Customer Experience Podcast

Breakthrough thinking: Why do we believe things that are not true?

There was a car brand several decades ago in the UK called ŠKODA. It was a terrible car, much like Yugo was in the US. However, they have changed their image and today, my son wants to buy one. I told him the jokes we all used to have about ŠKODA and their low-quality construction (What do a ŠKODA and a baby have in common? They never go anywhere without a rattle.) 

My son doesn’t care. His perception is that they are a great car company. Mine hasn’t changed. 

Now, I know my son better than anyone, except maybe his wife and mother. I know he is sensible and good with his money. He’s no Wally. If he decides to do something, he bloody well knows why (he gets that from me). Nevertheless, his opinion that the company is better now has done nothing to change my mind. 

In this episode we are exploring why we believe things that are not true, even when faced with facts. Psychologically, there are a lot of reasons we do this. We also talk about how you can overcome a bad reputation and change customers perceptions of you with your customer strategy. Spoiler alert: It doesn’t happen fast. 

Key Ideas to Improve your Customer Experience

There are a few reasons why we won’t change our minds even when the facts tell us we should. Some are psychological; some are social. However, they are all at work in this critical customer strategy concept. 

Here are a few key moments in the discussion:

• 04:31  Colin shares how the different spread of information about the war in Ukraine in the West vs. Russia can ensure that the Russian people don’t change their minds or stop supporting it. 
• 09:19  Ryan answers Colin’s questions about why people don’t change their minds even when they are presented with information that they are wrong about something with several influences. 
• 12:32  We discuss how the self-image can get in the way of changing one’s mind, also; we push away negativity from our self-image.    
• 16:12  We talk about the length of time it takes to change minds and what it takes during that time to ensure it happens.
• 19:11 Ryan tells a story about how social agendas can also get in the way of changing one’s minds, and it will probably not surprise you to know that politics is a culprit. 
• 26:54  Colin reviews what he thinks the key learning is for organizations and how we would combat these inclinations with customer strategy.    

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Customer Experience Information & Resources

LinkedIn recognizes Colin Shaw as one of the ‘World’s Top 150 Business Influencers.’ As a result, he has 290,000 followers of his work. Shaw is Founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy LLC, which helps organizations unlock growth by discovering customers’ hidden, unmet needs that drive value ($). The Financial Times selected Beyond Philosophy as one of the best management consultancies for the last four years in a row. Follow Colin on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Click here to learn more about Professor Ryan Hamilton of Emory University. 

Why Customers Buy: As an official “Influencer” on LinkedIn, Colin writes a regular newsletter on all things Customer Experience. Click here to join the other 35,000 subscribers. 

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