How can organisations get more people to apply to their programs? We break down a case study of how to entice students to apply for an education achievement award. We use a customer journey map, and a behavioural journey map, to show the issues and opportunities in the application process. We show how to design an effective message to attract applicants, as well as how to improve the application form and customer experience.

Summary

• I worked with an education organisation to increase applications to their awards program
• The organisation sends students a SMS encouraging them to apply for the award. This includes a link to the application form
• I undertook research, including a customer journey map, and a behavioural journey map, to break down each step of the application process. This identified barriers and opportunities that impact the students’ decision to apply
• The application process had many barriers that may demotivate students from applying. This includes making it too hard to act on the spot, the length of the SMS, lack of clarity on what’s required, poor incentives, complex eligibility, and a cumbersome form that’s tough to read on a mobile phone
• Behavioural science can improve each step of the application process. Personalising a short and easy-to-read SMS, and demonstrating the benefits of applying for the award, will incentivise people to consider the application
• Simplifying the form and optimising it for mobile phones will increase people’s motivation to fill in the application
• Making the application quick and easy with an online template will increase application completions
• Social science helps improve applications by identifying solutions that businesses might test. In this case, messages that appeal to receiving recognition, helping others, and increased self-confidence.
• Social science also provides scientific ways to measure the effectiveness of current processes and providing advice on how to improve outcomes for customers.

Applications are too complicated

An organisation, whom we’ll call Education Network, runs an annual awards program recognising the achievements of students around the state. Individual students as well as organisations can be nominated for awards. One student winner will be chosen in half-dozen categories. Education Network seeks to increase the number of individual applications. Students must be nominated by a teacher, an employer, or an industry body.

Most organisations do not realise the hidden costs of getting people to consider a new decision, such as the time, effort, and unnecessary steps that put people off from completing a task (friction costs). Forms and applications have many seemingly insignificant sub-steps that organisations overlook, forgetting that customers are not immediately motivated to take up a new service, even if it would improve their lives.

Co-design

I worked with Education Network to consider what their students value and the benefits of applying for the award. I then identified the barriers and opportunites to encourage completion of the application.

I co-designed a few message options for the SMS, working with education support staff and managers. I used social science theory and evidence on what wording is more likely to encourage the desired behaviour (in this case, submitting the award application)

My advice focused solely on crafting the SMS and designing the test of the messages (but I did not work on the analysis of this campaign).

Analysis

I did a quick literature scan, to see how other similar awards were promoted across the sector. I also reviewed behavioural studies that focused on motivating people to complete forms.

I reviewed existing student feedback and other communications materials from Education Network, to see what students value.

To identify behavioural barriers and opportunites, I undertook an analysis of the application process using a customer journey map. This involves breaking down each stage of the application, to demonstrate each step that is required. I additionally drilled down into the process using a behavioural journey map. This allows us to examine the behavioural barriers and opportunites to completing the desired outcome. In this case, completing award applications.

Customer journey map

A customer journey map visualises the how customers experience their interactions with services, programs, and products. This includes what they need, how they find the service, what they do to get what they want, what they think from start to finish, the issues they encounter, opportunities for improvement, and how they feel along the way.

In brief, there are five stages: awareness, consideration, decision, retention, and advocacy.

(Click here for a summary of the stages)

1. Awareness: Learning about a service or product
2. Consideration: Comparing options or competitors
3. Decision: Making a choice or purchase
4. Retention: Whether or not the customer leaves with a positive impression and likelihood to return
5. Advocacy: The customer promotes the service

The broader methodology involves drawing a case study of each type of user, their goal, each stage of the journey, every action (behaviour) they need to take, the influences on their decision-making (explicitly focusing on thoughts and emotions), pain points (friction costs that may prevent or deter them from moving forward), and the opportunities to improve the experience.

