What’s the best way to get your customers to buy? If you’re selling a product or service, you need them to be convinced that their lives will be better once they’ve purchased from you.
And if you’re selling yourself be it in an interview or on a date you want them to see how valuable your presence can be for them. The good news is that there’s science behind all of this.
We know exactly what makes people decide whether or not something is worth their time and money. Here are ways that marketers use neuromarketing techniques like facial feedback theory, mirror neurons and empathy, confirmation bias, storytelling, and more!
Facial Feedback Theory: You Get The Consumer To Smile
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Understand Cognitive Biases: Learn from cognitive biases and use them to shape persuasive marketing strategies. |
| 2. Harness First Impressions: Recognize the power of quick decisions and the role of first impressions in influencing buying behavior. |
| 3. Employ Neuroscience Methods: Explore neuroscience methods that can help you effectively sell products and services. |
| 4. Utilize Subtle Techniques: Implement subtle yet powerful neuromarketing techniques to increase sales and engagement. |
| 5. Embrace Neuroimaging Insights: Leverage neuroimaging research to gain deeper insights into customer preferences and behavior. |
It’s no secret that customers like to be greeted by smiling faces. Smiling makes people feel good, so it’s a good way to get them to feel good about your product. Seeing someone smile will make you more likely to smile back and this is why the facial feedback theory works so well.
Smiling is contagious and when you’ve got a customer who feels positive about your product, they’re much more likely to buy it (and tell others).
Not only does smiling make us feel better, but it also makes us appear more attractive which can help build trust between you and your customers.
Mirror Neurons And Empathy: You Show Them First
Mirror neurons are brain cells that fire when you watch someone else doing something. They allow us to empathize with others and help us predict what they’re going to do.
Imagine this: your customer is looking at a page on your website in which they can see that they are part of a group of people who have already purchased the product you are selling them (or at least engaged with it).
This is called “social proof”, and it helps make a case for why someone should buy from you instead of someone else. If you want customers to see themselves as part of your story, then show them first!
Understanding how cognitive biases influence decision-making is crucial in marketing. Learn about learning from cognitive biases to create effective strategies.
Confirmation Bias: You Set Expectations And Deliver On Them
Show them first. When you show people what they want to see, it gives them a sense of control and makes them feel good about themselves.
In the confirmation bias, this is called “anchoring” because of the way an anchor helps a boat stay in place when it’s being pulled by currents or winds.
If you get someone to anchor their thoughts around your ideas, then when other information comes along later on that seems unrelated to those initial thoughts even if it contradicts those initial thoughts, your customer will still think of your idea as correct because of their original anchor point.
That’s why it was so effective for me when I asked my mom how much money she wanted me to give her each month after college graduation: She was anchored by her answer ($420), so anything I said later had already been pre-framed as correct by her own words!
For example, let’s say you want people to buy something from you–a product or piece of content–and there’s some uncertainty about whether or not they’ll like it (because maybe there are plenty of competitors out there too).
First impressions matter in marketing. Discover how your brain forms preferences quickly in our article on liking products at first sight.
The best thing is getting them hooked on a story first–whether an anecdote or just part of one.
And then showing off how much better YOUR product might be than others out there based upon what YOU have learned from experimenting with different versions over time (which probably means sticking with something very similar in terms of design/layout etc…).
Storytelling: You Get Them Hooked On Your Story
Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can use to get customers to buy.
The power of storytelling has long been known: it gets people hooked on your story and makes your message memorable, but several specific characteristics make good stories so effective at convincing people to buy what you’re selling.
First, make sure that the story is relevant and interesting. Don’t tell a random tale out of anywhere; it should be related in some way to the product or service being sold.
Second, keep it short and simple don’t try to ramble on for too long or go into unnecessary detail about either yourself or the product/service at hand (unless something truly fascinating comes up).
Thirdly, ensure that it sticks with the reader by making sure that they can recall it later without fail.
This can mean adding just enough detail so as not to make things vague yet still keeping things succinct enough for memory purposes (and also making sure there aren’t any gaps where something important got left out).
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Perception Of Value Vs Actual Value: You Increase Their Perceived Value And Play Down Their Actual Cost
For example, if you’re selling a movie, show the DVD or Blu-ray at the beginning of the ad so that it’s in people’s minds when they think about buying it later. If you’re selling a car, show the image of the car’s interior rather than just listing its features.
Enhance your selling techniques with insights from neuroscience. Explore our guide to simple neuroscience methods for selling and connect better with customers.
People won’t pay as much attention to what they don’t see (or remember) as easily as they will to what they do see (or remember).
Similarly, when pricing your products, don’t just list them by price, present them in terms of how much money someone saves by buying from you instead of another company or through some other channel (like Amazon).
Patterns And Framings (Optimization Engines): You Find A Pattern They Like And Use It As A Framing Device To Sell Your Product
Patterns and Framings (optimization engines): you find a pattern they like and use it as a framing device to sell your product.
Framing is about making the customer see your product differently from how they normally see it. It’s about making them see their problem differently, so that it may not seem like a problem anymore at all!
It’s about changing the way someone perceives something to get them to do what you want them to (buy your product).
Pareidolia And Apophenia (Finding Meaning In Random Data): You Make Sure They See What They Want To In Your Ideas, Stories, And Products
You can do this by showing your audience data that shows they are making good decisions, or that they will be more successful with your product than without it. You can also create a story that is based on assumptions, then validate those assumptions with your audience’s reactions.
