My kids were always making promises when they were young. Some they kept, some they didn’t. But they never broke a promise sealed with a pinkie swear.

That’s partly because they wouldn’t pinkie swear unless the promise was one they were pretty much positive they would keep. But the ritual of the pinkie swear also clearly pulled a lot of weight.

And that’s the thing about rituals. They have a deceptive power. Marketers tend not to focus on them, and that’s a shame—they’re missing a big opportunity. As a qualitative researcher, I’ve always made a point of looking out for rituals, because they’re often a clue to things of hidden importance.

As a case in point, a few years ago I was conducting research among men being treated for a medical condition with a multi-drug therapy. During the interviews it came out that quite a few of the patients said a prayer when they took one of the three drugs. After a lot of probing as well as supplemental interviews with the doctors who treated them, we learned that the patients were aware that this drug was the least effective of the three. And, of the three drugs, this one had the highest rate of compliance. Patients almost always took it. Had we not noticed the ritual around that one pill, we wouldn’t have discovered some pivotal facts about the patient experience.

So, whether you’re developing marketing strategies or conducting qualitative research, it’s crucial to be aware of rituals. They’re precious gifts from research participants that should be honored and studied closely.

There are four key things to know about rituals.

Rituals are more than mere habits. Habits exist for their own sake – I always lock the door when I leave my house because I want the door locked. Rituals are behaviors that have a higher purpose; my wife and I always share a gin and tonic on the first day of spring because we want to celebrate that winter has ended and we got through it together. So, a ritual elevates a behavior from something commonplace to something profound, even sacred.

Rituals are signals. They are clues that something important is happening. Sometimes a ritual is a sign that something seemingly insignificant is actually profound. Or, sometimes, it’s a way people transform something ordinary into something special. Whether they signal significance or create it, rituals tell us that something’s going on, and that we need to pay attention. They can also be indicators of what people believe and value—there’s no point in adding ceremony to something you don’t care about.

Rituals mark transitions.  When a ritual occurs, something essential has shifted, such as:

Physical location

Time period

Social or economic circumstances

Type of occasion

State of mind

Life stage

So, in marking change, rituals create structure and provide transitions with importance. Furthermore, because transitions can be scary, sometimes the role of a ritual can be to provide comfort.

Rituals create a sense of community. They are often shared experiences that bind us together. And they can provide valuable information regarding relationships among individuals—people who share rituals may be more than just casual acquaintances.

So, if marketers and researchers want to uncover what’s actually important, they must look for rituals. Here are some ways to discover and explore rituals:

Train yourself to watch and listen for them. Use the discussion guide to remind you to be on the lookout. This is particularly important when working out in the world, whether you’re in a store, a home, on a street corner, wherever. In fact, one of the most important reasons to conduct research in such places is that you can see rituals right before your eyes.

Don’t be shy about openly asking about rituals.

“What are some rituals you follow on this sort of occasion?”

“Do you have any habitual behaviors associated with this situation?”

“Are there certain practices you always follow with respect to this?”

Look for practices, objects or locations that seem to serve no obvious practical purpose. If, when asked about them, participants have difficulty articulating their reason for being, that’s a pretty good clue you may have uncovered a ritual. Remember—rituals are often private things that carry emotional weight, so probe with sensitivity. It is essential to treat rituals we discover with respect and show our appreciation to those sharing them.

Create process maps. An exhaustive diagram of an occasion that clearly details all its component behaviors enables us to distinguish the elements that have a practical function from those that serve as rituals.

I’ll leave you with one final thought. So many cherished rituals have been taken from us this past year—graduations and proms, religious observances, funerals and weddings, cultural events. This has created a sense of dislocation. We feel untethered without these rituals to provide structure and mark time and space. And so, we’ve been creating rituals, such as 5 o’clock cocktails and zoom yoga. I know people who, for the first time in their lives, have started saying grace at meals. In the absence of old rituals, we’ve created new ones. Human beings are unable to function without rituals in their lives. And that’s why marketers need to seek them out.

My thanks to my friend and colleague Alicia Menanteau, PhD for her input on this post.