Psychology is one of the most underrated sciences when it comes to ecommerce, with merchants and professionals preferring to talk hard numbers and figures. This science of the mind is centuries old, and yet still vastly underutilised.
Why? We here at RepricerExpress aren’t quite sure, but if there’s one thing we can say with any certainty, it’s that using these psychology tricks for ecommerce will add a solid foundation to your business. And the steadier your base, the more successful you can be at building it up to lofty heights.
Light Up the Pleasure Centres in Their Brains
Right off the bat, you want to establish one of the most powerful connections you can with your customer by activating their brain as much as possible — but in the right areas. These five areas are what you should be focusing on:
- Amygdala: This pair of groups of nuclei are located deep inside the middle portion of the brain, and have a direct role in emotions and decision making.
- Cerebellum: As well as linked to pleasure, the cerebellum (“little brain”) partially controls attention and language.
- Nucleus Acumbens: The basal forebrain can be found in the bottom part of the front of the brain, which is hugely important when it comes to memory and learning. The Nucleus Acumbens, in particular, dispenses dopamine — the feel-good chemical — when stimulated either by drugs or rewarding experiences.
- Pituitary Gland: You’ll find a number of important chemicals here, such as pain-reducing beta-endorphins, the fuzzy-feely causing oxytocin, and bond-building vasopressin.
- Ventral Tegmental Area: The VTA is the group of neurons that actually releases dopamine, giving us the intensely strong feelings most typically associated with love, orgasm, drug addiction, motivation and cognition.
And how can you link all five of these areas together in one fell swoop?
Point out how your products will help them, and help them quickly. If they’re worried about not receiving their item quickly, throw in fast shipping to activate the instant gratification part of their brain. Or you can also trumpet up free shipping, which will make your customers happy about having more money to keep in their pockets.
Learn the Behaviours and Personalities of Your Shoppers
Your buyers don’t all think the same way, so why would you market to them as though they’re one individual? It makes no sense at all to use one marketing scheme when there are three basic types of shoppers, and it can be a real detriment to your business if you do so. Let’s take a look at what these three types are.
1. Tight-wads: Just as it sounds, tight-wads are loathed to part with their money, especially when they see a purchase as having to spend a lot of money in one sitting. To help ease these shoppers’ fears, break down your pricing so it appears smaller, such as highlighting monthly costs instead of yearly ones.
2. Average Spenders: About two-thirds of the population falls into this category, and you have a fairly loose leash in which to market to them. Use a little caution and a little daring, and you’ll be doing well.
3. Spendthrifts: You won’t encounter many of these (between one in eight and two in nine people), but when you do, wowza, have you ever struck gold. To paraphrase a crude joke, tight-wads need the mood, atmosphere, lighting, emotions, reasons and motivations in place to make a purchase, while spendthrifts just need you to show up.
Draw Lines in the Sand
Ever wondered why the Mac versus PC commercials were so effective? It’s because Apple made their brand into an “us against them/the enemy” marketing campaign. They showed themselves as being the cool, hip and forward-thinking alternative to a stodgy, behind-the-times brand — and it worked marvellously.
You can also look at the tactic of making enemies through a philosophical lens by using the fallacy of the false dilemma, used famously by American President George W. Bush (“either you’re with us…or you’re with the enemy”).
But instead of harshly taking down your competitors, instead do so implicitly by stating how your products are for superiority. For example, if you sell clothing, advertise it as being for trendy shoppers who care about their appearance. If you sell gardening equipment, mention how your items are for home-owners willing to do what it takes to maintain a tidy, gorgeous yard that’ll boost curb appeal. All this can be achieved by optimising your product listings‘ descriptions and titles.
At RepricerExpress, we believe that understanding how the human mind works is key to furthering yourself in business, no matter what you’re selling. The other important element — repricing — is also psychological in nature: buyers will be looking at your page constantly, and it’ll give them a quick little rush of dopamine to see that your products are priced better than competitors’. To see just how powerful this effect can be, start off with our 15-day free trial now.