I mapped every step of the application as it stands currently:

• Stage 1 – Awareness: Receiving the message
• Stage 2 – Consideration:
  • 2.1 Clicking on the link for more information about the award
  • 2.2 Finding the link to the application on the opened webpage
• Stage 3 – Decision: Completing and submitting the application
• Stage 4 – Retention: Reacting to outcome of application after a long wait. Respond to follow-up contact (e.g. invitation to complete customer experience survey, information about the organisation, promotion about other support and future awards)
• Stage 5 – Advocacy: Promoting education program to friends and other students.

The diagram below sketches the considerations across each stage of the customer journey.

Currently many students don’t proceed to Stage 3 (Decision). They don’t submit the application because there are too many unnecessary steps, and too many behavioural barriers.

Behavioural journey map

A behavioural journey map additionally examines the socio-cultural dynamics that shape decisions. For example, teasing out the psychological forces and social context that help or hinder behavioural change. A behavioural journey map therefore differs from a customer journey map in two key ways: its ‘granularity‘ (detailing the chain of actions behind each behaviour), and ‘diagnosis‘ (the barriers and opportunites for change).

At every step of the education award application (or any other service interaction), there are several sub-steps. Each action requires understanding of what’s being asked, making a decision about whether or not to follow the instruction, and carrying out the behaviour. Organisations underestimate the amount of effort involved, especially when we are asking people to consider something new, even when it may be beneficial.

Each additional sub-step is a potential behavioural barrier that may prevent students from considering the application.

See Diagram 2 below to see how behavioural journey mapping uncovers multiple sub-steps and barriers at each stage of the customer journey, and why students get stuck at Stage 3 – Decision.

Below, I discuss nine broad behavioural barriers that the behavioural map demonstrates.

Behavioural barriers

1. Time

Time is the greatest barrier to action. SMS have a higher open rate than email, but people are increasingly distrustful of messages from unknown numbers as well as malicious links. We take only seconds to make snap judgements about whether to dismiss or act on information (heuristics). Students deal with multiple organisations, and may not remember Education Network. They may be suspicious of the award.

People must receive a personalised message from a source they trust at an optimum time, when they are able to read and complete the instructions on the spot (timeliness).

2. Information

Overly long messages are often deleted without being read. People are overwhelmed with messages at work and in their personal lives (information overload). Every day, we field hundreds of emails, phone calls, and messages on our phones and other devices. A message asking people to do something different from an external organisation is competing for attention in a crowded life.

Messages that spell out the desired behaviour, such as what you need to do to apply, why, when, and how, are more likely to be acted upon (call to action).

3. Rewards

People value immediate rewards, even if the pay-off might be greater in future (present bias). The prize is initially unclear. Students must read multiple webpages and PDF documents to decipher that there is no monetary prize. The award is a certificate recognition at a future awards event, and on subsequent social media posts, and the winners listing on the website. There are no other direct career or educational benefits. There’s no benefit to applying as soon as possible. The process potentially exposes students for rejection, either by not meeting the requirements, or from the person they approach to nominate them.

To make the prospect of applying more attractive, the message might therefore appeal to external rewards and benefits (extrinsic motivation), such as tangible examples of career impact of the award from past winners, or to the student’s personal goals and interests (intrinsic motivations).

4. Effort

We underestimate the time, costs, and risks involved in completing tasks, despite past experiences (planning fallacy). The application is protracted and time-consuming. On the one hand, Education Network have been running this program for so long, they may not see the high effort involved in the navigating their many documents and requirements. On the other hand, students may initially be interested in the award, but give up once they start reading the documentation. Complex rules on eligibility as well as a complicated application process stops people from signing up for services and programs that might otherwise benefit them. At every step of the application process, students must work out if they qualify for the award. This makes the customer experience confusing and onerous.

Simplifying the eligibility, or taking the guess work out of the process, might increase applications. Education Network can use their administration records to send personal invitations to students who meet eligibility and encouraging them to consider applying for the award (personalisation). For example, ‘You’ve been pre-selected,’ or ‘You qualify to apply.’

