Attracting attention, generating interest, and retaining customers are becoming increasingly complex with so many websites. However, there is a hidden weapon that can cut through those 1.8 million sites. The relatively untapped realm of digital marketing psychology is that secret weapon.
What is Digital Marketing Psychology?
Digital marketing psychology is a relatively new concept. It combines digital marketing with behavioral economics and psychology to investigate how people behave, particularly online.
The Significance of Digital Marketing Psychology
We live in a world that is dominated by numbers and statistics. For example, Google Analytics makes monitoring what your consumers are doing simpler than ever. Digital marketing psychology, however, reveals WHY they are doing it.
Where raw data cannot optimize digital marketing techniques, digital marketing psychology may. This greater degree of comprehension applies to a variety of professions in the online world.
By understanding consumer psychology, marketers may anticipate and influence customer behavior via digital marketing methods. Combine consumer psychology with digital marketing to create digital marketing psychology. At the end of the rainbow, there is a pot of gold!
Marketers can benefit from digital marketing psychology in the following ways:
- Recognize why their customers buy products or services online.
- Boost conversion rates
- Lower bounce rates
- Increase the average transaction spend
- Keep current customers
- Boost repeat purchases
- Use testing methodologies
Cognitive Biases and Digital Marketing Psychology
Heuristics are frequently used to guide consumer behavior and decision-making. These are decisions made by your subconscious mind without consulting the rational, logical part of your brain (the conscious mind).
Heuristics are mental shortcuts we use to save time and effort by avoiding thinking about the next course of action.
Common Applications of Heuristics
As humans evolved over millions of years, heuristics evolved. While they frequently make day-to-day decision-making much easier, they can also lead to errors in judgment.
We can become overly reliant on heuristics, leading to rash, emotion-driven decisions or irrational behavior. These judgment errors are known as cognitive biases and are hardwired into our brains.
Savvy marketers understand that capitalizing on these cognitive biases can result in significant gains in the digital marketing industry.
Five psychological aspects of digital marketing psychology
There are numerous types of consumer psychology tactics—there are well over 100 cognitive biases. We want to focus on a few that have proven particularly effective.
To achieve your objectives, you must apply multiple digital marketing psychology principles.
- Scarcity as a Psychological Strategy
Scarcity promotes urgency, which raises customers’ desire to purchase, so they do not miss out on an opportunity.
Scarcity is incredibly successful in eCommerce, where things may be displayed as ‘low in stock’ or ‘in great demand.’
However, service-oriented organizations may also benefit from the scarcity strategy. They may, for example, introduce short-term discounts or restricted consultation appointment windows.
According to research, the power of scarcity was employed in four major ways:
- Restricted Availability: ‘just 1 room remaining’ ‘only 10 in stock’ and ‘limited quantity’ enhance the pressure to purchase before goods run out
- For a Limited Time: A ’24 hour flash sale’ intensifies the pressure to purchase before the period expires.
- Popular: ‘1,437 sold today’ – highlights the popularity and enhances the chance of purchase
- One-of-a-kind opportunity: ‘members only’ ‘unique discount code’ and ‘VIP access’ makes customers feel honored to be offered such a deal.
When it comes to scarcity, Booking.com is a genius.
The phrase ‘just 1 remaining on our site’ conveys a strong feeling of urgency. It also establishes the organization as legitimate, trustworthy, respectable, dependable, and popular, satisfying the human need for social proof!
- Digital Marketing’s Decoy Effect
Many pricing methods are built on this cognitive fallacy. The word “decoy” refers to bait or trick used to entice clients to make a guided choice. Sneaky!
The decoy effect uses a third pricing point to make one of the two others look more appealing.
For example, Monday.com offers three subscription models: Basic, Standard and Pro. If only a Basic or Pro subscription was available, a client might find it difficult to justify spending twice as much for the top-tier membership.
A standard subscription model is typically priced somewhere in the middle, generally closer to the lowest price point. Suddenly, the Pro membership seems to be an excellent choice.