In the video below (which I strongly recommend watching), Dan Ariely explains how he used pareidolia to increase sales of his book Predictably Irrational by creating a series of fake book covers and asking people which one they would prefer to buy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJWxC8Nv6c4
Memory Reconsolidation (Rewriting History): You Present Information That Conflicts With What They Know, Then Replace It With Something Better For Your Purposes
Memory reconsolidation is a process in which the brain changes existing memories. Many people have experienced this phenomenon when they have forgotten a phone number they thought they would never forget and then later remembered it.
To be able to use this technique, you need to understand how memory works and how people perceive their past.
You can change their perception of their past: if you want someone to believe something about themselves that isn’t true, but wasn’t true at some point in time, then you can use memory reconsolidation techniques.
This is especially useful when trying to change behavior since many people resist changing because of what they think about themselves or who they think they are as a person.
It’s also helpful for changing expectations about the future because sometimes our expectations aren’t realistic (e.g., thinking that your business will grow faster than it does).
Reciprocity Principle (Give And Take): You Give Them Valuable Content For Free, Then Introduce Related Paid Products Later On
Unlock the potential of subtle neuromarketing strategies to boost your sales. Dive into our article on using neuromarketing to increase sales for actionable tips.
Give them something valuable for free first, then introduce a related product later on.
This is the reciprocity principle: you give them something they can’t refuse, then ask for a favor in return. This works because people like to repay favors when they can, and giving a gift is a way of encouraging that behavior.
For example, if you were selling training courses online, you could offer free tips and tricks on how to use your tool or service but only after someone has bought it or subscribed to your content (and not as part of an up-front sales pitch).
When they’ve finished reading the tips and tricks document, there’s an easy link taking them directly back into your store where they can buy more stuff from you.
Here’s another example: imagine if every time someone came across some one-on-one coaching from me in my marketing course on Udemy (an online learning platform).
I offered them access even though it wasn’t included in their enrollment price? That would be pretty sweet!
Scarcity Effect (Limited-Time Offer): You Offer Limited, One-Time Opportunities That Encourage Rapid Action
You can use scarcity to increase the perceived value of your product. By offering something limited in quantity, you are encouraging rapid action and increasing the likelihood of a sale.
Here’s an example: You’re selling tickets online for an upcoming concert, but you only have 300 tickets available at this price (instead of 1,000). This makes those remaining 300 tickets seem more valuable than they are.
The low inventory also gets people excited about buying them before they sell out completely, which means they’re more likely to make a purchase!
Not sure how many times you should offer your limited-time offer? Use research from MIT professor Jonah Berger’s book Contagious: Why Things Catch On as a guideline by following these tips:
Understanding brain activity through neuroimaging can elevate your marketing strategies. Read more about neuroimaging research for marketers to gain a competitive edge.
Offer items at different prices during certain periods throughout the day or week (for example, on Tuesdays between 12 pm-1 pm), then raise prices during other times later in the week or month.
This will give customers another chance to purchase your item if they missed out earlier in the day and want to get their hands on it before anyone else does!
Price Anchoring (You Decide The Price): You Give Them A High Price First To Make The Lower Price Seem More Attractive
Price anchoring is a technique that allows you to influence your customers’ perception of the value of a product or service. You can use it to convince them that what you’re offering is worth much more than it is, so they’ll pay you more money for it. Here’s how it works:
First, give them a high price and make sure they understand it fully before giving them any other prices. This will allow the first impression to make the difference, so don’t let anyone else talk until after this step has been completed!
Second, give them an even higher price (this time real). Then say in a casual tone of voice something along these lines: “But wait–we have another deal for today only! It’s two for one with free shipping on orders over $75!”
This will help create an illusion that all of your products are priced ridiculously low when compared with similar ones from competitors who may not offer them.
Such generous discounts off their initial sticker values at all times like yours does now due to special circumstances happening today only where everyone gets something extra special but no longer tomorrow (but maybe next week?).
Anchoring Effect (The First Impression Makes The Difference): You Attach Irresistible Details To Your Offers From The Start)
The anchoring effect is the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered (the “anchor”) when making decisions. For example, let’s say you go to a store and see two similar pairs of jeans at different prices.
The pair that costs more seems like a better deal because it costs less than the higher price point, even though it’s still expensive.
This is called an anchor price because it anchors your thinking around one particular price point and makes that seem normal or acceptable for the product.
But there’s good news! You can use this same psychological concept to get customers to buy more by attaching irresistible details to your offers from the start.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you now know to use neuromarketing to get customers to buy. You should now be able to make your website more inviting and increase conversions through the use of eye-tracking software.
Further Reading
Here are some additional resources for further reading on neuromarketing:
Neuromarketing Examples: Explore real-world examples of how businesses apply neuromarketing principles to their marketing strategies.
Neuromarketing Insights: Gain insights into the world of neuromarketing and discover how it can help you better understand consumer behavior.
Neuromarketing Strategies for Success: Learn practical strategies that marketers can implement to leverage neuromarketing techniques effectively.
FAQs
What is neuromarketing?
Neuromarketing is the study of consumer behavior and decision-making processes using insights from neuroscience to optimize marketing strategies.
How does neuromarketing affect consumer choices?
Neuromarketing techniques tap into subconscious responses, influencing consumer choices by appealing to emotions and cognitive biases.
Can neuromarketing improve brand engagement?
Yes, neuromarketing can enhance brand engagement by creating emotionally resonant marketing campaigns that connect with consumers on a deeper level.
What are some common neuromarketing methods?
Common neuromarketing methods include eye-tracking studies, brain imaging (fMRI), and analyzing physiological responses to understand consumer reactions.
How can businesses use neuromarketing insights?
Businesses can use neuromarketing insights to design more compelling advertisements, product packaging, and online experiences that resonate with their 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.