Emotions and the psychology of marketing

Pressing the Right Buttons Psychological Triggers that Convert Leads to Sales

In Business Marketing, Conversion Rate Optimization by Mark GuertinLeave a Comment

Pressing the Right Buttons:
Psychological Triggers that Convert Leads to Sales

BY
Linda Craig

Have you even wondered why some businesses seem to take off without much effort, while others flounder despite having a great website and all the bells and whistles for sales conversion? The answer is quite simple, really. The successful ones are using key psychological triggers, while the others are not.

People may seem different because of their environment, but when it comes down to it, the human psychology is pretty much the same anywhere. People have certain needs and conversion all boils down to giving them what they want.

Emotions and the Psychology of Marketing

Emotions and the Psychology of Marketing

If you press the right buttons, you will improve sales and increase customer satisfaction. There is no trickery or manipulation involved. You are simply putting what you know about psychology to good use. Here are some psychological triggers you can use to influence buyers.

Trigger #1: Pain and pleasure points

All humans want to avoid pain and get pleasure. It is the most basic human instinct. You can get people to take on something painful if you promise them pleasure in the end.

In fact, people derive more satisfaction from achieving an end if they have to work for it. Witness the customer that buys a book that will deprive them of all the favorite things they like to eat and force them to exercise like a maniac with the prospect of losing 10 pounds in one week.

You need to find out what your target audience considers an acceptable amount of pain that will give them the requisite amount of pleasure, and give it to them. In many cases, you need to give them the opportunity to try a product or service and see results before asking them to pay.

This is the reasoning behind the trial periods of most software, and “free” product offers you get for registering. You delay the “pain” of paying as long as possible to bring the customer to the point that they are eager to pay to get to the final step.

For example, you can send a registered user the first two days of your weight loss plan. They will have to pay to get the remaining five days, which they usually do when they see that they have already lost three pounds in the first two days.

Another strategy is to use pain, or the prospect of pain, to motivate your customer to buy. You can publish testimonials from overweight people about how their excess weight has kept them from getting ahead in their career or getting dates.

Most experts agree that “negativity bias” is more powerful than positive stimuli in motivating people to buy. A nice blend of these two triggers can help massively in your marketing efforts.

Trigger #2: Innovation

People always have a fascination for something new. That is why novelty items are usually a big hit. It increases the “happy” chemical compound dopamine produced in the brain, giving people the feeling of anticipation of getting something out of the ordinary.

People like to have the latest of everything. Which is why new car models are introduced every year even though there is really very little difference between the old and new ones.

Offer something new and people will want it. You can also give old products a few tweaks and rebrand them to give it a new image. Re-introduce it to the market and see what happens. You can also whet the appetites of your customers by releasing “limited editions” of your product, to make it more desirable because only a few can get it.

Trigger #3: Give a reason

It is not enough to tell people to buy something. You need to give them the reasons why you would be offering it in the first place. It doesn’t even have to be a good reason, as long as you have one.

The basis for this is the need for people to find meaning in everything they do. If you are overweight, and a weight loss product shows you that every pound increases your chances of getting a promotion by 5%, wouldn’t you accept it as a fact? It gives you a good reason to buy the product, even if you don’t really know if the claims are true.

Trigger #4: Strike a chord

People like to think they consciously decide to buy something, but the fact is, intellect takes a back seat to emotions when it comes to buying even basic needs.

Why do you buy a certain brand of detergent, for example? Is it because you know certain ingredients make it a better product than another brand? In most instances, it is because you saw an advertisement that showed a smiling mother having time to play with her kids because the detergent takes all the work out of getting clothes clean.

Why do people buy certain brands?

Why do people buy certain brands?

You are telling a story that strikes a chord with many harried mothers with small children. By appealing to basic emotions, such as the maternal need to nurture children instead of doing household chores, you are triggering a response in the brain. The customer may justify their choices by dwelling on the fact that it is a recognized brand, it is environment friendly, or it is within the budget, but the primary trigger is the emotional response. Give your products a market-specific story and you will sell more.

Trigger #5: Provide the path to least resistance

Most people want instant gratification. If they want something, they will choose the option that requires the least amount of effort on their part.

“Lose 10 pounds in one week” is more appealing than “Lose 10 pounds in one month.” An even better headline is “lose 10 pounds with zero exercise.”

Make the achievement of an end as easy as possible. Give them simple and easy solutions to their problems, and they will believe, because they want to believe. Trigger words include “surefire,” “easy,” “quick,” and “foolproof.”

Trigger #6: Curiosity

People are inherently curious. This is what drives innovation and scientific research. People want to know, and anything that is outside their usual experience is a subject of interest.

Before you can use any of the above triggers to sell your product, you first have to get people to pay attention to what you have to say, and you can do this by piquing their curiosity. Phrase your content to be search engine friendly and thought-provoking. For instance, instead of “Lose Weight with the XYZ Diet,” you can say “Improve Your Sex Life with XYZ.”

You need to understand how people think so that you can maximize your sales. Marketing experts have been studying psychological triggers for years. It is time you understood them to help your business convert.

About the Author:
Linda Craig is a dedicated writer and editor for essay writing resource at https://www.assignmentmasters.co.uk/essay-service/.
Her main professional goal is promoting writing and marketing skills among a wide range of professionals.
Follow Linda Craig on Twitter: @LindaUKmasters
Visit Linda Craig’s Website: https://www.assignmentmasters.co.uk/

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