5 Surefire Consumer Psychology Tricks To Increase Conversions

Joydeep Bhattacharya

8 years ago

conversion-optimization-psychology

Small things make big differences when it comes to conversions.

It is incredibly important to understand how your customers think and react. Smart marketers use psychology legally, ethically, and respectfully to attract and engage consumers, and compel them to buy. When Nike says, "Just Do it!" or when McDonald's says, "I'm lovin it", they are making use of consumer psychology hacks to increase sales.

Today, I will discuss 5 amazing marketing psychology tricks that will surely help you to pump up your conversions.

1. Make Your Customers Feel Comfortable

When it comes to conversions, then we all have to accept the fact that convenience is King. People love comfort and brands which provide their customers comfort while shopping have greater chances of conversions. Some of the ways to make your consumers feel comfortable are provided below:

Have a neat website with the least amount of complexity. Make sure it's responsive and opens on all kinds of devices. You can have a look at this free website creation guide from MotoCMS to gain some really useful insights.
Provide sufficient information about individual products so there's no need to research further. Customers like to research and feel confident before they purchase anything so provide your customers with all the information they likely need in the purchase cycle.
Debenhams has made it extremely easier for the users to shop online by providing return and buying information right in the products information page:

Options like these make the people comfortable and allow them to order more.
Offer free trials and money back guarantee.
Create personal relationships by offering them a personalized dashboard and sending them personalized emails for the latest offers.
Ensure that you have working contact information on your website. If the customer tries to reach you then it should be possible. If a customers fails to reach you, the comfortability rope is broken and the relationship suffers, leading to loss in conversions.
Offer a solution to a problem and use customer testimonials as a weapon to increase trust. Marc Zuckerberg has rightly said, Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend.

Tesco, an online groceries and electronic goods portal, went a step ahead in providing proper alignment to its online and offline marketing efforts by making the customers feel comfortable. They used consumer psychology and provided an online experience while staying offline. The idea was simple, customers scanned the QR (quick response) codes of the items they wish to purchase and then click the send button on the app. It then delivered the merchandise to the consumers shortly after they get home. I would personally love to shop from a store that provides so much comfort.

2. Leverage The Power Of Reciprocity

Reciprocity is a social rule that says, People give back the kind of treatment they receive from you. It is a strong determining factor of human behavior that marketers can use to generate more conversions.

In a study published in the journal of social psychology, Dennis Regan tested the strength of reciprocity where participants believed they were in an art appreciation experiment with a partner, Joe, who was really Regan's assistant. As a part of the experiment, Joe would disappear and bring back a soft drink for the participant. After the first phase was over, Joe would ask the participant to buy raffle tickets from him. Only the participants that liked Joe bought Raffle tickets for him. However, when Joe had given them a soda and thus indebted them to reciprocate, it made no difference whether the participants liked Joe or not, the rule of reciprocity overpowered liking.

Marketers can use the same philosophy while selling products or services. Customizing the overall user experience along with free offers are nothing but a way to indebt consumers so that they reciprocate and buy from you.

3. Make Use Of The Pricing Strategies

The Decoy Effect

Dan Ariely, Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University in his famous TED talk referred to an ad from the Economist which offered subscription packages in the below rates:

Online subscription: $59
Print subscription: $125
Online and print subscription: $125

Any consumer having the above pricing options would go on and choose the 3rd one, isn't it? Because it provides the best value for money. This means, always have 3 options in your landing page instead of just 2. The 3rd one is your decoy, pushing the customer to the price point you had in mind. Its task is to make the other options look good by delivering less for more.

Odd-Even Pricing

Try the odd-even pricing strategy which affects the bargaining psychology of human brains where price differences like $19.99 Vs $20 allows the customers to focus on the first number which encourages buying.

Have a look at the below pricing strategy from H&M where the odd-even pricing strategy has been adopted:

4. Set Minimal Parameters For The Customers

People are more likely to take action when minimal parameters are set TWEET. In a study published at Helpscout, the demonstration of action paralysis was provided. Action paralysis happens when people are not willing to take any action (means buying) even though you provide them with so many offers. The study was aimed to find out the real reasons as to why people say NO.

In this study, Dr. Robert Cialdini, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University examined the donation process of the American Cancer Society. The study revealed that a slight variation in wording lead to more conversions. When the phrase "Would you be willing to help by giving a donation?" was changed to "Would you be willing to help by giving a donation?" Every penny will help." conversion increased by around 22%.

Marketers can easily use the findings of this study to use words and phrases that will compel the buyer to purchase or to take an action. Moreover, identifying and minimizing sticking points is a great deciding factor for conversions.

5. Invoke Urgency With The Proper CTA

Scarcity and urgency are some great ways to persuade the consumer to take action. Urgent situations cause us to suspend deliberate thought and to act quickly. I have seen many marketers make the mistake of invoking urgency but not providing a proper Call to Action so as to allow the consumer to take the desired action after the sense of urgency has been created. Invoking urgency only had a noticeable effect when follow-up instructions were given.

Urgent situations force the human brains to make decisions almost instantly and this helps the marketers to boost sales. Here are some ways to create urgency in the minds of the customers:

Set a deadline. Discounted tickets, offers and freebies all should have a deadline.
Provide a solution to a common problem that your targeted audience is facing.
Use words like only 5 left in stock, few spots left or limited edition to allow the buyer to take immediate action.
A ticking clock on the landing page can be used which is a visual scarcity bias inducer.
Making use of loss aversion technique by using words that targets the fear of losing something rather than gaining something.

Summary

Understanding consumer behavior is essential to create well crafted marketing strategies that help to generate more conversions. Web pages designed as per the buyer persona and effective calls to actions go a long way into converting prospects.

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