The Psychology of Conversions

There is a great deal of psychology that goes into selling and the way you present your business to customers. What you say can influence how customers react, including taking out their credit card to make a purchase. It should come as no surprise that psychology has so much to do with the buying process because so many purchasing decisions are emotional. This infographic from HelpScout illustrates 10 Ways to Convert More Customers Using Psychology.

10 Ways to Convert More Customers

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  1. Help Customers Break Through “Action Paralysis” by Setting Minimums. This applies to different businesses and different products in various ways. As the example in the infographic shows, The American Cancer Society saw a 78% increase in donations by setting a minimum. You have probably seen this in many charity request models that ask for just $5 or $10. There are other product models that use the minimum principle to break through action paralysis by saying “no payments for the first month”. Other similar sales tools can be “30 day free trial”, or even offering a trial size for less money.
  2. Embrace the Power of Labels. The political example can be applied to a sales situation in a similar fashion. Sending an email to a select group of customers thanking them for being “VIPs” or “best customers” will likely trigger them to act to keep that status. When customers can identify with a positive label you assign to them, they will strive to keep that label.

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  1. Understand the 3 Types of Buyers. Neureconomic experts have labelled 3 types of human spending patterns: Tightwads, Average Buyers, and Spendthrifts. Beyond understanding these 3 types of buyers, it is important to identify which type of buyers your customers are. Likely there is a mix of all types in each company’s customer base. If you can segment your customers into these 3 types of buyers, you can then market to each set more efficiently.
  2. Highlight Strengths by Admitting Shortcomings. It turns out that consumers are a forgiving bunch. Everyone can identify with making a mistake here and there. They key to getting consumers behind you in this is to make sure that you show that you are working on solutions to your problem.
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  3. Use Urgency the Smart Way. According to research in this area, urgency only works if follow up information is provided so that consumers can act on their sense of urgency.
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  4. Make Their Brain Light Up ‘Instantly’. Focus on “instant gratification” to incentivise customers and tap into their need to buy something. Appealing to customers with fast shipping, quick delivery, or instant download.
  5. Make an Enemy. As explained in the infographic, “enemy” might be a harsh term, but the idea is more like assigning labels to customers in contrary positions like “Mac vs. PC”, “Coke vs. Pepsi”, and other classic rivalries.
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  6. Standing for Something. Customers that have strong ties with a brand and exhibit loyalty to that brand often share values with that brand. Therefore, when you let your cause or stance be known, it allows your customers to identify with you and tightens the bond.
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  7. Devil’s Advocate. This is a very interesting tactic where you can play devil’s advocate against your own company. It works to strengthen their positive views about your company.
  8. Keep ‘em on Their Toes. The “surprise reciprocity” utlises surprises and wows to delight your customers and break up things in between offering consistency.

 


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