Exploring the workings of the human mind is exciting in itself, but it is primarily intended to support other fields.
Knowledge of conduct rules and biases is a valuable tool that can be used to increase the effectiveness of marketing efforts.
Although search engine optimization (SEO), as the name suggests, focuses on unlocking the secrets of search engines, it ultimately boils down to two elements:
- customer understanding,
- To provide them with the best possible service.
After all, search engines are designed by the people and for the people.
Key findings:
- The purchasing decision-making process can be divided into two phases: communication and understanding.
- Social proof of rightness, the effect of authority, color psychology and loss aversion are important components of the purchasing decision-making process.
- The illusion of work, anchor error and sunk cost effect can be used to increase conversions.
- The paradox of choice can affect a user's ability to decide what to consider when creating an offer.
Under the hood of every machine built to make our work easier is a beating human heart.
By studying the audience through the lens of psychology, it is possible to determine their hidden motivations, preferences and tendencies.
This allows you to leverage natural patterns of human behavior to achieve your goals - improving customer satisfaction, increasing conversion rates and more.
Let's take a closer look at the mechanisms that influence how people make decisions and interact with the outside world.
Two elements of the buying decision process
Before going further, we should discuss one key point.
Conversion psychology is a complex field. Similarly, the decision-making process is not the simplest thing to describe.
For this reason, we will focus only on a few psychological factors that affect the buyer's decision.
Similarly, we will simplify the purchase decision process to make it easier to visualize.
However, this process can be divided into two unique phases, which can be categorized as follows:
Communication:
- Social proof
- The effect of authority
- The psychology of color
- The illusion of work
- Loss aversion.
Understanding:
- Analysis paralysis
- Confirmation effect
- Visual domination
- Cognitive fluency
- Gradual disclosure
- Unavailability
First, a potential buyer must find your products and services in the sea of available options. This requires effective communication. Otherwise, your message will get lost in the noise and you will have difficulty growing your customer base.
Next, the potential buyer needs to understand what you have to offer and be able to buy it without hindrance. Your goal should be to make the whole process easy by avoiding psychological factors that could discourage people from placing an order.
Here is a brief explanation of the various trends and biases that can affect these elements of the buying process.
Communications
The Coca-Cola Company, one of the the world's best-known beverage company, was also one of the first to understand the advantages of studying customer behavior.
In 1911, its representatives approached Harry Levi Hollingworth. Facing a lawsuit from the federal government, they asked the researcher to study the psychological effects of caffeine on people.
The agreement was reached, and Hollingworth conducted a psychological study, which began a new era in marketing. Since then, corporations have become very interested in applied psychology.
One area they were particularly interested in was how they could effectively convince more people to use their services and buy their products.
Now you can explore these same biases and prejudices to more effectively communicate your brand message and increase your company's visibility.
Social proof
Social proof is an ideal explanation of Aristotle's famous statementthat "man is by nature a social animal." Simply put, it describes our tendency to follow the opinions of others.
It may sound harsh, but we are programmed to agree with other people. Some researchers have even put forward the theory that we experience social exclusion as painful because it it affects our physical pain system.
How does this trend work in practice? A series of clinical studies conducted by Solomon Asch in the 1950s shed more light on this question.
If you had to choose a line that is the closest equivalent to the target line, which one would you choose?
As it turns out, your decision can be influenced by the opinion of those who have responded before you.
Over the course of Asch's 12 critical trials, an average of one in three participants conformed to the majority view - even if it was obviously wrong.
Moreover, about 75% of all participants complied at least once.
In the control group, only about 1% of participants gave an incorrect answer.
A similar situation occurred when researchers tested what type of message would convince more people to reduce energy consumption by switching from air conditioning to regular fans.
Different groups of people were presented with one of the following messages:
- You can save $54 a month on your utility bill.
- You can prevent the release of 262 pounds of greenhouse gases per month.
