When was the last time you switched brands? The reality is we mostly make decisions on autopilot and we don’t often change our minds. When change happens it doesn’t happen in an instant—however hopeful we as marketers might be that it does.

We know for example, that the transition to bottled water didn’t happen overnight and yet every day we attempt to convince potential customers to switch or choose today, by offering more proof that our brand is different and better.

Changes of opinion and in attitude and behaviour take a very long time. There’s a whole sequence of events and tiny shifts that happen along the decision timeline from brand awareness to brand affinity.

Our job is to look for ways to understand and influence what happens in the middle, not simply to try to make change happen at the very start.

Image by Chris Goldberg.