5. Ambiguity

Mental energy is limited (cognitive load). When individuals are busy or under strain, we constantly make mental trade-offs on present needs versus future opportunities. Students already balance studies and work on a hectic schedule. It is not immediately clear that the application is a multi-stage process, involving two rounds of interviews if the written application if successful. This is unpaid labour for the student, and potentially time away from paid work. There is a long waiting period from submission to outcome. Making an investment today, for a vague pay-off in future, is hard to envision, and therefore unappealing (ambiguity bias).

Removing uncertainty makes it easier to act, such as by listing the requirements in a checklist and providing a timeframe as a visual diagram with key dates (simplification).

6. Attention

Our attention is stretched, and so we focus on information that stands out (salience bias). When people carry out tasks on a smartphone, they are more likely to have distractions and be multitasking. Research shows that people will fill out surveys and forms conscientiously on their phones, so long as the questions are easy and the layout is formatted for small touchscreens. The Education Network award webpage is dense with information, such as the background to the award, multiple award categories, and multiple links to other webpages, including another link to the application form. The application link then loads a PDF. The PDF asks nominations to be submitted in a separate document, along with five attachments and supporting evidence.

Removing unnecessary administrative burden, by reducing the questions and requirements, will make the process more accessible to a broader range of students (simplification).

7. Hassle

Small inconveniences that take extra time and make transactions frustrating can put people off from completing a task (hassle factor). Many people are put-off from opening PDFs. They often take longer to load than html webpages. They are cumbersome to navigate on a phone. Additionally, PDFs cannot be easily completed on mobile. Employers who spend their days on a worksite may spend little time in front of a computer. They will need to remember to send themselves the SMS link to their computer. They will need to allocate time to return to the PDF later, start a new document, and follow the instructions. This creates multiple hurdles where the applicant may drop off. Organisations often presume that people will be motivated to chase information later. That’s not the case. People lose links. People get annoyed by having to click multiple times to complete an action. Employers prefer to avoid unnecessary documentation.

Creating a single-point, seamless webpage will make things easier, including minimal information, and an online form with fewer questions (simplification).

8. Costs

Friction costs include the financial and non-financial costs of taking action. Time is money, and small operators have little time to spare. Compiling the written nomination (nearly 2,000 words) and gathering the required attachments is a heavy work investment. This may demotivate busy employers who are on-the-go, or small businesses that have no human resources or assistants to help. There is no compensation or direct recognition for the nominee.

Rather than putting the onus on students to convince employers to nominate them, Education Network might send personalised invites to employers directly. This might include a testimonial from a fellow employer who reflects on the benefits of the award to their student and business (messenger effect).

9. Negativity

Negative experiences and memories have a bigger impact on our decisions than positive events (negativity bias). Students and their employers invest a lot of time and energy into the award application, but the odds of winning one of six student awards across the state is low. Students may be additionally disappointed to receive no feedback if their application is unsuccessful. They may potentially feel embarrassed or guilty for having convinced their employer to participate, and then not win anything. They will need to dig around the Frequently Asked Questions webpage to learn they only receive feedback if they email an unfamiliar address (this is an additional friction cost). Education Network will contact the students after the awards, seeking customer feedback, and hoping the student might consider reapplying in future, or that they might encourage their friends and colleagues to apply for the education award next year. By this stage, the student may feel demotivated.

We are more likely to do favours for people who have helped us in the past (reciprocity). Send personalised feedback to all applicants at the time they are notified of the outcome of their application, even if they do not progress to interviews. Make it easy for students to promote next year’s prize by offering vouchers or some enticement (incentivisation).

A behavioural lens sheds light on customer barriers

Overall, the education award application may lead to a negative customer experience. Unsatisfied students may come to associate this long, arduous process with the Education Network as an entity (or ‘brand’), and switch off from future interactions. They may not seek out valuable resources, support, and services that Education Network offers.

