I have studied Psychology at Uni.
You may ask me: “So, why do you want to switch to marketing?”… Well, to those who didnt study Psychology, I’ll briefly introduce you the Curriculum of at least 2 years of study in Psychology:
- Organizational Psychology (Psy. applied in organizations)
- The Psychology of Consumer
- The Psychology of Advertising
- Economic Psychology
- SPSS and Research Methodology in Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Cognitive Behavioral Psychology
(just to mention a few)…
So.. I’ll be posting here my thoughts on several topics, like unsolved problems in marketing, as viewed from a psychological perspective…
Marketing Problem #1:
How do you write an effective marketing message? (i.e. in DM, presentations, sales pitch, etc)? You do your best at making the product/ service look amazing, appealing and unique and STILL, your customers always seem to go “blah!…”
Psychological Explanation:
YOU need to take a look at the Yale Attitude Change Effect.
which stipulates that people tend to believe the messages which show both sides of a specific issue (negative aspects/ flaws &all; as well as positive aspects/ benefits &wow)…
Solution:
You have to present the best side FIRST. (see primacy effect)
Then go briefly through the flaws&all BUT DO NOT FORGET TO SHOW HOW your product/service make the BAD BAD WOLF go away.
Show why is your product/service better than your competitor’s and HOW you try to improve your range of products/services, in your pursuit of (customer’s) happiness.
Problem #2:
You know the little voice in the back of your head that tells you “Don’t buy this now, you may regret it…” Well, there is this “Don’t do it now” trollin the back of his and her mind too. Everybody has a “Don’t do it now” troll and its daunting he only says “You’ll regret it later so don’t do it” and yet he is so persuasive, he wins the debate every day… in fact, most of the timeyou don’t even debate with him, you just don’t do it.
So… why should your customer listen to YOU and not to his vigilent troll?
Psychological Perspective
The “Regret theory” is one of the most difficult to understand because it is about something we do not like to admit to admit to ourselves: it’s about us choosing to give up, to stop, to doubt and fear something that didn’t happen yet.
If asked to describe ourselves, we would most often say that we are brave, courageous and that we decide to do new things spontaneously. In fact, most of us would hesitate doing it, avoid or dismiss new ideas; it’s just that we “don’t remember” about it later on.
Solution
The Solution is not at hand. Obviously, you cannot make the troll shut up, but you can make him shout and scream in the customer;s head, so that finally HE DOES DO IT.
How can you do this?
1. Most often, this happens in copywriting and advertising. If the product is quite expensive, then you should try to enhance the specific things that make it so special, the customer WOULD REGRET NOT having bought it.
And NO, it doesn’t go like “BUY it NOW and get this special OFFER!”… Your customer IS educated, don’t underestimate him.
2. Don’t focus on what could happen to the customer if he does accept your offer: it makes you sound like an annoying sales person. Describe or illustrate what AWFUL things could happen if he doesn’t choose your offer.