- Changing behavior is a socially responsible move.
- 77% of your neighbors already use fans instead of air conditioning.
As might be expected, option number four proved the most effective, convincing those in this group to reduce their energy consumption by 10% compared to the control group.
No other option recorded a score more than 3% lower than the control group.
These examples show the insurmountable pressure to fit in.
People are willing to do a lot to be accepted by society, even if it means going against common sense and their own beliefs.
All right, but how to use this trend in marketing?
It's simple: just present customers with information that shows the popularity of the product or service.
For example, if you sell handmade dolls in different colors, you can put the most popular option in the middle of the screen with a short note "most popular choice."
This will encourage customers to follow in the footsteps of those who have already bought a doll.
When you consider your products and services as fashionable, you simultaneously communicate to your customers that they are a valuable resource.
From then on, the task of encouraging customers to buy more things and do so more often will become simpler.
The effect of authority
The punk movement formed in the 1970s was based on expressing dissatisfaction with the world and opposing the authorities. At the time, the authorities were the biggest enemy of the youth.
As it turns out, however, people have a natural tendency to obey authority figures.
Perhaps the best-known example of this bias is the Milgram's experiment.
In the 1960s, Stanley Milgram created a study in which he asked participants to electrocute others.
They were to play the role of "teachers," glaring at the "student" if he gave the wrong answer.
The researcher supervised the entire process and instructed participants if a student's answer was incorrect and said when to deliver the punishment.
Of course, the whole study was set up to see how far people would go if they received orders from someone in a position of power.
The results? 65% of participants in the study performed the maximum shocks.
Even if a student complained of heartache or hit the walls and demanded to be let go, teachers continued to follow instructions.
Many teachers became upset or angry with the experimenter. Nevertheless, they never defied authority.
We do not encourage you to electrocute your customers! Instead, you can use your authority to communicate that you are an expert, a highly regarded professional or a world leader in your industry.
Adding a banner with a few logos of well-known brands you work with can be a real breakthrough. Testimonials and direct recommendations work even better, presenting you as a reliable business partner.
When people see that you have a good relationship with respected companies, they will begin to see you as an authority. And since this is one of the elements of E-E-A-T, it will improve your online presence.
Anchoring error (focus effect)
You are probably familiar with the saying that "the first impression is the last impression." While this is an over-expression, there is some truth to it.
Anchoring error is a cognitive error that describes users' reliance on the first information they receive. This is what perpetuates in our minds the importance of the first impression.
Many companies are already using this bias to shape customer behavior and sell more products. They first present an incredibly high "price-anchor," and then offer the product or service at a fraction of the first price.
Steve Jobs mastered this technique to perfection, convincing millions of people that the thousands of dollars they pay for their Apple products are in fact a bargain. The company to this day uses anchoring effect to steer price expectations.
Starting high and cutting costs can be a great way to communicate to customers that they are better off doing business with you than with your competitors.
Color psychology
Colors play a significant role in our lives. Popular phrases such as rose-colored glasses and gray Smith show the connection between them and human emotions and perceptions.
This is what color psychology deals with. With more and more research on the subject, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that colors influence human behavior and reactions.
When new users come to your website, they need only millisecondsto form an opinion about your design. The colors used on your site are a big part of that first impression.
Here's a simple exercise you can do when you want to understand how others might perceive your website.
Here are examples of two very different home pages.
White background and black background.
What emotions do they evoke? How do you perceive the site and the product being shown?
So the colors you choose for your brand determine how others perceive it.
You can use this fact to send the right message and convince more people to take action on your site.
At the same time, the color of call-to-action buttons and links can help customers understand what they should expect from you.
Here is a brief description of what some of the popular colors mean:
- Blue: trust, loyalty, responsibility, peace of mind
- Yellow: caution, joy, confidence, optimism,
- Red: passion, appetite, excitement,
- Green: creativity, balance, nature, innovation, health,
- Orange: success, determination, happiness, friendliness,
- Black: elegance, luxury, sophistication,
- Purple: wisdom, wealth, royalty.