Table 1: Summary of barriers and solutions identified by the behavioural journey map

Behavioural barrier	Behavioural bias	Behavioural solution	Behavioural intervention
Timing: The application SMS is sent to the student at ad hoc times. The student may not recognise the sender, or understand the relevance of the award	Heuristics	Send messages from a trusted source, at an optimal time when the student is most likely to complete the application	Timeliness
Information: The SMS is long and the requirements are initially unclear	Information overload	Show what they need to do, why, when, and how	Call to action
Rewards: The value of the prize is unclear. It is not a cash prize. There is no immediate payoff for applying right away. The potential for rejection following a protracted process is unappealing	Present bias	Show clear career benefits, or link to personal goals and interests	Extrinsic and intrinsic motivations
Effort: The organisation underestimates the process. The eligibility requirements and application are confusing and onerous	Planning fallacy	Use administration records to send personal invitations to eligible students	Personalisation
Ambiguity: Overburdened students must take unpaid time to apply. They face a long wait for an unknown future outcome	Cognitive load and ambiguity bias	Remove uncertainty by clearly showing what’s involved at each stage. Present the requirements in a checklist and the timeframe in a visual diagram	Simplification
Attention: The application information and form are scattered on multiple webpages and PDFs. The experience is visually draining and cumbersome to navigate on mobile phone	Salience bias	Reduce the information and application questions. Optimise the application form for mobile	Simplification
Hassle: The application form must be submitted by the student’s employer, or another authorised nominator. The form is in a clunky PDF, and requires a lot of back and forth for busy employers to fulfil requirements	Hassle factor and administrative burden	Integrate PDFs and submission process into a seamless webpage	Simplification
Costs: The application has high hidden costs to the employer, with no compensation. They must take time away from their business to write a 2,000-word submission, locate supporting documents, and submit the application	Friction costs	Send the revised, simplified application directly to the employer. Include a testimonial from a fellow employer on the award’s benefits to the student and the employer’s business	Messenger effect
Negativity: Students don’t receive feedback on their application. They’ll be asked for customer feedback, to consider reapplying in future, and to promote the awards	Negativity bias	Send personalised feedback at the time of notifying students about the outcome of their application. Entice them to promote the awards with a voucher or some other enticement	Incentivisation

Putting a behavioural lens on this seemingly routine customer interaction highlights the unintended consequences and hidden costs of forms and program administration. But it also unearths opportunities for improving the customer experience.

Solution

The following behavioural techniques can address these issues to improve the application process at each step of the customer experience (Diagram 2): receive the SMS, clicking on the link in the SMS, find the link to the application, and completing and submitting the application.

Receive SMS

As Diagram 2 shows, once students receive the SMS, there are several sub-steps they need to take in order to consider applying for the award. This starts with recognising the phone number, then deciding whether or not to read the message on the spot, understanding the meaning of the message, and then understanding the call to action (click on the application link to apply).

Personalising the message will improve this step (personalisation).

• Add personal details to the SMS to increase legitimacy, such as the student’s name and their qualification.
• Sign off from a trusted messenger, such as their local Education Network manager.
• Use a SMS service that shows the organisation’s name as the SMS sender, rather than a random mobile number.
• Use a link shortening service, to track the number of clicks to your webpage. You can custom the URL name, to make the link more meaningful. This will also reduce the number of characters in the SMS. E.g. https://socialscience.short.gy/edu

Keep it short and simple (simplification). The message needs a behavioural prompt that will convince people to take action. In this case, to take interest in the award and click on the link to apply.

• Use Plain English. Avoid acronyms, jargon, and big words. Microsoft Word and other programs can check the readability of your message using the Flesch-Kincaid score. Aim for a Flesch Reading Ease of 60 or above (easily understood by people aged 13 to 15 years), and a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level of eight or below (able to be understood by someone with a Grade 8 level of education)
• Keep it under 500 characters, including spaces. The shorter the message, the more likely that it will be read. To comply with the Spam Act, all message campaigns must provide a way for recipients to opt-out of future messages.

