6-minute marketing psychology course for startups & small businesses
Want to get better at persuading customers to buy? Of course you do.
I will let you in on an industry secret before it gets out…...
Applying human behavioural science and psychology to your marketing will help you sell more and sit right next to the smartest brands who use it to their advantage.
It’s a *new wave* of marketing but it’s based on what we’ve known for decades.
Let me explain...
While we’re hurtling at breakneck speed towards automation, digitalisation, and AI robots, humans remain guided by the same cognitive biases and behaviours they have been ruled by since the beginning of the species.
In other words, the unconscious brain is in charge.
We make 95% of our buying decisions unconsciously!
Convincing people to buy is a lot harder if you haven’t properly ‘pre-sauded’ them first.
It’s a common mistake most small businesses make when starting.
Delivering your message and content in a brain-friendly way BEFORE you start selling to them is going to nudge people towards the desired action.
It turns out people are more interested in building personal and emotional connections with brands than buying a product that doesn’t *speak to them*
So the most effective way to motivate our fellow humans to purchase (change behaviour) is through influence and persuasion rooted in and working with the concepts and rules that our brains operate within.
Here’s how ….
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1. Priming
Have you ever noticed…. you are more likely to buy the products you’ve been repeatedly exposed to!?
Like that song you heard this morning and you can’t get out of your head.
The more we see something the more we’re inclined to develop a preference for it on a subconscious level.
Effective marketing primes people to be receptive to your product or offer before they even hear it!
World-renowned psychologist Robert Caildini calls this ‘pre-suasion’ .
How?
Creating the right context and cues and poking at the right emotions will *subtly* nudge your potential customers towards your desired action.
Words
When you expose your audience to specific words, they begin to associate your brand with these. This could be your unique messaging and perspective.
Focus on the one thing you want to be known for.
(Less is more when it comes to messaging! You don’t want to bombard people)
More of your potential customers will remember you for it.
There is also a higher chance they will embed your brand in their subconscious and understand exactly how you fit into their lives.
Embed words that have extra persuasive power in your messaging and copy.
These words include You.
Imagine. This lowers people's resistance by switching their scene away from the here-and-now
Free. You don’t have to lessen your value, this could be a small add-on or door opener
Be specific. This creates what’s called cognitive fluency. .
Homophones can prompt people to think of the other word in the pair and actions associated with it.
That’s why bye-bye or goodbye can prime someone to buy ( they think of buy-buy and it’s a good buy!)
Alliteration, repetition, metaphor, and simile can make your marketing messages more memorable and understandable
Words unique to your brand could make it easy to remember you and build connection.
For example, if you’re a dog product brand you could talk about animal and puppy lovers, not people who own pets.
If you’re a chocolate brand you could talk about chocoholics, not people who eat chocolate.
Rhyme
Another way to do this is to use rhyme.
Or words that make it easy to remember you by.
Humans love rhyming.
Rhymes are catchy, memorable, and an effective way to tell a story.
And yet, there’s more to it than that.
We tend to see rhymes as positive and aesthetically pleasing, we often focus on the form and overlook the content.
In short, we treat rhyme as reason!
You could use rhyme to highlight a great benefit or your brand’s uniqueness.
‘Once you pop, you just can’t stop”
Created almost 30 years ago this Pringles rhyme convinces you that you are eating the best crisps that were ever made!
Stand out ( the Von Restorff effect)
Create your own format or style and way of doing content.
Show up in a way that stands out in your category.
Be a purple cow in a field of black and white!
We notice things that are different.
You only need to do something different to what the norm of your category is to stand out sometimes.
Take inspiration from brands in other categories.
For example, if something in household goods is clever and inspires you, use this for your brand, even if you’re a chocolate brand!
Notice how a brand like Lush Soaps looks like a fresh fruit and veg counter in all their stores?
They took something from another category and replicated it within their brand to stand out.
We notice things that stand out or are different to the norm.
Start looking outwards for inspiration if you haven’t already found your ‘stand out’ way of doing things.
2. Make it easy for people to do what you want
Foot-in-the-door technique
Guess what?
You need to change people’s buying behaviour if you’re going to get them to buy from you.
One way to get people to commit or do something (relatively big) is to ask them to commit to something small first.
A 1966 study by two psychologists discovered and tested this principle.
Let’s take a quick look.
The question asked was ‘would you put a billboard in your front garden’?
A whopping 76% of people agreed to this when Freedman and Fraser asked them!
How did they do this?
The researchers divided people into two groups.
They knocked on homeowners’ doors and asked if they could put a billboard on their front lawn.
17% of homeowners agreed.
In the second group, the researchers first asked if they could put a 3-inch small sticker on their front window with a ‘Drive safely’ message.
Most agreed.
A week later, the researchers went back to those same homes and asked if they could put a billboard on their front lawn.
A whopping 76% agreed!
How do you lower people’s guard and create more action?
By reducing the initial risk and asking for something small first.
For example, asking hotel guests to turn off a single light switch to save energy were more likely to switch off multiple lights and unplug appliances later on.
Think about starting small…
Offer something in exchange for an email address.
Offer a fee introductory trial or taste etc
Make it easy for your customers to shop with you online:
1. Your offer. Make it easy for people to see your best deal or offer. Make it clear they are getting value
2. Reduce effort. Offer personal recommendations. Based on browsing history and past purchases present value and easy options to choose from
3. Convenience. Make your checkout process fast and friction-free. There’s a reason we all keep going back to Amazon!
4. Routine and memorability. Email marketing will nurture your audience. Consistently sharing news, stories and reasons to buy, including offers will incentivise and drive click-throughs to your website.