However, it is worth noting that not everyone reacts the same way to the same color.
You need to carefully consider your target audience to convey what you want from your color design.
Joe Hallock's research suggests that there is a difference in color preference between men and women.
While men overwhelmingly prefer blue to other colors, women are less likely to agree with this assessment. Instead, they like purple, which may explain why many cosmetic brands use this color in their marketing materials.
Other variables to consider include age, the number of colors you want to use, and their position on the color wheel.
For example, red and orange are analogous colors, and yellow and purple are complementary colors.
Take some time to experiment with different color combinations to find the one that will look best on your site and convey what you want.
The illusion of work
The illusion of work works similarly to the guiding principle of many directors and screenwriters: show, don't tell.
This technique allows the reader to experience the critical points of the story through observation rather than exposition (where someone tells the reader what to think).
It makes the reader appreciate things more when you see the work that went into creating them. It makes people more engaged in the experience, whether they are watching a movie, reading a book or buying a new smartphone.
An article by Ryan W. Buell and Michael I. Norton from 2011 perfectly illustrates the practical application of the labor illusion.
Researchers say
when websites engage in operational transparency, signaling that they are putting in the effort, people may actually prefer websites with longer wait times to those that return immediate results - even if those results are identical.
In other words, when someone immediately gives us a solution, we tend to doubt that this is the best option.
If you serve your customers immediately, they may feel that more effort needs to be put into the task if it is to be done correctly.
You can capitalize on this belief by being transparent about the delivery process and presenting to your customers not only the fruits of your labor, but also the work itself.
Don't be afraid to communicate to your audience that you work up a sweat to provide exceptional service.
Why not create a social media post in which you give your observers a peek behind the curtain? For example, you could create a short video in which you showcase all the departments of your company.
Alternatively, you can write a blog post explaining all the steps in the process of creating a single product from your offer. The possibilities are endless!
Loss aversion
Finding 100 zloty in your pocket is always nice. But losing 100 zloty can be a much more emotional experience, to put it nicely.
In general, people treat losses much more harshly than they should - at least compared to the joy they feel from equivalent gains.
This cognitive tendency is called loss aversion and can help a company grow.
The easiest way to make it work for you is to show customers what they stand to lose if they don't do business with you, instead of explaining what they stand to gain.
Have your products or services helped others succeed in their ventures? If so, include this information in your listing.
This will convey that working with you is a beneficial move.
Similarly, if you have prestigious achievements to your credit, put them on your website.
You can also inform potential investors that if they don't contact you, they will miss the opportunity to speak with one of the leading experts in the industry.
When you convince others that working with your company is an attractive solution to avoid losses, you will increase conversions and improve your company's revenue.
In its extreme form, loss aversion can even lead to a sunk cost error.
In short, the sunk cost fallacy is the fear of abandoning something because of the time, money or energy invested in pursuing it.
Sending customers reminders to renew their policy, use a promo code before it expires or take advantage of a special offer is a great way to remind them of your existence.
Nevertheless, its real value lies in presenting them with the prospect of losing the assets they already have. Use this unique effect to attract more visitors to your site and increase your conversion rate.
Understanding
The second pillar of turning more site visitors into loyal watchers is helping them understand what you bring to the table and why it's valuable.
The main obstacle to achieving this goal is business frictions. This is a psychological resistance to action.
Factors affecting friction include the number of steps it takes to order a product, its complexity, etc.
For example, reducing the number of forms that customers must fill out to make a purchase will reduce friction. At the same time, increasing it will most likely have the opposite effect.
Unfortunately, business friction cannot be reduced to zero. No matter how streamlined the experience, there will always be some friction.
However, you can apply several solutions to reduce this factor and provide customers with an easier shopping experience.
