If you want to increase sales, the first step is to understand your customers and how they think.
The second step is to figure out how you can use that information to improve your marketing strategy, from social media campaigns to website design and beyond. Here are some important factors that influence what consumers buy:
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Marketing techniques have subtle yet powerful effects on customer behavior. |
| 2. Understanding cognitive biases can enhance marketing effectiveness. |
| 3. Packaging and presentation play a significant role in customer perception. |
| 4. Neuromarketing principles can guide better decision-making in marketing. |
| 5. Emotions and psychological triggers impact customer buying choices. |
| 6. The psychology of pricing influences perceived value and purchase decisions. |
| 7. Storytelling can create strong emotional connections with customers. |
| 8. Neuromarketing insights can improve customer engagement and loyalty. |
| 9. Unconscious cues can lead to unexpected customer responses. |
| 10. Incorporating neuroscience can lead to more persuasive marketing strategies. |
Your Company’s Image And Value
How your company is perceived by its customers, employees, vendors and investors. These are the people that ultimately determine whether or not you’re successful in the marketplace.
You need to ensure that your business is doing everything possible to create a positive image for all of these groups.
Your company’s image reflects its values, which is why it is so important to understand how each part of your organization contributes to creating this impression in others’ minds.
As a small business owner, you may have had no idea that there were so many different ways in which people could perceive your brand – but now that you’ve been made aware of all these factors (and more), there’s no excuse not to be proactive about managing them!
Discover how neuromarketing techniques can extend beyond the supermarket aisle. Dive into our article on Neuromarketing Isn’t Just for the Supermarket to explore versatile applications for businesses and individuals.
Your Product Or Service Offering
Your product or service offering is the first thing your customers will see. It is what they’ll judge you by, and it will make the difference between them buying from you or someone else. You need to get this right.
Some businesses set themselves up for failure in this area by thinking too small with their marketing efforts, or not putting enough thought into what they have to offer.
The result of this can be that they end up spending more time on things like advertising and social media than on their actual products or services, which defeats the purpose of marketing in the first place!
Your Customers’ Perceptions Of Your Products And Services
Your customers’ perception of your products and services, the impact they have on their lives, and how they feel about them are all influenced by how you market them.
These perceptions of your company, products/services and brand are:
- Perception of your company – The first impression that someone gets when they see or hear something about you or your business.
- Perception of your products/services – How customers interpret your marketing message about their needs.
- Perception of brand identity (logos) – The way people interpret the importance and quality level of your branding efforts (e.g., logo design).
- Perception of product/service benefits – What a customer thinks about what a given product or service does for them; is linked closely with perceived value (see below).
- Perceived Value – This concept describes how much benefit a customer believes he will receive from purchasing a given product at any given price point within an industry segment over time; it is closely linked with a concept called perceived risk (see below).
Uncover valuable insights into neuromarketing from a rocket scientist’s perspective. Learn from their experience in our post on 15 Things We Learned from a Rocket Scientist About Neuromarketing to enhance your marketing strategies.
Your Customers’ Pain Points
Pain points are extremely important to the success of your business. They’re what your customers want to be free of and what they want to avoid.
You may think that you know your customers’ pain points, but here are some things that might surprise you:
Your customers don’t like being pushed into a hard sell. When they feel pressured, it makes them feel uncomfortable and they will react in defense mode by shutting down their emotions (or wallet) when faced with a hard sell.
60% of all consumers say they would purchase more products if there were less advertising! So if your product is truly desirable, people will buy it whether or not they see any advertisements for it!
People are smarter than we give them credit for and can quickly identify when something is being forced upon them making them likely to react negatively toward any attempt at influencing their decision-making process.
The Psychology Behind Your Customers’ Buying Patterns
We have already established that there are several factors that influence the buying patterns of your customers, but what about their buying habits?
Why do some people always buy from you and others don’t? What makes someone purchase a product or service even when they know it’s not a good deal for them?
The answers to these questions are complex, but some psychological principles influence our buying decisions.