Make the desired action attractive

• Spell out the benefits of applying. Education Network has the opportunity to test a couple of messages, to see which leads to more clicks to the application. I drew on case studies and testimonials of past award winners. Below are three behavioural prompts with examples of the corresponding SMS messages.*
• Ego-centric: People are motivated by getting recognition of their workplace accomplishments, especially when employees are shown how their skills are valued.
  • ‘Hi Jane. I’m John from Education Network. Your traineeship in aquaculture qualifies you to apply for the Education Network Awards. Create new employment opportunities and grow your business network by applying today: https://socialscience.short.gy/edu Stop to opt out’
• Pro-social: Helping others can be highly satisfying for individual self-esteem.
  • ‘Hi Jane. I’m John from Education Network. Your traineeship in aquaculture qualifies you to apply for the Education Network Awards. Meet like-minded people who share your passion and inspire others along the way by applying today: https://socialscience.short.gy/edu Reply Stop to opt out‘
• Self-efficacy: Studies show that award winners value the increased confidence they receive as a result of winning.
  • ‘Hi Jane. I’m John from Education Network. Your traineeship in aquaculture qualifies you to apply for the Education Network Awards. Grow your confidence, learn new skills, and be recognised for your achievements by applying today: https://socialscience.short.gy/edu Reply Stop to opt out‘

Clicking on the link in the SMS

The sender must make a decision to click on the link in the SMS, which then takes them to a webpage.

Optimise for mobile: People are receiving the SMS on their phones, so the webpage they’re taken to needs to be easily read on a small screen. Research shows that people are more likely to complete forms and surveys when they are optimised for mobile.

Simplify the webpage: The original Education Network webpage includes excessive information about every award. The page also has multiple links you can click, which diverts attention from the application. I provided advice on how to keep the text and webpage easy to read. The information should reinforce each of the messages being tested. There should be no other links on the webpage.

Find the link to the application

Simplify the application process: Include the application as a simple online form on the same webpage as above, to minimise the number of clicks, and so that people can easily preview and submit the requirements in a standardised way.

Maintain motivation: The application is daunting. Students must decide whether they meet eligibility, whether they are good enough, and whether they want to submit themselves to scrutiny from people close to them (nominator) and strangers (the award judges). Ensure the application and webpage is positive and encouraging, such as what students get out of applying, even if they don’t win (gain framing). For example: are all shortlisted students flown to the awards night? Are they provided support at each step of the application?

Completing and submitting the application

Keep it quick: Research shows that people are more likely to complete forms and surveys when they are short and easy. Tell people what they have to do and set an expectation of how long it will take. Otherwise, they may overestimate, or underestimate their efforts, either of which may demotivate them from completing the application. For example, your application instructions might say: ‘This application will take you 30 minutes to complete.’

Provide a simple online template: Reduce the number of requirements for the application to ensure a diversity of applicants. For example, include the application as an online form on the same page as the award application, and reduce the number of attachments required.

Test

I provided advice on how to test the SMS. This includes:

1. Tracking outcomes: using a link shortening service that shortens website address URLs, and measures how many people click on the link. This retains customer anonymity (we don’t know who specifically clicked on the link, we simply get an aggregate number of all people who clicked on the link). You can customise the web address, so it is brief and informative. This also saves characters in the SMS. Shorter messages less expensive to send en masse, as every character, space, and symbol adds to the total cost.
   • E.g. https://socialscience.short.gy/edu (34 characters) versus https://socialscienceinsights.com/2025/07/08/increasing-program-applications (76 characters)
2. Managing the campaign: SMS messaging platforms allow businesses to send the same SMS to tens of thousands of customers, personalising individual messages with names, location, and other information, and to track responses in real time. This includes messaging back to individuals, and monitoring opt-outs. If many people opt out after receiving the message, this is useful information about the relevance of the content or service you are promoting. The platform also allows you to create groups, so you can test variations of the same message, to see which wording is more successful.

How social science helps

Social science theory: I used social science to deliver a quick literature scan that identified solutions from previous studies. This includes behavioural biases and opportunities that impact program applications.

Social science method: I used social science to measure potential issues in award applications (the customer journey map). I drilled into the customer’s perspective to illustrate how each step in the application has many hidden costs, deterrents, and potential for improvement (behavioural journey map). I provided evidence-based advice on how to improve SMS messages, as well as the application process. I also provided advice on how to test multiple messages and increase clicks on links and application completions.

Notes

*These messages have been updated for illustrative purposes.