Analysis paralysis (or paradox of choice)
Hick's Law says that the more options to choose from, the harder it is to make a decision.
Suppose you are in a restaurant and you have a choice of two favorite drinks: coffee and tea. Since there isn't much to consider, you don't have to think too hard and should have no problem coming up with an answer after thinking about it.
Now imagine that you are visiting a new bar that has recently opened nearby. They have a wide selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to try.
This situation is quite different from the first example because it contains more variables to be analyzed. Due to the fear of making a mistake or giving up on a better solution, you may experience a state of hesitation known as analysis paralysis.
A perfect example of this peculiar condition is the Buridan's donkey, a paradox named after the 14th-century French philosopher Jean Buridan. It satirizes the philosopher's position on moral determinism by presenting the following hypothetical situation:
Imagine a donkey that is equally thirsty and hungry. Now let's place it exactly halfway between a pile of hay and a bucket of water. Unable to make the most rational choice under the circumstances, the animal dies of both hunger and thirst.
This paradox, while funny, shows how confused customers can become if you bombard them with too many choices - even if they wanted to make those choices in the first place.
As a result - unintuitive though it may sound - the more, the merrier, not always.
If you make customers anxious about your decision, they will abandon the effort to understand what you have to offer and look for simpler solutions elsewhere.
With this in mind, try to design your site so that it doesn't give the user too many choices right away.
Similarly, do not create several niche plans for customers to choose from. Limiting yourself to three general options and discussing the details with each customer is a much better solution.
The most important thing is to notice the areas where you have too many options and try to limit them.
You can combine similar categories into one, eliminate niche and low-ranking pages, or hide some elements behind additional menus. (Beware of creating too many menus and overly deep site architecture).
If it's not possible to reduce the number of alternatives, put the available options in an easy-to-miss order. This way you won't overwhelm the customer, increasing your chances of making a sale.
Confirmation effect
The confirmation effect is probably one of the most damaging aspects of human nature. It assumes that each person seeks information that further supports his or her beliefs.
Many studies support this claim. For example, Dutch psychologists have found that waitresses who mimic the behavior of their customers, receive larger tips.
So, while opposites may attract each other at first (experiencing something new is exciting), they will eventually tire of each other.
After all, few people would want to spend much time in the company of someone who is their polar opposite.
What does this mean for marketers?
It all boils down to one principle.
You need to speak the language of your customers so that they can understand you and want to interact with your company.
It sounds simple enough, but in practice it is much more difficult to implement.
However, performing this task requires knowledge of the language spoken by the recipients.
This creates the need for extensive analysis of the many variables that affect this aspect, requiring further research, etc.
Do you see any relationship?
One seemingly simple task can suddenly gain in complexity and scale.
Nevertheless, if you can find a common language with your customers, you will have a much better chance of success.
When people see that you want to communicate on their terms, they will flock to your company, looking for confirmation of their beliefs.
Visual appeal
Nowadays we are surrounded by information. Visual clarity is one of the mechanisms that allow us to filter this information and avoid getting lost in it.
It is the ability to focus on a distinct quality, making the task of finding a unique element less tiring.
If your closet is full of white t-shirts, except for a black shirt, it will immediately stand out. A situation like this is what visual salience is all about.
This perceptual feature has allowed us to survive as a species for a long time. Without it, we would not be able to perceive disturbances in patterns and changes in our environment.
Today, you can use the same primitive ability to convince more customers to click on a promotional banner or check out an offer.
If you create a home page with a non-intrusive background color and add CTA (call to action) buttons in an easily distinguishable shade, you can increase conversions.
Use of A/B testingto see what colors work best for different elements of your site is a great idea.
In this way, you can create a unique visual identity while using visual appeal to suit your needs.
Design your site with visual appeal in mind and help customers understand which elements are key.
Cognitive fluency
When designing a website, it's easy to get carried away by emotions. After all, you want it to look great and attract more customers.
