6 Ways You Can Leverage Consumer Psychology to Drive More Sales
You may be surprised how easy it can be.
By Roberto Liccardo •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The modern-day consumer differs a lot from those of even 20 years ago. We're used to online marketing now, and we consider the internet a part of everyday life. However, we are still driven by the same desires, needs and wants. We are still influenced by factors that help us make up our minds. Psychology plays a large part in marketing, even though we may not notice it.
Below, we look at six ways in which you can use psychology to drive sales, and you may be surprised how easy it can be.
Novelty aspect
People enjoy the unusual. If you have a niche product, you can appeal to the love of novelty that's within each of us. This is a particularly useful method when selling fashion items or marketing a product that has a specific appeal. One method of enhancing novelty and drawing in customers is to market a "limited edition." This combines novelty with exclusivity, another lever that drives customers, giving the customer something they see as special and personal.
Related: Don't Just Disrupt How Consumers Think: Walk Your Talk
The pleasure principle
Pleasure is a natural desire in each of us, and when we feel good about a potential purchase, we are more likely to buy. A customer wants to walk away happy with their new item or the service you've provided, so look for ways to assure them that buying from you will enhance their pleasure. Tell them how this will happen and why and emphasize the feeling that they will get from closing the deal.
Human touch
Tell the reader a story, a human story that relates to the product or service on offer. Tell them how it enhanced someone's life, how it made them happy, and make it clear that someone, somewhere has gained a lot by availing themselves of your services. When we see someone else satisfied and successful, we relate and aspire to that. Push the positives and make them feel real.
Inspire curiosity
A neat and successful way of keeping your potential customers interested is to hold something back. Don't tell them everything up front, but rather, create a tale that leads somewhere. As Five Channels reports, consumer psychology is about playing with "subconscious needs and habits to influence purchasing decisions," and that has a lot to do with inspiring curiosity. From your home or landing page, ensure there's something that makes the reader want to click further, and when they do you can give them that extra information they need to clinch the deal. This is a great way of providing consumer engagemen, and it also works with the next point.
The big build-up
Think about big consumer brands and how they handle a product launch. You'll hear about the new product a long time before you see it. They build the anticipation by enhancing how important this product is going to be, what an improvement it is over existing or competing models, and why the consumer needs it. Tell your audience that there is something big about to happen, give them the feeling that what you're offering will make a big difference to their lives. This is how the big corporations whip up a frenzy: Witness the queues waiting for a new-release Apple product, for example, eager to get their hands on it first. You can do this with your marketing and see how word of mouth works even in the digital age.
Social proof
In the days before the internet, a new shop, service or product would gain momentum not just by traditional advertising, but by satisfied customers passing on their pleasure at this newfound wonder to others. Plus, then as now, any endorsement by popular celebrities or personalities is a bonus. It's even more powerful now that we have online marketing as consumers look for social proof, i.e. proof that the product they are considering has standing in the social media world. This is what has given rise to the new breed of influencers, but you can do it yourself with careful planning and sensible online marketing.
Related: How Convenience Is Marking a New Wave in the Service Industry
The above are just six ways in which you can use customers' natural desire to be satisfied and pleased by the products and services they purchase, so have a close look at your marketing material and online content right now and see just how you can use these traits to boost your business.
