So far, I have touched on equality and independence, and now I will move the heuristic discussion on to the metric of Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI). If you want to dive deeper into the psychology of different markets, I learned the majority of these topics from The Web Psychologist, Nathalie Nahai. You can find her website here.

Despite what the media may have us believing, the USA (as a whole) actually ranks pretty high in our willingness to accept uncertainty. This makes sense because we are, after all, a nation of immigrants with a higher genetic propensity for dopamine seeking behavior (see The Molecule of More by Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long). We appreciate flexibility, innovation, the entrepreneurial spirit, and we tend to turn our nose up at rigidity in institutions, laws, or structures. In practical terms this means we like websites and platforms where we can explore (think Reddit and search bars). We also like to interact with information how we please, instead of being forced to approach a brand in one way. Give your audience at least a couple of options, such as blogs, YouTube, podcasts, social media, or websites.

As a small business, you don’t have to do everything, but the American market appreciates the ability to dive deeper when their interest is peaked, so make sure at least one of your offerings gives them the ability to do that in some way. It can be relational (getting to know you or your business more intimately) or more complex insights into ideas (educational blogs or videos for example) or both!