The Yes Advantage
9½ behavioural biases that redefine how B2B brands connect and engage with their buyers to supercharge marketing effectiveness.
The world’s first B2B study on Gen X and BETA behavioural biases, created in collaboration with Richard Shotton, Behavioural Scientist and Author of The Choice Factory.
Discover the biases driving big business decisions.
Marketers are swimming in data, yet we’re still guessing at what drives human decision-making.
Traditional economics paints a neat picture. B2B buyers weigh up facts, compare options, and make logical choices. They’re making complex, million-dollar decisions with multiple stakeholders, after all.
But behavioural science tells a different story. Pressure and risk don’t make buyers more rational. It makes them more emotional, biased, and irrational – especially in high-stakes B2B situations. It’s a perfect storm for cognitive biases to roll in.
This presents B2B marketers with a powerful opportunity; a secret weapon so to speak.
If you understand the subconscious drivers behind buyer behaviour, you’ll have a deeper understanding of what captures attention, what creates friction, and what ultimately nudges decision-makers towards a final choice.
It’s all about decoding the invisible influences at every stage of the journey, and using those insights to drive smarter, more effective marketing. That’s gold dust.
The Yes Advantage: 9½ behavioural biases that redefine how B2B brands connect and engage with their buyers to supercharge marketing effectiveness – is an exclusive, world-first study by Transmission, produced in partnership with renowned Behavioural Scientist and Author of The Choice Factory, Richard Shotton and global research agency, NewtonX.
We reveal which biases truly influence B2B decision-makers at different stages of the buyer journey – and how to use them effectively in your own marketing.
No fluff. Just smart, evidence-based insights to help you stand out, build a more memorable brand, and drive better results.
Read the report
“In B2B, behavioural science might just be the most underused competitive advantage out there.
This research proves why.”
Why aren’t we all using behavioural science?
What if we told you that while 58% of B2B marketers are ‘very familiar’ with behavioural science, only 17% are consistently applying it to strategy and campaigns.
That’s a huge gap between understanding and execution.
By leaning on behavioural biases that you know work in B2B, you tap into the full spectrum of emotional and motivational forces influencing decision making. It allows you to craft creative and messaging strategies that are both distinctive AND more predictably effective. And most importantly, it turns risk-averse buyers into high-reward opportunities – driving a massive 53% uplift in marketing results.
For those in the know, that starts looking a lot like a competitive advantage. But only if you understand how to apply them to your marketing strategies – and that’s what we set out to provide in our report.
Most proof only exists for B2C
67%Yet another thing to learn
33%This is your untapped
competitive advantage
Using original primary research experiments, we give you B2B’s first peek behind the buyer curtain to reveal:
- Why behavioural science should be on everyone’s minds in B2B – and what it means for those who use it
- Which behavioural biases actually impacted and influenced B2B buyer decisions
- Proof points to show exactly how they work and what you can do to get ahead
- How reactions to these biases vary between Gen X and BETA buyers
- How B2B marketers can put each bias into practice to strengthen marketing impact and effectiveness
Meet the 9½ most valuable biases for B2B marketers
1: SOLO
The isolation effect
We notice what’s different. When everything looks the same, the bold, surprising, or unusual grabs attention – and sticks. Whether it’s a pop of colour, a quirky tone, or a fresh format, standing out makes your brand more memorable.
With Solo, you can buck the trend, break the norm, and stand out.
2: HALO
The halo effect
When someone shines in one area, people often assume they shine in others too. It’s a mental shortcut. If someone’s more traditionally attractive, for example, we often assume the best – even without knowing them.
With Halo, you can highlight one great trait and other positive brand associations will follow.
3: BRICKFACE
Concreteness
We’re much better at remembering things than we are picturing them. Concrete words like ‘chicken’ or ‘green’ stay with us longer than abstract ones like ‘justice’ or ‘clarity’ because our brains prefer what feels real and tangible.
With Brickface, your messages will be easier to understand, more credible, and far more likely to be remembered and acted on.