3. Discover people’s motivations and triggers and use them to your advantage
Most brands don’t know what motivates customers to buy.
The good news?
If you find out what motivates (triggers) your customers to buy, you get to market smarter and persuade customers to buy from you over your competitors.
If you also determine when people are most likely to buy from you, well you’re halfway there.
People usually want to solve a problem, get a job done.
They also buy things they normally wouldn’t simply because a specific trigger event happened in life.
They could be oblivious to knowing they are in the market for something and then boom, something happens and they are super-motivated to buy that thing.
For example:
Situational – becoming a new parent, starting a new job, buying a home
Social – get a recommendation from a friend or family member
Emotional – feeling sad, insecure, jealous
Biological – cold, hungry, tired
Figure out what uniquely triggered your customers.
So you can:
Tailor your messaging
Get ahead of your competitors
Get noticed by your target audience
The starting point?
1-2-1 interviews
It is by far the most effective (and cheapest) way to get ahead and understand exactly why your customers buy.
No big agency fees, no big focus groups.
You can do phone interviews yourself.
But what if I don’t have any customers yet?
Find people who use competitor products or services and interview them.
Most people are happy to speak, and a small token for their time goes a long way. (£10 Amazon voucher for example)
You will find out their deepest desires, problems and challenges your potential customers have.
It can also reveal what they like or dislike about competitor brands and where there may be an opportunity for your business.
When prioritising who to speak to, try focusing on these 4 groups:
1. Those who recently bought from you or from a competitor
2. People who you know switch between you and a competitor
3. Those who recently stopped using yours or a competitor’s product
4. Those who actively purchase from your brand and a competitor
What should you try to uncover and what kind of questions should you ask?
The interview should revolve around the customer’s experience and not focus on your brand or product.
In fact, you should purposely try not to mention your product or service.
Here are some tips to make interviews easier….
Ask about what they wanted to accomplish when they made the purchase they did. Not the actual solution.
Behind every product and service there is a trigger.
For example, sometimes we need a new mattress when we have back pain.
It takes months for us to realise this, we often think it’s because we sat funny or pulled a muscle.
By the time we buy the mattress we have done a whole list of other things first, including buy a new office chair!
Focus on recent behaviour, not anticipated behaviour.
Avoid asking what they will do in the future, delve into why they purchased and what they did in the past.
Past decisions are a much better marker for future decisions.
Redirect from product to goals.
Bring people back to what they wanted to achieve and get done rather than referring to the product or service all the time.
· Look for inconsistencies around what people did. If they said they were going to buy x, why did they end up buying y?
· Get people to describe things as concretely as possible.
If they said it wasn’t a smooth experience, ask them what a smooth experience looks like for them?
Or, if they said it was a waste of time waiting, ask them after how many minutes did it feel like they were wasting their time. etc.
People have different variations for words. The words reliable or high quality can have different meanings for different people.
Make sure to clarify the specifics around words to leave out the guesswork.
Once you discover people’s motivations, their true reason for purchase they will listen and notice you.
Armed with deep insights and knowledge you get to persuade people in a way that avoids doubts and makes them into raving fans of your brand.
4. Become a catalyst: influence people
Most brands tend to push their products and services.
Instead of creating a way to pull people towards them.
The way to pull people to you is through lowering their fear and uncertainty, making it easy for them to trust you.
Make them feel like you belong in their lives.
Professor Robert Cialdini’s 6 universal principles of Influence do just that.
When we understand how people make decisions, we can use nudges to encourage them to like and buy from us.
How do you apply this to your business?
Use Social proof
The idea is that we are influenced by others. ‘Many people do this, therefore I’ll do it’
Share testimonials and feedback!
Create Commitment
Humans feel a sense of pressure to follow through on something we previously said or did. If I said I will do it, so I’ll do it
For direct requests, commitment to behaviour change programmes, and volunteering.
Offer something to receive Reciprocation
Go the extra mile with a free item, sampling, tasting, a free testing service.
Free mints with the bill in a restaurant has been proven to increase the bill by x%!
You could also solve a *pre-sale* pain point with a freebie – try before you buy.
‘You did this for me, therefore I’ll do this for you’.
People are guided by Liking
We are more likely to do something for someone we know and like.
‘You’re similar to me, therefore I’ll do this for you’
We are influenced by people in Authority
We are more likely to do something or follow someone when asked of an authority figure.
‘You’re an expert, therefore I’ll do it’
Using a time or volume Scarcity makes us act
When we believe there is less of something or we will miss out, we don’t want to risk losing.
‘There’s nothing like this, so I better get it right away’
Did you notice there isn’t a principle that says “a random person told me to do this, therefore I’ll do this’ !?
The less we push the more pull we create based on these principles.
Business is all about building relationships with customers.
You can start building that relationship by using one or a few of the principles I’ve outlined.
Add some underestimated brainy marketing to your strategy:
Presaude people with clever priming
Make is easy to purchase from you
Figure out your customers triggers to get in front of them with clever messaging
Reward customers *before* they purchase
I hope you found this helpful.
Thanks for reading!
Claire.
Hi! I’m Claire,
If you're a founder or business owner with big dreams of success and growth—and a big, scary to-do list standing in your way every time you sit down to *do* your marketing—nice to meet you, I'm your new solution.
I'll help you find your target audience, and your brand's voice, perfectly position you, and craft messaging for your content strategy that will resonate with your ideal audience.
And I'll do it all while keeping your goals to ensure that your brand aligns with what you want to achieve.
I’ve been in marketing for over 20 years and I’m busting through the bull**** and industry nonsense to give you you straight-talking and proven strategic marketing that will grow your business.