The best time to reengage customers

Have you ever experienced that bittersweet feeling when you are watching a TV series or reading a book you love?

You don’t want it to end but you also can’t wait to see how it does.

Our customers experience this too.

It’s called the One-Away Mere Completion effect.  In short, people feel most engaged in something just before they complete it.

This is exciting, because it tells us two things:

1️⃣ Pay attention to what completion means. For example, would buying this item complete a set for them? Does their purchase process end not with delivery, but with their product review instead?

2️⃣ The time to re-engage our customers is BEFORE they complete something, not after. That’s when they will be interested in continuing to work with us. Same with colleagues. Don’t wait till after a project concludes to plant the seed for future collaboration.

Ref: Bowen Ruan, Evan Polman, Robin J Tanner, The One-Away Effect: The Pursuit of Mere Completion, Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 50, Issue 5, February 2024, Pages 945–961, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucad030

If you want to know exactly how to apply behavioural science to your small business, Just Do This.