Soft Soap
At Christmas an odd thing occurred - I gave and received soap as a present. In my defence I was gifting some Italian soaps to someone who is half-Italian and likes all things Italian and artisanal.
In Roberta’s defence she knows I like packaging so after we swapped gifts and lunched and parted ways on a Manhattan sidewalk I wasn’t sure I would use the soap. Why ? Because it’s soap.
Those Swedish soaps (made in the USA by Kalastyle) made it home across the Atlantic and then moved around the apartment from room to room until a couple of weeks ago when I thought I should try this soap.
It seemed like a bit of effort but hey why not - it was an excuse to have a longer shower.
Two weeks on and I can’t contemplate not using soap. I’m trying to figure out how quickly I can use up the various shower gels without breaking the new found soap habit and now I need to start buying shampoo.
Only now I am looking at SOLID shampoo because I am a soap convert.
So beyond the fact I’ve never felt cleaner, which clearly is of interest to those who know me, why am I sharing this little ‘soap opera’ ?
A couple of reasons.
It’s an EXAMPLE OF NUDGE - a change in behavior I wouldn’t have considered under any other circumstance. I could read countless articles about how soap is better and how it can help reduce single use plastic consumption but unless someone put soap into my hand it was never going to happen. It’s a bit like turning up being half the battle. The soap was there.
It’s an EXAMPLE OF HABIT - it’s taken a couple of weeks but it has stuck. Stuck to the point it would seem strange to do anything else and now I am thinking about how do I travel with soap ! Since the start of 2020 I’ve changed a couple of habits. Not all at the same time. Some big and some small. All have stuck. You just have to make sure the conditions are right to make sure you keep repeating the new behavior.
It’s an EXAMPLE OF DISCOVERY - now I’m exploring the category. Seeing what is the most effective soap, what soap has the smallest carbon footprint and which do I like the best.
All because I was gifted some soap. But carefully targeted free samples would have worked albeit without the saliency of a gift. ‘Free samples’ seems such an old school way but if you have a product you believe in and the consumer insight to make a successful pairing it can be the most efficient way of acquiring a new customer.
Changing habits - it’s what half of us are trying to do on the other half every single day !
And, if Roberta is reading this and is thinking of my next gift, I’ve always fancied a beach vacation rather than the usual mountain.
About The Author
The author is a brand consultant and founder of Mission Critical, a highly focused and curated weekly briefing for time poor and information hungry decision makers and THE FIRST, a monthly briefing containing 31 inspirational insights.
