The Customer Experience Lab

Fabricx

Welcome to the Customer Experience Lab from Fabricx - the podcast dedicated to helping you create experiences your customers will love, with Si Elliott. Si has over 20 years in customer experience and digital marketing with his agency Diversity. He founded Fabricx (fabricx.agency) the customer experience consultancy to help educate and inspire. Si is a guest lecturer and sits on advisory boards for Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham. Each week Si will sit down with a special guest to discuss all things customer experience and behavioural science. Whether you’re a founder, working in customer experience or marketing, thinking about running your own business or have a unique business idea – there’s something for everybody. The weekly conversation will give you insights and ideas that you can easily apply to your work.

  1. 4월 17일

    £400 million of friction! The hidden cost of sludge and dark patterns

    Ever tried to cancel a subscription… and found it far harder than signing up? You’re not alone. This episode explores the UK’s new legislation targeting subscription traps, estimated to cost consumers around £400 million every year. But this isn’t just about regulation, it’s about friction. And more importantly… the fact that much of that friction has been deliberately designed in. We explore how concepts like nudges and sludge, introduced in Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, play out in the real world. And how, over time, many digital experiences have shifted from helping customers make better decisions. To quietly making those decisions harder. From subscriptions to everyday digital journeys, we unpack how dark patterns have emerged. Design choices that increase cognitive load, create confusion, and ultimately rely on customers doing nothing. We explore: Cognitive Load – how added effort reduces action Status Quo Bias – why we stick with the current situation, even when it’s not always the best decision Loss Aversion – why losing feels more emotionally powerful than an equivalent gain Hyperbolic Discounting – how we prioritise short-term ease over long-term benefit   Which leads to a more uncomfortable question for us:  Are we designing journeys that genuinely help customers make the best decisions for themselves… or journeys that rely on them getting stuck?   This episode also explores the rise of dark patterns in digital, where behavioural science moves from guiding decisions to subtly manipulating them. And importantly, what ethical behavioural design should look like instead. Because the opportunity here isn’t just to remove friction. It’s to challenge ourselves and rethink how we use behavioural science to serve people better.     Studies & further reading: Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness – Thaler & Sunstein Thinking, Fast and Slow – Daniel Kahneman Sunstein, C. – Sludge: What Stops Us Getting Things Done Customer Experience Thinking - Si Elliott  Thanks for listening. Don’t miss out on your copy of Fabricx’s Behavioural Bias Framework https://fabricx.agency/ Connect with us! Instagram: @fabricxlabs Instagram: @si.elliott LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fabricxagency LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/si-elliott/

    12분
  2. 3월 26일

    Why we consistently underestimate everything? The planning fallacy.

    Ever told yourself, “I’ll get that done by next week”… and then watched it drift? This episode explores a very human tendency we all experience, whether we’re building a business, writing a book, or just trying to clear the inbox. After what was meant to be a one-year book project turned into three, this episode unpacks the psychology behind why we consistently underestimate time, effort, and complexity.  And more importantly, how we can design better ways of working around it.   We explore: The Planning Fallacy - our tendency to underestimate how long something will take, even when past experience tells us otherwise. The Inside View - how we focus on the task itself, rather than learning from similar past experiences. Optimism Bias - that we’re wired to believe the future will go better than the past. Reference Class Forecasting - how using real-world data from similar projects helps us make better predictions.   So perhaps armed with this we can make better predictions moving forwards. And hopefully the new book, Customer Experience Thinking (out 21st May) will have been worth the wait!   Studies & further reading: Kahneman, D. & Tversky, A. – Prospect Theory Kahneman, D. – Thinking, Fast and Slow Buehler, Griffin & Ross – The Planning Fallacy Sharot, T. – The Optimism Bias     Thanks for listening. Don’t miss out on your copy of Fabricx’s Behavioural Bias Framework https://fabricx.agency/  Connect with us! Instagram: @fabricxlabs LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fabricxagency LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/si-elliott/

    18분
  3. 1월 29일

    Rethinking the psychology of promotions. How to balance short-term wins and long-term value.

    We all love a good deal, but at what expense? Flash sales, countdown timers, “only 3 seats left”. They’re everywhere, ever present, promotions urging us to act. Mostly because in the moment they work. But while these promotional tactics tap deep into our instincts, they can come with a cost to your business and brand.  And it's not just to margins and profitability, but to meaning and perception people have of your brand.    In this episode, we dig into the psychology behind sales promotions. Why they work. What they trigger. And what brands might be giving up in return.   We examine: Scarcity, urgency and anchoring. How short-term offers hijack decision-making Brand erosion and shifting reference points. Why overusing sales can cheapen your brand The psychology of value, and why perception matters more than price How to balance promotion with purpose. Practical tips for brands who want to drive action without damaging trust   We regularly think about hyperbolic discounting and the hidden cost to individuals, but this turns that on it's head and looks at brand hyperbolic discounting. What's the impact of brands making decisions for the immediacy, without the consideration of the longer term?    Rethink your relationship with discount culture, and keep building brands with enduring value in the minds of consumers.     Studies & further reading: Worchel, Stephen & Lee, Jerry & Adewole, Akanbi. (1975). Effects of supply and demand on ratings of object value. Hodgkinson (2016): ‘Fear of Missing Out’ (FOMO) marketing appeals: A conceptual model Ariely, Loewenstein, Prelec (2003): Coherent arbitrariness, stable demand curves without stable preferences   Thanks for listening. Don’t miss out on your copy of Fabricx’s Behavioural Bias Framework https://fabricx.agency/  Connect with us! Instagram: @fabricxlabs LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fabricxagency LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/si-elliott/

