The ultimate goal of marketing strategies is to convert leads into customers. After all, the buying act of customers depends on their mental state or where they are in the buyer’s journey as emphasized by the inbound marketing methodology. For a successful marketing campaign, it’s a must have quality of the strategy makers that they should be aware of the psychological state of their potential customers in order to find out the cost effective marketing strategies and PR tips useful for small business owners.
Here I am going to talk about six psychology hacks worth discussing for better customer acquisition and marketing strategy.
#1. Be Everywhere
The concept of being everywhere has a simple correlation to the decision making steps of the human mind. Studies done in psychology have shown that generally people are more attracted to the things familiar to them and this is known as Mere-Exposure Effect or Familiarity principle. This principle suggests on the preference of people over something at an unconscious level on the manifestation of their familiarity with that thing. And there are a lot of benefits of Mere-Exposure Effect as a marketing strategy.
Let’s say a group of consumers has to select one product among three (say, X, Y and Z) in a grocery shop. All these products are completely new to them except Z, of which they have heard just the name and nothing else. Can you guess which product they would buy? The mere-exposure effect/familiarity principle tells that there is a high probability that the consumers will select the product (Z in our case) which they had heard/seen before.
Therefore, try to be everywhere. Who knows where and when you are being noticed and preferred over your competitors.
#2. Proclaim Yourself Best
“Remember, if you don’t promote yourself, then no one else will! Likewise, believe in yourself – or no one else will either.” Donald Trump
This quote makes sense here in today’s world where no one takes time to promote you without any incentive. So you are the one to promote and praise yourself.
Now let’s dissect what happens in peoples’ brain when you praise and proclaim yourself best.
Generally, people tend to believe whatever they read. The Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza, a contemporary of Descartes, thought that the very act of understanding information was believing it. We may, he thought, be able to change our minds afterward, say when we come across evidence to the contrary, but until that time we believe everything. This was later supported by The Gilbert Experiment.
This simple hack from Psychology can be of great use in marketing strategies. For example, suppose you run a coffee shop in downtown. Now put a slogan below your shop name,”The Best Coffee Shop in Town” and wait what happens next. We know it’s a self-proclaimed ‘best’ but there is a high probability of people entering the shop just because of the slogan. However, the burden of proving yourself best lies on your shoulder afterward, this can generate a large flow of customers.
#3. Follow Trends
We all know that people are followers by nature. This applies to food, fashion, language, habits and more. The research done in social psychology has revealed that the groups around us influence us in what we believe. And undeniably, the belief plays an important role in our decision-making procedure. Also, the principle of social proof states that we look at other to find out what is correct. The psychological state of your potential customers can be like “If people are doing it, then it’s fine to follow them”. That’s where you have to hunt.
The market is never at rest. If we closely observe the buying and selling habits, we can discern the hidden pattern of how things are happening. And if we understand the pattern, then we can predict the products that people might buy. Actually, this is not a marketing hack but an extrapolated prediction of future products that customers are likely to buy.
Now comes the example part. Suppose you run a fashion store and you are confused what to keep inside. You just need to watch the market carefully and make a list of what people are wearing and what the large groups of people can afford. Also, make sure to find out the source of the trend. Moreover, if you are a better observer, you can predict the future trends too and know which celebrities are about to lead the next wearing style.
#4. Be Habitual to Customer’s Life
Change in motion is zero unless acted by some external driving force.
This is Newton’s 2nd law of motion which describes the inertial nature of bodies and supposedly you all are familiar with it. But you might be wondering what this law of physics is doing here in marketing. Well, there exists inertia in human mind too. Like the real world bodies, humans have that uncanny inertial drive in their mind that they tend to repeat whatever they are doing unless they face some kind of hindrance. And it has a lot of benefits in acquiring habitual customers.
Sometimes, buying process of customers can be so repetitive that they tend to think less before buying and end up with the same product they used to buy before. The items of daily need can be directly correlated here. If you are a seller of such items that people need to buy daily or in some periodic cycle, then you need to be very careful in order to make them buy from you regularly. One easy way to be habitual with them is interaction. Keep interacting with them on a regular basis either in the real world or through virtual media. Let them know that you are the right seller for them and provide them with the best service when needed. Never ever give them a chance to break their habit. If they choose some other service provider over you, then it might be very hard to get them back. It’s the key method for keeping existing customers and getting new (customer acquisition and retention).
#5. Be the Sign of Good Fortune
People still believe in luck and there are varieties of the way they do it through. There are different symbols of good luck worldwide and they differ from one place to another. If you are able to incorporate some lucky symbols in your service in a specific place, then you might gain some serious believers as your customers. It can be done through the name of your company, the product/service you provide, specific dates, places etc.
In recent years, Apple iPhone sale in China is falling severely. If you noticed that this time Apple is skipping iPhone 7S and going straight to iPhone 8, this might be the reason for their tenth anniversary of releasing first iPhone. If not, then Apple is trying to hit the target with number ‘8’ which is considered auspicious in China. People in China spend a lot to get the lucky number 8 on their license plate of vehicles. Maybe Apple is also targeting the same formula for iPhone 8 emphasizing in number 8.
#6. Open up Yourself
People buy from people they trust.
The sales process of loyal customers involves the clear identification of products and the providers they are buying from. There is a close relation between buying and belief and people love to buy from the trusted source. If you are running a business, open up yourself and interact with potential customers. Tell them who you are, why you are running this particular business. Also, clarify the WHAT and HOW part of the business. It is not just an act of building trust but also the source of inspiration for them to buy. So, do not just hide behind a computer but open up yourself to the market.