4: REDSTEP
Red Sneakers effect
When we do something unconventional, it can boost our social status instead of undermining it. Deviating from the norm often signals confidence and autonomy.
Redstep will help you break the rules – on purpose – to make your brand feel more influential and pioneering.
5: BLINK
Make it easy
When faced with a choice, we’re instinctively drawn to what feels easiest to do. Even tiny hurdles like an extra step or complex language can stop people in their tracks.
Keep it simple with Blink. It signals credibility, trust, and value – something B2B buyers look for in every decision.
6: ECHO
Tailored social proof
We’re more likely to be influenced by others when they feel similar to us. The more relatable they are, the stronger the impact of what they have to say.
Echo can help you strengthen brand relevance, build belief, and earn trust.
7: STITCH
The illusion of effort
We tend to value something more when we feel that more effort has gone into creating it. In a world of AI shortcuts, showing your work – whether its expertise, design, or build – can increase its perceived quality.
With Stitch, you can feel the effort. And it makes things seem more valuable.
8: DOC
Precision
We trust precision. Round numbers feel uncertain while specific figures provide a sense of credibility and confidence that can speed up decision making.
Doc can be the difference between a message that’s believed and one that’s dismissed.
9: MALCOM
Extremeness aversion
When we see three prices, we tend to the pick the one in the middle – not too fancy, not too cheap. Just right. It feels sensible and safe; it’s what most of us do, after all.
Offering the Malcom in the middle option drives buyers towards your preferred product or service, without having to push them there.
BONUS BIAS
THE ordering effect
When we’re weighing up a decision, the first option we see heavily influences how we perceive others. The higher up on a list an option is, the more likely we are to choose it.
Hi and Lo can help you put your prices, range of offerings, or even add-ons into perspective and drive buyers to the products, solutions, or services you want them to purchase most.
About Richard Shotton
Richard Shotton is a pivotal figure in the fusion of behavioural science with marketing.
Author of the best-selling book, The Choice Factory, Richard travels the world consulting and training global brands on how to use behavioural science to solve diverse business problems.
Beginning his career as a media planner, Richard has had the privilege of working with high-profile accounts such as Coke, Lexus, and comparethemarket.com.
Richard’s journey from media planning to behavioural economics enables him to deliver presentations that offer a rare blend of scientific rigor and actionable advice that marketing leaders will find intellectually stimulating and immensely practical.
Our methodology
Our approach
We conducted a pioneering study grounded in real-world marketing scenarios to explore the real impact of behavioural biases on B2B buyers.
In collaboration with Behavioural Scientist, Richard Shotton, and research specialists, NewtonX, we developed a 15-minute online experiment featuring 10 distinct, real-life simulations – each representing a marketing communication B2B buyers might realistically encounter.
These scenarios were crafted around a fictional cybersecurity brand created specifically for the research.
Each experiment targeted a different cognitive bias and was mapped to a specific stage of the B2B buying journey, from initial awareness to active consideration.
What we measured
We surveyed 500 senior decision-makers from companies with 500+ employees across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Participants represented a wide range of industries, including Financial Services, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Energy, and IT.
The study was designed to measure three key responses: attention, recall, and emotional engagement – providing insight into what truly resonates with B2B buyers in the moment.
ABOUT TRANSMISSION
Transmission is the world’s largest independent global B2B marketing agency. Our mission is to elevate the role of marketing to the board, combining data-driven intelligence with curiosity, creativity, and innovation to craft powerful, behaviour-changing engagement with audiences to create lasting impact and success.
With offices in eight countries worldwide, Transmission has the global agility and experience to help B2B brands drive the now and define the next.
For media inquiries, please contact Ysabel Sarinas (POV Agency) ysabel@povagency.co or Pilaar Terry (POV Agency) pilaar@povagency.co.
ABOUT NEWTONX
NewtonX is the research and insights platform that empowers businesses to solve their toughest challenges with confidence.
Trusted by Fortune 500 companies, NewtonX provides custom-recruited experts, tailored surveys, and in-depth interviews with end-to-end research support. Visit newtonx.com to learn more.