Companies using psychological tactics in marketing is nothing new. The core of successful marketing is understanding how and why people think and act the way they do.
In order to win over an audience and boost sales, you need to be able to anticipate how people will act.
However, human behaviour isn’t always as rational or consistent as we may think it is. People can be weird. Everyone having their own quirks can make it difficult to understand how to influence your consumer and create compelling content.
But not to worry, psychology is on your side!
So, to help you attract, connect, and convert more people with your marketing, let’s take a look at some psychologically-proven marketing tips and trick you can try to improve your marketing strategy!
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Psychological Marketing Tricks You Need to Try!
- The Framing Effect
The framing effect is the principle that our choices are influenced by the way they are framed through different wordings, settings, and situations.
People arrive at your site with a set of predefined notions. If you can influence what those notions are, you will have a better chance of converting on your site.
There’s a reason you see “4 out of 5 dentists recommend” vs “1 out of 5 dentists don’t recommend”.
The framing effect is very powerful as it has a direct impact on how a consumer perceives that item. The hard part is deciding what frame to use with your customers. If the person is already aware of your product, try opening with why yours can help them best.
- Fear of Missing Out
As humans we don’t want to be absent from the rewarding experiences we see others having. It builds into subconscious anxiety that urges us to join in.
We find value in the opinions of others. When our peers validate a product’s worth, we trust their insights, believing they wouldn’t recommend something unless it was actually worth it.
Nielsen conducted a study that found 83% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family above any other mention of a product. So, a great way of capitalising on that statistic is by introducing testimonials and reviews to your site, as well as social sharing buttons.
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- Loss Aversion
Loss aversion is the observation that human beings are more driven by avoiding losses than attaining gains. Humans are hard-wired to avoid losses. People don’t want to lose what they already have. They’d rather hang on to something rather than gaining something new.
You’re familiar with loss aversion marketing tactics whether you realise it or not – they’re everywhere.
- “Only 2 left in stock! Order now!”
- “Available while supplies last.”
- “Flash Sale! Today Only!”
- “Don’t miss out on this awesome deal!”
These hard-sell pressure tactics create what marketers call “urgency”.
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- Decoy Effect
The decoy effect describes how, when we are choosing between two alternatives, the addition of a third, less attractive option (the decoy) can influence our perception of the original two choices.
Decoys are completely inferior to one option (the target) and only partially inferior to the other (the competitor). This is a type of cognitive bias in which an unattractive or more expensive option is added to make an alternative option look more attractive.
Decoy Effect Example
To begin with, a cinema offered the first group of consumers a small bucket of popcorn for £3 or a large one for £7.
The result revealed that most of the consumer chose to buy the small bucket, due to their personal needs at that time.
As for the second group, the cinema decided to offer three options, a small for £3, a medium (the decoy) for £6.50 and a large one for £7.
This time, most of the customers chose the large because they saw value in more popcorn for only 50p extra.
- Scarcity
Scarcity marketing is a technique marketing teams use to encourage customers to make a purchase before a product or discount goes away.
People always want what they can’t have because they think the grass is greener on the other side.
Types of scarcity marketing include:
- The few items left tactic
- The limited introductory price tactic
- The limited bonuses tactic
- The order before…today tactic
- The limited products tactic.
Scarcity makes things appear more valuable. This causes consumers to act sooner and even purchase more than they originally intended. As a marketer, you can use limited time offerings to create a sense of urgency in your consumer’s mind, because context can make so much of a difference.
- Verbatim Effect
The verbatim effect explains why people are more likely to remember the gist of your pitch than the exact words.
This effect is why it’s essential to structure your content in a manner that promotes the reader’s ability to recall.
This means keeping your section headers clear and, depending on the type of content, including benefits with each. If your header can serve as a general summary, it’ll make the material stick that much better.
Since many readers will skim an article to decide if it’s worth reading, effective headings will show the value you’re providing.
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- The Frequency Illusion
This marketing idea is also known as the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon.
It is a cognitive bias by which people tend to see a particular thing everywhere after noticing it for the first time.
For example, when you’re considering buying some red trainers and then you start to notice them everywhere.
For that same reason people think Siri and Alexa are listening to their conversations. Don’t worry they’re not!
The underlying cause of the frequency illusion is selective attention and confirmation bias. We humans tend to grossly underestimate the probability of coinciding events.
- Mere Exposure Theory
The mere exposure theory is a psychological phenomenon by which people tend to develop a preference for things merely because they are familiar with them.
The reason for this is that the brain can process the stimulus more easily when confronted again, this builds trust and the memory involved will generally be a positive one.
One of the main purposes of advertising is to get potential customers aware of your brand, product, or service, and more importantly, to like it.
- The Halo Effect
The halo effect is essentially brand affinity. If your customers like you and trust you, they’re more likely to come back to you with their other needs. There’s a reason why it’s easier to make sales from returning customers than it is to find new ones.
This cognitive bias is called the halo effect and is exactly why brands like Apple have devoted followers who are always ready to try a new product they have released.
While this kind of brand affinity is great, it does come with the higher risk of negative consequences if a customer has a bad experience. Their reaction will be more extreme than towards a company they haven’t built a relationship with.
- Picture Yourself
Using words like imagine or picture yourself at the start of your copy is impactful, especially for email marketing and Facebook ads. This works especially well for clothing brands because it triggers the imagination of the viewer.
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Using the Human Psyche to Your Advantage
Humans are generally wired in the same way – you can use this to give you a specific advantage in your marketing. These psychological factors can add an edge to your strategy and help you stand apart from the competition.
For more advice and ways to help improve your marketing strategy, contact us here at Floodmaker today.