, and what behaviors do they want to influence or change. 
  • [25:04] Elina shares her commitment to writing her book, Behavioral Blueprint. Hold her accountable on Twitter. (handles below)
  • [27:51] Melina shares her tips for writing a book, including to break it down and just get started. 
  • [28:39] Break it down into chapters and look at what content you already have that fits that information and start segmenting it in. 
  • [31:34] Bringing cultural psychology into behavioral change is becoming increasingly important. 
  • [33:45] She has an intuitive process of looking at things in a certain way that is her Behavioral Blueprint. 
  • [35:02] Start by looking at the situation and accessing what you are up against.
  • [35:44] She is a big fan of the COM-B model: Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, and Behavior.
  • [36:46] There is a huge amount of context that applied behavioral science often ignores. 
  • [39:11] When she is analyzing or trying to organize things she likes to make it logical. 
  • [41:54] Solving the wrong problem is very common and very human. Not spending enough time identifying the problem is the biggest mistake Melina sees companies make. 
  • [43:37] Elina shares her blog post that she wrote about Netflix solving the wrong problem. 
  • [45:10] Everything you do has an opportunity cost. We need to be sure we are solving the right problem first. It is the foundation of everything we do. 
  • [48:03] We need to understand someone’s logic empathically, putting ourselves in their shoes before we try to change their behavior. 
  • [50:53] There are just some ways of spending money that is socially acceptable and some that aren’t. 
  • [51:15] Never assume you understand why someone does something because you don’t. 
  • [53:45] It’s not about you, it’s about the audience. Could it help someone else?
  • [54:35] Melina shares her closing thoughts. 
  • [56:19] If you enjoy the experience I’ve provided here for you, will you share about it? That could mean leaving a rating/review or sharing the episode with a friend (or 10!)

Thanks for listening. Don’t forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show. 

I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation.

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