The situation you'll recognize.
Appointment reminders are sent, the advice is clear, and adherence still sits well below where it should be. Information was never the constraint.
Why social proof works here.
People follow what they believe others like them actually do. Stated the right way round, that is one of the strongest levers in behavior change; stated the wrong way round, it backfires. Announcing that most patients miss appointments tells patients that missing appointments is normal.
What to do this week.
Describe the behavior you want as the norm, when it truthfully is. "Nine in ten patients at this clinic complete the course" outperforms both a warning and a plea, and it costs nothing but a change of sentence.
Where it goes wrong.
Publicising a problem by advertising how common it is. If the desired behavior is genuinely the minority, do not invent a majority. Switch to a different principle rather than a false statistic.
Learn social proof in depth. The Cialdini Method gives Social Proof a full module, online and at your own pace, for $1,497 with a 7-day full refund.
Social Proof is one of the seven principles of influence Dr. Robert Cialdini identified in more than 40 years of research. Read the full social proof page, or see how all seven apply to healthcare professionals.