In Content Marketing, Consider Readers’ Home Bias

When it comes to their stock portfolios, financial advisor James Cheng observes, investors tend to invest the majority of their money in domestic equities, ignoring the benefits of diversifying into foreign companies.  Home bias isn’t restricted to American investors, he explains – investors from all over the world tend to prefer investing in companies based in their own country. While being too concentrated in any one area of the market can actually be a dangerous practice, Alexander Joshi Of Barclays of London cautions, exposing an investor’s portfolio to elevated market volatility, investors would rather invest in things with which they are already familiar, rather than moving into the unknown.

While the expression “home bias” originated in finance, familiarity bias influences consumer behavior in every aspect of life. “Have you ever noticed yourself gravitating towards the same brand of coffee or choosing to watch movies from a favorite genre repeatedly?”  Octet Design Journal asks. Gravitating towards familiar faces and avoiding interactions with strangers can mean missing out on valuable relationships and opportunities.

How can sellers overcome this inherent yet irrational desire to keep something the same, even if it’s less than optimal?  While prospect theory explains that people are more averse to losing what they have than benefitting from something new, value selling can help overcome your customers’ status quo bias, David Sviel  of ROI Selling suggests. “Your job,” he tells salespeople, “is to convince them that, despite the risk of making a change, which always exists, not making a change has its own risks and consequences.”

Will blog marketing “close” deals in the same way as a face-to-face encounter between a prospect and a sales professional? The answer is obviously “no”, we explain to our Say It For You content marketing prospects. On the other hand, prospects what have been reading your blog posts will typically enter the sales process more educated on your place in the market, your industry, and what you have to offer. Consistent posting of valuable information positions you as a SME, or Subject Matter expert, offering you a much greater chance to overcome your audience’s “home bias”.