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Today, marketers work hard to create successful campaigns on a variety of platforms. Their goal is to create a message that triers stimuli or emotions to change consumer behavior; pushing their audience to do something, buy something, visit a place, and so on.
While there are many methods marketers use to find success, one of the most effective is connecting marketing and human psychology.
What is the Connection Between Marketing and Psychology?
Marketing is building relationships between brands and consumers, which includes stoking loyalty and awareness in consumers. Psychology, on the other hand, is the study of the human mind and human behavior.
When you combine the two worlds, you are studying and using consumer behavior to build relationships with brands, using effective marketing campaigns and brand awareness. In other words, you are developing marketing strategies that favor particular behaviors. Your campaign may be influenced by the consumers’ purchasing decisions and emotional responses.
Tactics to Connect the Two
While there are many methods marketers use to connect psychology and marketing, here are just a few common ones that may be utilized.
Know your Target Audience
Before you do anything, you need to know who you are potential customers are. What are the typical demographics of your target audience? Are the majority of your target audience, 18-year-old Asian American women? Are they 65-year-old middle-class white males? It is important to use marketing research to find the data and facts of your target audience so then you can create a customer profile.
Once you know who your potential customers are, create a customer profile. Give this customer profile a name and a backstory. From here you can create a story for this profile and delve into the customer behavior that this profile would have. For example, do they typically make purchases from social media posts, or do they browse Amazon before making a purchase decision?
Using a profile will help you figure out what type of marketing tactics will give you the most bang for your buck. It will also help you understand what psychological tactics to use within your marketing plan.
Evoking Emotion
When you trigger an emotion in an individual, it is more likely to cause the individual to react, ultimately triggering the decision-making process. One popular emotion that marketers try to trigger is a sense of urgency. They use phrasing like “limited time”, “few are left in stock”, etc.
For example, we ran two ads in order to prove this point. One ad stated, “10% off Digital Marketing Courses!”, while the other one said, “Learn Digital Marketing in Just a Month | 2 Spots Left!” As a result of this experiment, we received more lead inquires regarding the ad that mentions that only two spots are left. Conversely, the ad giving 10% off received little attention. As a result, it is important to remember that everyone can offer discounts on their products or services, but evoking the emotion of, perhaps, feeling left out is very powerful and thus makes people act. Phrases like these evoke that sense of cut panic, causing an individual to make a rash decision. These phrases cause individuals to make purchases quickly, without overthinking.
Focus on the “Why”
Why should you purchase this product? Why is it worth it? Consumers need to know the value of the product right off the bat. They want to know how it will spark change within their day-to-day lives. Many marketers focus on the value of the product and why you need it. That shows the customer the power behind the product itself. Marketers give the product purpose and explain how beneficial it will be for years to come, not just for the day. They also focus on the quality of the product and see the potential behind it, not just the price tag.
Make it Appear Popular
In today’s society, the average person wants to fit in. They want to be accepted by their peers and feel a sense of unification with others. Marketers use this type of thinking to build campaigns. They make their audience feel like the brand, specific item, service, etc. is popular among their demographic and that everyone is rushing to buy one. Marketers especially make it so that consumers feel as though this product, service, etc., is flying off the shelves and most importantly if they don’t follow suit, they will be the odd one out. No one wants to feel like the odd one out and consequently, marketers use feelings of acceptance to trigger individuals into purchasing.
Conclusion
If marketers want to evoke a response in their customers, they must think like their customers. They must study and learn about their customers’ purchasing decisions and use that information to create campaigns that are effective and are likely to receive a response. When there is room for a response, consumers may be influenced to buy, revealing the relationship between psychology and marketing.