Be honest—how often do you check your assumptions?

As marketers, we all aim for the same thing at the core: to influence behavior. Armed with a list of customer insights, we dive in—until… the impact isn’t what you’d hoped for. What did you overlook? Chances are it’s in that list of insights. You thought you “got it,” so you jumped right in. Our advice? Always check your assumptions. Get to know your audience by zooming in on their behavior. Why do they do what they do? That way, you can approach your strategy and content more effectively—and you’ll see it in your results. Here’s how to get started.

First, let’s warm up with a few key insights about behavior:

Behavior consists of actions (visible) and thoughts (invisible). We all get that. Yet we’re generally inclined to use observable behavior as our main benchmark—data, pixels, touchpoints. But what’s going on inside people’s minds might be far more interesting.

Good to know: about 95% of our behavior is unconscious. So, as much as we’d like to believe we’re rational beings who approach everything thoughtfully, most of what we do happens ‘automatically.’ We simply don’t think about it.

And finally: our brain prefers to stay in energy-saving mode. We always choose the path of least resistance: familiar and easy terrain. So, as a marketer, no matter how carefully you’ve mapped out your plan or customer journey, people will always take the most comfortable route. And that route is different for everyone.

Nobody said it was easy.

Behavior is incredibly complex. And yet, you’ll need to find a way to dive deeper—to understand the thoughts and actions of your target audience. Of course, that may first mean mapping out what you already think you know about this group. So, get together with your own team, sit down, and take a close look at your audience. Grab some post-its and lay out those assumptions. It’s a solid start.

But be honest—how often do you actually check those assumptions? We all know it’s important. And we’re fully aware of our bubbles and confirmation bias. But still, we often skip it—maybe there’s no time or budget, or we assume it’s obvious: this is what needs to be done! We do believe in the power of gut feeling. Especially if you’ve been in the game for a while, it’s often based on something real. But it gets risky when you rely on it blindly and take it as the starting point. Human behavior will always surprise you, so check it. Always!

It really all comes down to this: spend time with the people who matter. Listen to what they say, observe their behavior. Why do they do what they do? And just as importantly, why aren’t they (yet) doing what you want them to do? What’s holding them back, what objections do they have? Then, as a marketer, look at how you can address these insights—and what that means for your communication.

5 ‘Behavioral Lenses’ to give you a boost

The ‘behavioral lenses,’ developed by institutions like Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, can help with this. Think of them as five different pairs of glasses that you put on, one at a time, allowing you to view someone’s behavior from various perspectives. These lenses provide insight into how you can influence automatic aspects of behavior, how your audience perceives the target behavior, and what motivates them. For simplicity, we’ve translated them into five questions you can ask yourself—always with the desired behavior in mind:

Is there habitual behavior that could influence the target behavior?
What does your audience actually know and think about the target behavior?
Does the audience even realize there’s a difference between what they’re currently doing and what’s expected of them?
Is the audience motivated to change their behavior, and do they have the opportunity to do so? Can they actually make the change?
How easy and appealing is it to try, repeat, and sustain the target behavior?

By weaving these questions into your audience research (which can be as simple as a good conversation at the kitchen table) and mapping your findings onto the lenses, you gain insight into the beliefs behind the behavior. This gives you concrete pointers for your marketing strategy: which needs will you fulfill, which objections will you need to address, and what does that mean for what you’re going to DO?

This also provides a strong foundation for communication. Which role will your communication play? Which angle will we choose to convince your audience? It could be anything: informing, inspiring, persuading, reassuring, making things easier. Or, on the other hand: debunking, proving the opposite, deterring, shaking things up.

To keep it sharp, we like to formulate it from the audience’s perspective. For example:

“Make me aware of the urgency, so I take action.”
“Give me the confidence that it will work out, so I dare to go for it.”
“Explain how it really is, so I no longer rely on assumptions.”

“Show me who else is doing this, so I’ll want to join too.”

Influence starts with understanding. Expecting your audience to immediately respond to every stimulus is a utopia. Behavior change is much more complex than that. But with smart, carefully tailored communication, you can absolutely make a difference. It enables you to move people in the direction you’ve set. That’s how you take control!

Need help with your audience research? Or curious about how to turn your customer insights into a sharp content strategy? For us, this is what we do every day—we’re happy to help you get started.

You know where to find us!