This three-price-point model is a fantastic digital marketing psychology tactic. It can persuade clients to make the precise choice you always intended them to make.
Pricing deception impacts buying choices.
- Loss Aversion
The term “loss aversion bias” relates to our human tendency to favor avoiding losses over earning equal benefits. In other words, the thrill of winning overcomes the dread of losing.
Consider this: losing $100k would be much more painful than obtaining $100k.
You may take advantage of this strategy in digital marketing psychology by way of positioning your product or service. Many SaaS firms, for example, offer free trials to entice new customers. The free trial takes relatively little commitment from the buyer, who believes they have nothing to lose.
The loss occurs after their free trial period expires! During their free trial, they will have formed an unconscious emotional attachment. Not emotional in the sense of bonding with another person, but emotional in terms of dependency and desire.
Thanks to the program or platform, their daily existence may have grown less stressful. Their day-to-day duties may have grown more efficient.
The consumer is content to pay for access because it avoids the much larger loss of not being able to use the software/platform.
According to SaaS marketers, free trials are the strongest hook for long-term membership commitments. This is because there are upgrade options inside the platform if a prospective client becomes an actual customer.
Ecommerce shops selling physical goods may also benefit from this cognitive bias. One of our favorite 2020 companies accomplishes just that.
Snif: A fragrance-buying experience unlike any other! Get free samples sent right to your home, along with full-size fragrances.
Do you dislike the sample? Return the large bottle. Do you like the sample? Keep the bottle and pay up.
Snif employs loss aversion to boost sales and income.
What is the digital marketing psychology behind this? The huge bottle was effectively stolen. Once it is in your hands it is far more difficult to return. What a brilliant strategy!
- Reciprocity as a Psychological Strategy
We encounter reciprocity in our daily lives.
Have you ever invited someone to a party just because they invited you to theirs? Ever purchased a Christmas present for someone because they purchased one for you? When someone does something for you, you feel obligated to do something for them too.
This is a powerful tool in today’s consumer society. Giving away freebies fosters relationships and loyalty, preparing the recipient to become a paying customer.
It is not only effective in acquiring new customers, but it can also help to maintain long-term relationships with existing customers. Reciprocity is an excellent way to increase brand loyalty and advocacy.
Consider the following five fundamental pillars:
- Make consumers feel special and distinct – personalize contact and outreach.
- Give clients a valuable present that will help their lives – instead of giving away useless items, target your customers’ pain spots.
- Suggest opportunities for consumers to reciprocate, such as a contribution, a reduced purchase or a trial period.
- Be the first to provide – instead of waiting for a request for additional information, offer a free download.
- Don’t let the circle close; continue giving until they convert! This a fantastic opportunity for email marketing.
- The Role of Social Proof in Digital Marketing Psychology
Finally, displaying social proof of your goods or service is a surefire technique in digital marketing psychology. According to studies, 92% of online customers read at least one product review before making a purchase, with the majority viewing between 1 and 6 reviews before making a choice.
The number of product reviews that are routinely viewed before making a purchase decision
We humans like following the crowd! We are far more likely to try a product or service after reading a few positive reviews about it.
There are many techniques to demonstrate social proof:
- Customer feedback
- Number of subscribers
- The total amount of social shares
- Success tales from your clients
- Third-party accreditation
- Identification badges
- Logos of clients
Amazon is an excellent example of a firm that utilizes reviews as social proof. Most product listings have reviews in the three, four, and five-figure range to read before making a purchase decision.
Amazon employs social proof to boost conversions.
Customer Experience and Digital Marketing Psychology
Any marketing tactic’s ultimate purpose is to provide an outstanding customer experience that extends the client’s lifetime.
Using the aforementioned principles will subtly target your customers’ minds without being overt or explicit about it. Remember the aggressive salesman we’re attempting to avoid?
When applied correctly, digital psychology principles can aid in conversion optimization.
Featured Image- Megapixl @ Rawpixelimages
Author Okoro Chinedu 