Have you ever wondered what makes people buy? Most people will try to justify their purchase with logic, but there are other factors at play. The psychologist Robert Cialdini had discovered the secrets of getting people to comply in his famous book “Influence: Science & Practice.”
The book identifies six principles of influence that are used to get people to take action. Here's how you can use these six principles to influences your customers and increase your online sales:
1. Scarcity
People are more inclined to act when they know that there's a scarce amount of resources. This can be used to really make your promotions a big success. You can advertise your offer based on limited time bonuses or on limited quantities of products. It's also common to offer a short window discount for various products.
2. Commitment
People are more likely to act consistently in the way they've behaved before. You can use this to your benefit with your marketing. Try to make an irresistible offer like a $1 trial or low-priced offer. Then follow it up with a higher price offer since the customers have already made a purchase. Here's are some great examples of this.
You can also tie this into well-established facts about human behavior. People are more inclined to avoid a loss than gain pleasure. You can use upsells and cross-sells to create a situation where they would lose value by not following up with another purchase.
3. Consensus
This is also known as social proof. People are more likely to follow what others are doing. The logic is that if other people are doing or saying something, there must be legitimate reasons for their behavior. As a result, they follow what everybody else is doing without critical thinking.
There are many different ways to use social proof. Some examples include ratings, reviews, and customer testimonials. Some businesses are also using influencer marketing to take it to the next level.
4. Reciprocity
If you're like most people, you naturally want to give back to those who have given to you. This is known as reciprocity. If you give something of value to your prospect or customer, they'll be more likely to give back in some way.
For example, giving away a free report, free trial, or free sample are all great ways to increase the chances of your target audience to give back. This can be in the form of sharing your resource with others, making a purchase, or subscribing to your email list. It all comes down to you taking the first step.
5. Liking
People will act more favorably to people they like. This is basic human nature but has applications in business as well. You want to do things in your business that will get people to like you.
This can be anything from the value you provide, the personality you show in your copy/content, to the personal touch you add in your communications. Think about what you can do to connect with others on a deeper level. Improve the overall customer experience, offer great content, and stand out with real pictures and videos to show you are a real person/organization.
6. Authority
Finally, there's authority. People are inclined to follow experts. They know that experts have the experience and knowledge that normal people do not. As a result, the words of experts have more weight to the average person.
Can you figure out a way to integrate experts in your marketing? Maybe it can be an endorsement deal or a product review. Of course, you can also borrow credibility by using quotes, referencing studies, and mentioning your associations.
These principles have stood the test of time. If you want to increase your online sales, you want to adapt and integrate them into your digital marketing.
