Strategic research consultancy 5D has announced the launch of Choice Framing, a new framework that explains how and why customers behave and make decisions differently across categories and how marketers can adapt their strategies accordingly.
Unlike traditional marketing theories that apply universal approaches, Choice Framing examines the mental processes customers use before making purchases in different categories – from mortgages to breakfast cereals – revealing distinct behavioural patterns that drive different decision-making processes.
Choice Framing outlines the dominant heuristics people use to decide what process they will undertake to evaluate alternatives and ultimately make a choice. These heuristics are a combination of the level of risk and people’s emotional involvement inherent in the decision.
5D Founder and chief executive officer, Lyndall Spooner, said: “Every choice a person makes is a problem to be solved. We don’t solve problems with a blank piece of paper. We start by framing the choice and understanding the nature of the problem.
“The question isn’t whether customer behaviour varies by category; it’s whether your marketing strategy is sophisticated enough to capitalise on these differences.”
According to 5D’s research, five key heuristics determine how decisions are made: motivation (need vs want), length of commitment, personal ambition, personal identity, and principles alignment.
Spooner said: “Each of these heuristics is a continuum, with one end driving more rational behaviours and the other driving more emotional behaviours. The scoring across the five heuristics combines to drive either more rational, research-driven decision processes or emotional, convenience-based purchasing behaviours.
“This is the first framework that explains the choices people make before making a choice and the extent to which their own personal identity, ambitions and principles drive purchase behaviours.”
5D’s research reveals that customers in services categories like financial services and telecommunications typically engage in highly involved decision processes, researching extensively and comparing options methodically.
But in FMCG categories, customers often operate in convenience mode, relying on memory and making quick decisions. Some categories like luxury goods straddle both decision processes, requiring unique marketing approaches that don’t fit traditional category groupings.
Choice Framing also addresses how technology and AI are reshaping decision-making processes in ways traditional marketing theories never anticipated. For categories with longer-term commitments or identity impact, customers increasingly use digital tools to research alternatives, creating “brand funnel disruption” as they actively seek out new options.
Spooner said: “This deeper understanding of what drives choice requires marketers to focus on different marketing metrics depending on their category. While FMCG brands should concentrate on mental availability and purchase frequency, services companies need to model brand choice rates and build equity based on rational attributes directly linked to selection”.
5D managing director, Melbourne, Andrew Slot, said many companies are using standardised brand tracking and metrics across all categories, which forces identical thinking about marketing strategy regardless of how customers actually behave.
“The one-size-fits-all brand tracking and standard brand metrics are sabotaging growth. Even standardised brand tracking with AI integration is ineffective when it ignores category-specific buying behaviours,” he said.
“The Choice Framing approach will help companies achieve precision over ‘spray-and-pray’ marketing, track metrics that actually predict growth, make the most of their resource allocation and gain a competitive edge while their competitors keep on applying outdated universal frameworks.”
