9 Min. Read

Have you ever stopped to think that the way you act, from the time you wake up until you go to bed, is defined by your habits? You wake up, open your eyes, and probably do the following: take your cell phone, check your messages, social media, and only then you get out of bed to do the rest of your morning activities. I know, you never stopped to think about that, did you? Neither did I, until a while ago when I read Charles Duhigg’s book “The Power of Habit.”

According to Charles Duhigg, habits are made up of a cycle that consists of three points: signal, routine, and achievement. The signal is what leads us to perform some action, the routine is the habit itself, and the achievement is the feeling after the end of the action, whether good or bad. I believe that most of us seek to implement actions that bring us positive satisfaction daily. However, the joy that habit brings us is different from the benefit it brings us. In other words, just because we feel good at the end of an action, it doesn’t mean that it brings a service to our health or work.

To put this into practice, let’s think about the habit that most of us have acquired in the last years of looking at our cell phones before going to bed. We do this because we need a trigger to help our brain relax before going to sleep. The routine is that glance at social media. After a while, you’re probably tired, and you end up sleeping. However, we all know that although the result is positive, the benefit of this habit, in the long run, is not healthy: it makes us even more alert and prevents us from getting enough rest during sleep.

But there is no reason to despair! It is possible to change this habit and replace it with a healthier one. Reading Charles Duhigg’s book, I understood that habits are rationally formed in our brain. From the moment we decide to change them, our neurological system comes into action. This helps us to replace this habit with a more beneficial one. Then, once the habit is formed in our brain, it becomes automatic, and we don’t even think about it.

In other words, all our habits can change. Once we realize the cycle of habits in our daily lives, we can easily identify what is not convenient and modify it rationally. Through this routine, we include in our lives products and services that help us in our daily tasks or that satisfy any need, whether physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional.

As marketing specialists, it is essential to understand how this phenomenon occurs in our target audience’s lives, how our products or brands enter consumers’ lives, and whether or not they make a difference. After all, if we as individuals buy or use something, it is because it makes our lives easier or satisfies a need. So do our customers. And understanding this is the key to a successful marketing and sales strategy. We can apply this rule both in the B2C (Business to Consumer) market and in the B2B (Business to Business) market.

In the B2C marketplace, it can be easier to understand how your product or service is entering the customer’s life. We can track it through social media postings, satisfaction surveys, or even when you see it leaving the warehouse already with the product in its hands. In the B2B world, this can only be verified in the medium and long term, when a client obtains positive results thanks to an incentive program, an event that provided new opportunities, or even a system that has optimized its costs and increased the efficiency of its team. 

Each worker’s habits impact the company’s day-to-day life and business results. Managers and leaders must be aware of these habits and what is happening in their employees’ lives to intervene and help them overcome a crisis or change something that is not doing them any good in their personal or executive lives. After all, there is no way to separate one thing from the other completely. Even less so now, in this integrated life between home and work.

Think, for example, of a sales team: each one has its routine, its unique workflow usually works very well together and always brings positive results. However, suddenly something happens, and the final numbers drop dramatically. Something different is happening there that directly impacts the company’s profits and product sales. It is up to the manager to map and identify which actions of his salespeople are impacting negatively and how he can influence his team’s behavior so that their habits change positively, bringing good results to the business.

But how do you know which is the best plan to implement? This is only possible when you know your sales influencers individually and as a team, which does not happen overnight. However, by using tools that help you analyze and measure your employees’ performance, you will be able to efficiently and strategically bring better results to your company. If your internal influencers are happy, your company will be successful. They know the products, services, and brands best. This makes them the most valuable asset.

At Optime Consulting, we have some solutions that can help you track and encourage these positive behaviors within your team. For example, eRecognize.me is a gamified platform where you can include all your team and measure their performance, combining sales and education actions in an incentive strategy that includes gamified features. These features will encourage your internal influencers to work to achieve and exceed their objectives because at the end of each month, quarter, and/or year, they can win an award and be recognized by their manager and team. This is interesting because, at the end of the day, when we know that what we do at work can bring us a reward that we can enjoy in our personal lives or with those we love, we strive to change our routine and do the impossible to win it.

It is the old story that one thing leads to another in our lives: what we do at work impacts our personal life and vice-versa. If we feel motivated in one area, we will do our best to improve the other, leading us to have healthier habits that will bring us both personal and professional satisfaction.

Visit www.optimeconsulting.com for more information on how our solutions will help you bring positive habits to your team and identify your customers’ habits. And here you can find ideas to improve your productivity while working from home.

Business Trends – THE POWER OF HABITS IN OUR EVERYDAY AND BUSINESS
By: Mariana Gil – December 2020