Sunday Rewind: How to encourage clicks without shady tricks by Paul Boag

This week’s Sunday Rewind is a 2021 ProductTank Exeter talk from Paul Boag on how product managers can promote the products they’ve built without resorting to dark patterns.

A dark pattern is a user interface element that has been crafted to influence or even trick users in order to affect their behaviour, like introducing scarcity to increase the likelihood of a purchase. Dark patterns can manipulate people into doing something they wouldn’t normally do.

Paul advises against their use because:

• Consumers are savvy and spoilt for choice. People are more aware that dark patterns are being used against them; they simply ignore them.
• One disgruntled customer can ruin a brand.
• Buyer’s remorse can lead to heavy costs. The cost of manipulating people can quickly get hidden in silos and other departments.

Alternative pathways so that product managers can avoid using dark patterns include:

• Address objections and risks. 
• Defeat cognitive load. Simplify the user interface to reduce the cognitive load on users.
• Establish trust and overcome cynicism. Be open and transparent with customers by demonstrating empathy, using social proof, and telling stories.
• Make it fast. Improve digital product performance and speed because of its impact on site visitors and your reputation.

Watch the original talk: How to encourage clicks without shady tricks by Paul Boag