5 Behavioral Economic Concepts to Improve Your Nonprofit Website

Digital experiences at their core are human experiences so it would make sense that a better understanding of the human psyche can lead to a better online experience.

I am fascinated by Behavioral Economics, the study of how people make decisions. If you haven’t heard of this field of study, Nudge is a great crash course if you’re looking to learn more. Many of these theories when applied to web can nudge people to action. By understanding a prospect’s cognitive processes, you can influence how they respond to your message.

Below are five unique BE theories in practice:

1. Make an Impact

The initial aim of any website is to rope visitors in, enticing them to want to know and learn more. Opt for a clean, attractive design that is easy for users to navigate around. Incorporate big stunning images to capture their attention and keep them there. Your goal at this point is to spark curiosity, leaving your audience wanting to learn more.

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has a hero image that is hard to look away from. Leveraged here is what is known as the the Identifiable Victim Effect which refers to the tendency of individuals to offer greater aid when a specific person is observed under hardship.

2. Prime Your Visitors

Words and images can be very powerful, but when you have to engage prospects, you have to pay even more attention to detail when using them. This is where primingcomes in. Priming is the process whereby a person is exposed to a stimulus such as carefully constructed words, an idea or an image that influences how they think or feel about something.

This ‘’seed’’ sets the tone for how they’re meant to respond when shown a secondary stimulus. The priming process can help you to convey a clear message to visitors.

The Case Foundation’s tagline “Investing in people and ideas that can change the world” speaks to a higher cause and leaves something to be desired. It’s beautifully written and positioned against the ‘Be Fearless’ photo strikes visitors on an emotional level.

3. Anchor Your Desired Donation

Anchoring is a useful technique to get people to buy or donate. In one study, two groups were asked if they would be willing to save 50,000 offshore Pacific Coast seabirds from small offshore oil spills by making a contribution. One group was asked if they would give $5 and the other group wasn’t asked to donate a specified amount. The group that was anchored to $5 made average contributions of $20, whereas the group with no anchor gave on average $143. (Kahneman, 2011)

The group that was anchored to $5 made average contributions of $20, whereas the group with no anchor gave on average $143.

It’s quite possible that if the second group was given an anchor of, say, $200, the average contribution could have been higher still.

Understanding human behavior in this context is useful, because you can use it to improve results. Experiment with the anchor to find what amount works best for most people.

Malaria No More anchors visitors by offering high donation options which can make the lower amounts look more attractive.

4. Frame Requests

Framing is all about how you present your information to your target audience. So, it’s less about what you’re asking for and more about how you are asking for it.

Researchers at Stanford University asked participants a series of hypothetical questions to ascertain how different scenarios affect a person’s choice to donate. They found that people would be more likely to donate when the transaction was framed as an exchange where a percentage of the sales from the item they bought went to a non profit organization. The researchers concluded that this method was more effective than simply giving someone a gift for making a donation. It appears that potential donors are put off by the self-interest element.

It appears that potential donors are put off by the self-interest element.

Charity Water uses framing quite effectively in their message, “1 in 10 people lack access to clean water”, rather than saying “9 in 10 people have access to clean water”. Same statement, worded differently can have a completely different impact.

5. Keep Choice Sets Simple

Research shows that people don’t like too many options when it comes to navigating a website. Clear, simple choices work best in not just sales and marketing settings, but also for other organizations, such as those looking for volunteers. So, naturally, web designers who understand behavioral economics limit the number of distinct options in forms and navigation menus to make the process simpler.

FRIENDS of the Global Fight uses this idea in their hero image with three distinct choices, ‘Results, America and the Future’. It is often thought more choices are better but often times too many choices can paralyze website visitors. Keep it clean and simple.

Behavioral economics when blended with digital can have quite an impact on moving your audience towards action.

Until next time,

Nate