29
Aug 11Marketing Persuasion Strategies
Beyond any doubt your website is your best sales person and while it may be technically brilliant and strategically optimised it can often fail at influencing and persuading a visitor to purchase.
Below I discuss some elementary persuasive marketing techniques used both in the online and offline world.
Lasting Impressions
People often remember how an experience ends and generalise the ending back to the rest of the experience. While my parents had over 20 years of being happily married you wouldn’t think that if you spoke to them today. Despite the great times (specifically the birth of yours truly) my parents have generalised the somewhat bitter ending to the rest of the experience. First impressions matter a lot but last impressions are just as important.
This generalisation also applies to online experiences. It doesn’t matter that you have the best deals and the most innovative online shopping experience if the delivery is often late or your customer service is about as helpful as a pedal powered wheel chair. Your customers will generalise any poor element of your business to the rest of your brand, be great to the very end.
Gaining Compliance
When my older brother phones me and asks me to babysit my manic nephews and niece he knows he is much more likely to get an unenthusiastic “mmm go on then” if he asks me well in advance of the date he needs me to babysit. This tactic is often used by furniture stores, something along the lines of “Nothing to pay until next year” is often included within their sales promotion. Simply put when an event is a long way off it’s much easier to say yes.
Scarcity
When a person believes that something they might want is in limited supply, they believe the value is much greater than if it were available freely available. This scarcity has been wired into us at a young age, that last piece of cake often tastes that little bit sweeter.
Apple is one company who clearly appreciates and actions scarcity marketing, when done well, scarcity marketing can create a loyal and cult like following.
Contrasting
When I was a younger I would often go shopping with my parents and like most kids would often hassle my parents to buy toys and sweets, mostly this was unsuccessful. I usually got the standard reply of “they’re too expensive” or on the rare occasion “you can have the cheapest”.
I soon learnt that the best method of selling to my mum was to get two products and note how little one of the items cost. It often worked. This law of contrast doesn’t say you will always sell the less expensive of the two products. It does say that if you put two items or services close together in space, in time or in a person’s mind, the person will begin to clearly see the differences and their programming will help them choose, it becomes a question of which one rather than whether or not to.
The key here is clearly seeing the differences, a product or service can suffer from comparison when stacked up against many competitors, it becomes just part of the crowd. Leave it by itself and it can shine, reduced choice makes it easier to choose.
Compare
Consumers like to know how much something did cost, to learn what a fair price for the product or service is today. Some products and services are currently increasing in cost much higher than the average rate of inflation.
I do not want to see money coming out of my pocket; every promotion should be framed so that it appears the consumer is saving.
Add-ons
Your customer has decided to purchase a new laptop, now you can show them the extended service plan, a piece of software, a laptop bag or an extra battery for emergencies. These small costs contrast nicely to the £600 they’ve just spent on a new laptop and almost seem insignificant. Many ecommerce websites now use this tactic although some are much better than others at recommending appropriate and relevant add-ons.
Trust
People make purchase decisions based on trust, this is why brands spend millions of pounds on marketing. If my nephews or niece had a cold I would always purchase Calpol Cough Syrup rather than the supermarkets own brand, with important decisions like this it’s vital to be 100% sure. When my friend “likes” a brand I know that there is a good chance I will also like it, this brand is endorsed by a person I trust and respect.
Intelligence
The more you know about someone, the easier it is to gain acceptance. This is why companies invest millions of pounds into loyalty cards and other data intelligence trappings. With great intelligence you can gain even better results. Getting people to buy from you means you must know what makes them tick.
Impress Friends
We all want to be liked and we all want people to look at what we buy and do with respect and appreciation. Imagine how product x will feel when you buy it! Allowing consumers to see their future after purchasing your products or services where their friends and family not only approve but are excited about his or her purchase can create great results. People are very indecisive, the more public someone is with their belief the less likely they are to change. How many Apple evangelists have you seen revert back to a PC?
