Wi-Ai and Bids for Connection (or “Do your financial services clients want to divorce you?”)
I recently had an “a-ha” moment (and by that I don’t mean I spent a nostalgic session listening to the vocal stylings of Norwegian synth pop heartthrob, Morten Harket).
In fact, it happened when I read an article about the “Bids for Connection” model of relationship proposed by clinical psychologist Dr John Gottman.
Dr Gottman’s research reveals a significant difference in outcomes in the survival of marriages based on a very specific behaviour. The key factor that Gottman identified in his study was that successful couples dealt far more positively with “bids for connection” from their partners than those in failing relationships.
Examples of bids for connection include:
- Verbal bids, such as trying to tell your partner about your day at the office.
- Physical bids, such as touching your partner.
- Practical bids, such as an offer or request to do something around the house.
Possible responses include positive acknowledgment (“turning towards the bid”), ignoring the bid (“turning away”) or actively rejecting it (“turning against the bid”).
Gottman’s research found that couples who were still happily married six years after his initial study “turned towards” one another’s bids 86% of the time. Those who were divorced or reported being unhappy together six years later turned towards one another only 33% of the time.
My “a-ha” moment was realising that the behavioural finance software tools that Wi-Ai Technology has created allow the business version of this: they provide a mechanism for financial services providers to “turn towards” bids for connection from their customers.
Ultimately, they might even prevent your financial services customer from impetuously “divorcing” you (e.g. by prematurely encashing an investment due to Recency Bias). This is because you have created a means of acknowledging the customer’s concerns, i.e. you offer a positive and helpful way to support customers in identifying and dealing with their own biases.
Want to know more about how we can help you and your customers stay together? Contact us: [email protected].