How You Can Convert Leads into Customers Using Easy Psychological Triggers?

Understanding Human Nature and Establishing the Narrative

The term “psychological trigger” may sound slightly sinister, but using psychological techniques in marketing has been around for a very long time. There is no need to manipulate or hypnotise your leads in order to convert them into customers. Instead, all we need to do as marketers is ensure that we understand what our visitors want, and how we can meet that. To do this effectively, we need to know what makes people tick and how to translate that into sales. In this article, we will explore some of these triggers in detail and learn why people decide to buy.

Understanding Human Behaviour

All aspects of human behaviour are driven by two basic needs; the gain of pleasure and avoidance of pain. Even actions that appear painful may be pursued because they ultimately provide some form of pleasure. As an example, extreme sports enthusiasts engage in dangerous behaviour that may cause pain, in order to get an adrenaline rush and a sense of accomplishment. This need motivates every decision that is made, and understanding this basic psychological trigger is essential. In order to use this in our marketing efforts, we need to understand what our potential customers associate with pain and pleasure- one person could derive pleasure from running a marathon where another would only find pain. It is imperative to understand your audience and then you can use these triggers in your marketing.

Tell a Story

A story is a powerful way of conveying a message, and this has been used throughout human history in the form of parables, fables, myths and legends. A list of bland facts may be informative, but it simply does not resonate with the reader, who is driven by emotions and responds immeasurably better to a good story. Studies have shown that 95% of cognition happens inside the subconscious emotional parts of the brain! As a marketer, it is imperative to speak to that part of the visitors brain and elicit an emotional response. A good story should appeal to all the senses, and tickle the emotional part of the brain into engaging with the message. When using this in marketing, never show a potential customer what you can do for them. Instead, tell them a story of how your product or service helped someone to gain pleasure or avoid a problem that would have caused them pain.

Always Be Unique

Us humans are easily amused, and if we encounter something new and unusual, studies have shown that the brain releases dopamine- our natural ‘reward’ chemical. The promise of potential pleasure will make people search for new things to buy- the product or service offered doesn't even have to be particularly new or novel to elicit this response. As an example: there isn't much of a difference between the iPhone 5 and the iPhone 6, but people will seek out the latest version to receive a dopamine hit and fuel their pleasure. Care should be exercised when using this trigger, curiosity about the product needs to be built; people will require social proof and validation before making a purchase. If your business has taken the time to build experience and credibility in your niche, this can be a powerful method to drive sales.

Now, We will look at some more advanced psychological triggers that you can use to convert leads into customers. All these methods can be easily incorporated into your current marketing strategies, but remember, they will only be effective if you understand your target audience.

Inspiring curiosity in Your Leads

George Loewenstein is a professor at Carnegie Mellon, and he has discovered the Information Gap Theory. Essentially this theory proves that when there is a gap between what humans know and what they want to know, they take action to fill the gap. Armed with this as a credible theory, if you are able to inspire curiosity in your leads, they will aim to bridge their knowledge gap and learn more about your product or services. By using this subtle psychological trigger, you can make prospects respond to your marketing and become engaging customers. This also causes activity in the part of the brain that is associated with pleasure, which we already know can be a powerful motivator. When giving out information always leave some teasers, or a link to follow for more details, to inspire curiosity in your leads.

Always Give a Reason

It is always necessary to explain to the lead why they need your services or product, and, as discussed above, this is most effective when framed in the context of a story. The human brain is always looking for an explanation or meaning for every event and experience. The psychologist Ellen Langer conducted the Xerox experiment and found that people will do more for you if you give them a reason. The reason doesn't even have to be particularly important, but it is important that it exists. In the Xerox experiment, a staggering 34% of people queueing to use a photocopier were willing to let people jump the queue for completely meaningless reasons- however by supplying the reason, the people in queue were far more likely to acquiesce. This is clearly a very powerful psychological trigger, and one that marketers can use in their efforts. Always look to give your leads a reason to buy, and many will accept it without question.

Appealing to Laziness

We probably don’t need to spell this one out, but studies have shown that if there are two courses of action open to a person, they will gravitate to the least demanding one. There is an element of both cognitive and physical laziness that is built into human nature, partly due to our evolution where survival was reliant on the conservation of energy. In order to survive in our harsh early history, the easier option was always preferable as it burned fewer calories and took less time. In our marketing efforts, we can appeal to this basic aspect of human nature by providing instant pleasure and removing pain. Aim to simplify the solution that you are offering; can it be made easier to use or understand, could it be delivered quicker?

If you’re looking to get the most out of your online marketing efforts in 2016, contact us. The team at Dilate are highly experienced in all aspects of online marketing, content creation and web design, and are always happy to chat!