Therefore, you can start mixing and matching multiple colors and shapes to set the right tone or convey your message in a more flashy way.
However, this may increase cognitive loadwith which clients must cope.
As a result, you may overload them with sensory information, preventing them from quickly understanding what you offer and why they should buy it.
Cognitive ease, also known as cognitive fluency, is a psychological principle that can help avoid this problem.
Adhering to this rule requires adhering to the principle of minimalism and avoiding the placement of excess information on the homepage.
Everything you put on your site should have a clear purpose. If an element doesn't explain what your company does, what it offers, or why people should be interested in it, you can probably eliminate that element from your site.
Don't feel obliged to explain everything in detail, especially on the home page.
Instead, use a style that emphasizes simplicity.
This way you won't overwhelm your customers with too much data and keep them engaged with what you have to offer.
Progressive disclosure
This point ties in well with the previous one. Essentially, it revolves around presenting the most truncated message to customers up front and systematically explaining more complex functions along the way.
As mentioned earlier, customers can become discouraged if the buying decision process is complicated or involves too many steps.
Progressive disclosure alleviates this problem by allowing you and your customers to focus on the core features of your product or service at the first stage of your relationship.
Consider how your site's user interface design presents your products and services.
If you find that this leads customers to learn about more complex features that you can customize later, you may want to rethink your layout.
Perhaps you can make your landing page even more substantive by combining it with more nuanced topics.
On the other hand, perhaps you could make learning your application easier by adding a short video tutorial to your website.
Remember that users want simplicity more than anything else. Provide it to them, and they will quickly understand how much they can gain by doing business with you.
Unavailability
Taking advantage of inaccessibility in marketing is not a new concept. The reason for its widespread use is simple - it achieves excellent results.
Many companies focus their marketing efforts on convincing people that the products and services they offer are unique and not easy to come by.
If you want to join them, you need to convince your customers that they need to rush out to buy your products. Otherwise, someone else will buy the desired item, leaving them empty-handed.
How do you inspire a sense of urgency in your customers? There are several options to choose from. Here are some of them:
- Adding a shopping cart timer to the site.
- Showing how many products remain in stock next to their description.
- Display a notification every time someone buys a product.
- Send emails to customers with time-limited promotional offers.
- Offer special editions of products on its website.
- Selling seasonal products, such as clothing or accessories with a holiday theme.
Unavailability marketing can convince undecided customers to place an order and buy more goods, faster. Once potential customers understand that your offer is unique, they will be willing to spend a lot of money to get it.
Wojciech Popiela, co-founder of Webmetric, lecturer at Collegium Da Vinci:
When considering the applications of psychology and neuroscience to sales, look to evolution. 2 million years of evolution have adapted us to survive in a world gone by. Our senses, perception, physical and mental energy management have been shaped to ensure our survival. All the examples presented by Przemek go back to primitive man struggling to survive in a world of constant scarcity.
A world where energy expenditure, loss (of food, for example) or color perception could determine the life or death of our caveman. Will he perceive danger and react in time? Will he have enough strength to escape or fight back? Our minds, until recently preoccupied with getting food and fighting, now work in a completely different world. In the world of purchasing decisions, the Internet and everything that passes for the digital world. However, somewhere along the line is the caveman and his reptile brain. Somewhere beneath the cerebral cortex, we are still the original human. Brands can use knowledge of neuromarketing to promote their products and services. And there are more and more examples of the application of such methods.
Summary
Designing your site according to these psychological principles can help you outperform the competition and enjoy higher conversion rates. However, it is not just a matter of examining every possible trend.
Like many things in life, this process requires a lot of trial and error. Instead of taking advantage of every opportunity that comes along, choose the specific biases you want to use.
These principles will allow you to succeed regardless of the type of online business you run or intend to run. However, some guidance is always needed.
Focus on your goal and look for the most advantageous way to use the natural patterns of human behavior. You won't regret it!