    12분
  4. 1월 15일

    Why people struggle with change! Understanding the psychological friction that holds us back.

    We all say we want to change. To grow. To improve. But when it comes to behaviour, from our New Year’s resolutions to customers’ adoption of new products and services, most change fails to stick. In this episode, we explore the psychology of resistance. The very real friction that stops people doing what they say they want to do. And how understanding the hidden forces of human behaviour can help brands, leaders and individuals support meaningful, sustainable change. We consider: Why Status Quo Bias makes us default to comfort, even when it’s no longer serving us What loss aversion and risk perception mean for customer loyalty and switching How thinking small can win big. The power of small, incremental changes Simple ways to reduce friction and build trust in moments of change   It’s the perfect time of year to discuss change and works well alongside a previous episode ‘Fresh Start Effect Incoming…’ which dissects our desire for change at certain points in time.    Whether you’re looking to inspire habitual or behaviour change over the coming months, or just keen to understand why you find it difficult to stick to resolutions. This brings together behavioural science, psychology and practical strategy, to help make more sense of the challenge of moving the status quo.   Studies & further reading: Samuelson & Zeckhauser (1988) Status quo bias in decision making  Norcross et al. (2002) New Year’s resolution success rates Kahneman & Tversky (1979) Loss aversion and Prospect Theory Wikipedia: Status Quo Bias explained   Thanks for listening. Don’t miss out on your copy of Fabricx’s Behavioural Bias Framework https://fabricx.agency/  Connect with us! Instagram: @fabricxlabs LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fabricxagency LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/si-elliott/

    13분
  5. 2025. 10. 14.

    Can AI ever feel truly authentic? Behavioural science explores the biggest creative question of our time.

    So why do we trust imperfect human stories more than flawless AI creations? In this episode, we explore the psychology behind why people prefer real, messy, and human-made work over machine-made perfection. And why that emotional connection might be the ultimate competitive advantage in the age of AI. We consider: Why authenticity beats perfection every time The science behind the Pratfall Effect, how small mistakes make us more likeable Why we trust content that shows a human fingerprint How AI’s 'uncanny perfection' triggers discomfort What studies say about our bias for human-created stories, voices, and visuals Why trust, empathy and accountability can’t be automated Taking insights from psychology, behavioural science, and academic studies to uncover how audiences perceive AI vs. human creativity. And most crucially, what this means for marketers, creators, and brands in 2025 and beyond.   Studies & further reading: Zhang & Gosline (2023) Human favoritism, not AI aversion: People’s perceptions (and bias) toward generative AI, human experts, and human–GAI collaboration in persuasive content generation  Kirk & Givi (2024) The AI-authorship effect: Understanding authenticity, moral disgust, and consumer responses to AI-generated marketing communications  Piercy et al. (2025) Credibility and organizational reputation perceptions of news releases produced by artificial intelligence Velásquez-Salamanca et al. (2025) Interpretation of AI-Generated vs. Human-Made Images Omeish et al. (2025) Between human and AI influencers: parasocial relationships, credibility, and social capital formation in a collectivist market: a study of TikTok users in the Middle East Aronson, E. (1966) The Pratfall Effect: The Effect of a Perceived Blunder on Interpersonal Attractiveness Schilke & Reimann (2025) The Transparency Dilemma: How Disclosing AI Use Impacts Trust   Thanks for listening. Don’t miss out on your copy of Fabricx’s Behavioural Bias Framework https://fabricx.agency/  Connect with us! Instagram: @fabricxlabs LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fabricxagency LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/si-elliott/

    27분

소개

Welcome to the Customer Experience Lab from Fabricx - the podcast dedicated to helping you create experiences your customers will love, with Si Elliott. Si has over 20 years in customer experience and digital marketing with his agency Diversity. He founded Fabricx (fabricx.agency) the customer experience consultancy to help educate and inspire. Si is a guest lecturer and sits on advisory boards for Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham. Each week Si will sit down with a special guest to discuss all things customer experience and behavioural science. Whether you’re a founder, working in customer experience or marketing, thinking about running your own business or have a unique business idea – there’s something for everybody. The weekly conversation will give you insights and ideas that you can easily apply to your work.