One such principle is loss aversion: we feel more pain from losing something than we experience pleasure from gaining something of equal value (i.e., losses hurt more than gains please).
This means that if you give up something in exchange for something else like money you will be less likely to part with your money if it means losing what you already have.
The Level Of Competition For Your Target Market
The level of competition for your target market is another factor that influences how customers perceive your marketing. The more competitors you have, the harder it will be to stand out from the crowd.
It’s important to note that this isn’t strictly a numbers game it also depends on how well-known these companies are and what type of reputation they have in your industry (or area).
For example, if you’re trying to sell a product or service in a highly saturated field like real estate.
Then having many strong competitors could be an advantage for you because it gives people options about where they want to work when buying or selling their home or apartment.
On the other hand, if there are only two companies offering similar services within driving distance from where you’re located then there may not be much choice available at all!
Understand the power of the human brain in shaping buyer decisions. Explore our article on 11 Reasons Why Your Brain Will Win Your Buyer’s Decision to gain insights into the psychology behind purchasing choices.
The Target Audience Research You Have Completed
With this information, you can begin to determine what you need to do moving forward. For example, if your product is not appealing to your customers and they don’t see any value in it, then perhaps a redesign could be in order.
Or if the main reason people are abandoning their shopping carts is because of a high shipping cost, maybe looking into different shipping options would be worthwhile.
If you don’t have all these pieces of information, how will you know what’s working and what isn’t?
The Amount Of Time And Money You Will Spend On Different Marketing Channels
I think you already know that the amount of time and money you will spend on different marketing channels is important. What you might not know is how much time and money you should spend on each of the different marketing channels.
If there are 5 things you can do to get a customer, it’s better to spend 80% of your budget on two of them than 20% each on all five. In other words: focus!
You also need to decide how many marketing channels you will use. For example, if your product makes sense for Facebook ads then maybe don’t try Google AdWords or Twitter ads to just focus!
How Well Your Product Or Service Fits Into The Lives Of Your Target Audience
The first step in understanding how to target your ideal customer is to make sure your product or service fits into the lives of your target audience. It’s important to understand what motivates people to make a purchase, and it will help you build a better strategy for marketing to them.
Before you start thinking about how you want to market yourself, here are some questions that can help:
Why do they want this product or service? How does it fit into their daily lives? Is it something they need on a day-to-day basis, like groceries or water bottles; or is it something that would enhance an existing experience.
Like headphones for working out at the gym; or even something that helps people escape reality for a while – such as video games and movies?
How often do they use social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (or other sites) each week/month/year?
Do they tend towards certain platforms over others depending on what type of content they’re looking at (for example LinkedIn vs Snapchat)?
What information are you able to glean from this data based upon previous behavior related specifically to these channels’ overall network footprint available today (i.e., number of followers/followers).
How Well You Can Connect With Them Emotionally
The best way to connect with your customers is by using emotional triggers.
Emotional triggers are the things that cause an immediate reaction in people, whether it be a positive or negative one. When you’re able to tap into these emotions, you can better connect with your audience and build trust between them and your brand.
The more trust you build, the more likely they are to buy from you. Below are some ways that you can emotionally engage with customers:
- Social media: Post about interesting topics relevant to your target audience that will make them laugh or feel inspired
- In-person: Make eye contact when talking with someone; ask questions instead of making statements; smile often
- Email: Use emojis sparingly (but use them!), avoid writing lengthy paragraphs and always try closing every email with a signoff like “Cheers!” or “Best Wishes.”
Enhance your prospect engagement by learning how to effectively read their minds. Check out our guide on How to Read the Minds of Your Prospects for tips and techniques to better understand your audience.
How Well Do You Understand What Motivates Them To Make A Purchase
Understanding what motivates your customers to buy is an incredibly important aspect of marketing. Why? Because it impacts the overall success of a business, as well as its profitability.
If you don’t know what makes them tick, how can you possibly hope to convince them to buy from you instead of your competitors?
