Here’s the deal – all of us are prone to unexpected mental shortcut when it comes to being sold stuff.
Commercials have been out there for a decade for a good reason – voluntary or not they do influence our decisions when it comes to buying a certain product.
According to Robert Cialdini, author of “Influence, the Psychology of Persuasion”,there are 6 most common psychological triggers, which impact our decisions and actions daily: reciprocity, commitment, liking, social proof, authority and scarcity. And here’s how you can use those mental cues to your advantage when it comes to improving conversions for your business.
Commitment
Commitment is another major persuasion trigger, yet the key here is to start small. For example, a charity approaches you and you feel ready to refuse donating them. Yet, all they ask for is to wear a ribbon for free. You think it’s a no biggie and accept the offer.
What just happened is that your brain started creating a decision-expressway based on the micro-decision you’ve made. If the same charity approaches you once again in a week, most likely you will feel compelled to donate this time.
Fostering micro-commitment is part of another popular sales technique called the foot-in-the-door technique. It was proven that once a sales person slipped into the customer’s home, 90% of their job is done. Here’s how you can apply the micro-commitment principle online:
Free trial is the most common way to get your customer micro-committed to test-driving and using your product. The average conversion rate from free trials for SaaS products is around 25%-50%.
Offer small instant wins. Educate your audience through the content you publish and make them commit gradually to purchasing your services. Offer small how-to tips, content upgrades in exchange for their email and afterwards pitch a soft sale once in awhile before going all in. Ask your customers to commit to a small purchase first if you’d like to them to opt for a more expensive product later on.
Social Proof
Social pressure has immense impact on human behavior. As humans are primarily group creatures our brains try to avoid becoming an outcast with all possible means. That’s why we often prefer to keep our opinions to ourselves for the sake of not being ridiculed within some group. Showing social proof online is rather easy:
Highlight the amount of existing fans you have. Adding a small clause e.g. “Join 10.000+ readers on our email list” can drastically boost your conversions. First, they will be among the other cool kids. Secondly, they are not being the first, thus there’s no risk involved.
Feature testimonials. Highlighting the praise you’ve already gotten gives you a trustworthy image and leverages your credibility, especially if your testimonials come from other established experts in your niche.
Stay active on social media – a no-brainer these days. Yet don’t forget to focus on interacting with your fans, rather than using social channels to simply distribute your content.
Scarcity
Have you ever thought why Black Friday is so incredibly popular? Again, there’s another psychological trigger behind it. The idea of Black Friday is deeply rooted in scarcity or loss of aversion principle.
We tend to place higher value on something, which is not easily available and a lower value on something in suffice. The harder it seems to obtain something – the more value our brains place on it. In this case two major bias play an important role:
- Social Proof: If the products availability is limited, everyone must want it. If everyone wants it, the product has some value. If it’s valuable, we must get it for ourselves too!
- Commitment bias: If you are at least somewhat interested in a product, whose availability is limited, you have this urge to obtain it why it’s still possible.
That’s why all kinds of sales have a magical effect upon us. Additionally, “low in stock” remarks tend to foster the sale too. It seems like Apple has been using this strategy right now as the new iPhone SE is now reported to be in low demand nationwide right now with sales going even higher at the same time. And here’s how you can apply the scarcity principle to your business:
Use various pointers highlighting the urgency/scarcity. Take a look at Amazon, who has polished this principle to perfection. Discount countdowns, counters telling how many products are in stock and how much time you have to place an order if you wish the product to arrive by certain time.
Set up a limited price. Early-bird discounts, pre-order price, holiday-special deals – all create this urge to grab the product while it’s not yet gone. Additionally, you can offer special prices to a selected group of people e.g. your email subscribers/customers with accounts to foster additional desired action.
Authority
Studies have proved that we are more likely to agree with perceived high-status individuals even if we assume that the conclusion is false. We have a good reason to respect instructions coming from a police officer or other state-enforced authority. Here’s how you can apply the authority principle to your website:
Drop some big names. Including a banner with “As seen on” big name publishers or “Trusted by Fortune 500 Companies X, Y, Z” will positively impact your perceived authority. As long as the names are recognizable, they will leverage the authority factor.
Turn your website into a go-to industry resource. By strategically publishing unique, valuable data and various researches, you leverage your authority factor by getting quoted by other publishers and referred to as an expert on the subject. Work on your online reputation, choose the niche/topics you’d like to specialize in and align your content marketing strategy accordingly.
Liking
Finding common grounds and fostering appeal is the key element to winning more customers. But how do you make your brand likable?
Stand up for the similar cause. As Georg Simmel pointed out people tend to look for a similar cause to unite around e.g. a common enemy, a common frustration or interest. Your first step to becoming likable is to be on your customers’ team. Research their profiles, understand their key pain problems, what inspires/troubles/interests them and shape your content around those points.
Don’t be afraid of getting personal. Genuine, personal stories wins hearts and wallets these days. Rather than trying to sound “professional” and “corporate” adopt a more conversational and personal tone. Don’t be afraid to share your fails and wins, talk about humble background or personal limitations you had to overcome. Make it easy to get related to you.