How do you know that you’re supposed to tip your waiter when you go to a restaurant in the UK? Or that it’s expected to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ or form an orderly queue. Generally we don’t turn up late to meetings or parties and we bring a token of thanks to a dinner party.
These rules of society is generally not written down anywhere but they play a big part in governing our daily interactions. We rely on clues from the people around us on how to act. But what do we do when we don’t know how others are acting? Chances are we’ll maintain the status quo.
So how do social norms govern our behaviour? They influence reciprocity – generally when someone gives us something, we feel we owe them something in return. It makes it harder for us to close the door in the face of a sales person.
What we also don’t really do is talk about personal finance and our savings habits. This makes it hard to judge if we’re on track or saving more or less than our peers.
Using case studies in financial communication gives a great opportunity to highlight positive social savings norms. Ensuring case studies are as personal as possible will also increase their effectiveness.
There is little point in highlighting how middle aged men are getting ready to retire when you’re talking to women in their 20s who have just started their savings journey.
Step 1
Know your audience. Who are you talking to? Be clear about which behaviour you want to encourage with your case study.
Step 2
Understand the social norms which would influence their behaviours both from a savings perspective and generally. Make sure you focus on positive social norms. Telling your audience that other people like them don’t save may just re-inforce their non savings behaviour.
Step 3
Test your case studies to make sure that they achieve the goal you’ve set out in step one.
Be Onpoint Consulting Ltd 
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