As an example, let’s consider two hypothetical companies: Company A and Company B. Company A sells widgets through a direct sales model they send their salespeople out into the field and have them sell directly to consumers.
Company B sells widgets through an indirect sales model they use retailers as intermediaries between themselves and consumers (who are their end customers).
How Well They Understand Your Product Or Service
When it comes to understanding what motivates them to make a purchase, customers may not be conscious of all the reasons why they choose one product over another.
They may be motivated by something subconscious and hard to articulate, like how familiar they are with the brand or how good the last experience was.
Understanding customer mindshare, including what pain points customers have, is also important for marketers.
Marketers should consider whether these pain points are being addressed by competitors in the market and whether there could be ways for them to help address these issues better than others do.
How Well They Can Find Your Company Online When They Are Looking For Information About Products Or Services In Your Industry
You can use a variety of different marketing methods to build your business and increase traffic to your website.
You can use search engine optimization, social media, content marketing, mobile-friendly websites, video marketing, email marketing, search engine marketing, and social media advertising.
If you want to reach out to customers who are likely looking for information about your industry then influencer or retargeting may be the answer for you.
How Often They Use Social Media And Which Platform(S) They Use Most Often
How often do they use social media and which platform(s) do they use most often.
Social Media: Facebook is the most used, with 66% of people using it monthly or more. YouTube and Instagram are also popular platforms. You can guess how many people use Twitter by now (hint: not as many).
Search Engines: Google is obviously in a league of its own here, but other search engines like Yahoo!, Bing and DuckDuckGo aren’t far behind either. Oh, and don’t forget about Amazon product searches!
Email: Email marketing remains popular despite all its shortcomings; 60% of people check their email at least once per day, with 24% checking multiple times throughout the day.
But don’t think you need to pay for email marketing software just yet – Gmail has made it easier than ever for businesses to get started without having to shell out cash for expensive systems like MailChimp or Constant Contact first!
In-Person Conversations: This one might surprise some marketers out there – after all, isn’t face-to-face interaction supposed to be dead? Well yes – but only if you’re talking about meeting someone one time only;
Otherwise, 73% of people still enjoy having conversations with friends/family members over social events such as birthday parties or weddings where there’s an opportunity for bonding through dialogue rather than just texting back & forth constantly all day long…
Dive into the intriguing world of psychological marketing tactics to captivate consumer interest. Explore our post on The Psychology of Marketing – How to Trick Consumers Into Wanting Your Products to discover strategies that tap into consumer psychology.
Conclusion
These are just some of the many influences that impact your marketing efforts.
If you want to make sure that you are getting the most out of your marketing budget, it’s important to consider all of these factors before deciding how much money to spend on each channel or where you should focus your efforts.
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources to expand your understanding of digital marketing behavior and its psychological aspects:
Exploring Digital Marketing Behavior Learn more about the intricacies of digital marketing behavior and its impact on consumer decisions.
Psychological Factors in Consumer Behavior Delve into the psychological factors that influence consumer behavior and decision-making processes.
Influencing Buyers with Marketing Psychology Discover how marketing psychology can be harnessed to effectively influence and persuade buyers.
FAQs
What is digital marketing behavior?
Digital marketing behavior refers to the actions, reactions, and decision-making processes of individuals in response to various digital marketing strategies and stimuli.
How do psychological factors influence consumer behavior?
Psychological factors such as perceptions, motivations, emotions, and cognitive biases play a crucial role in shaping consumer behavior and choices.
How can marketing psychology be used to influence buyers?
Marketing psychology involves leveraging psychological principles to design marketing strategies that resonate with consumers, ultimately influencing their purchasing decisions.
What are some common cognitive biases affecting consumer choices?
Cognitive biases like the anchoring effect, social proof, and scarcity can impact consumer decision-making by leading them to make choices that may not be entirely rational.
How does digital marketing adapt to consumer behavior changes?
Digital marketing strategies need to stay adaptable to changing consumer behaviors, utilizing data and insights to tailor campaigns and messages to the evolving preferences of the target audience.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.
