10 scientific findings that can help you improve your marketing
In online advertising, marketers are constantly testing new ideas to increase customer conversion, but their efforts amount to little if the strategies employed are not backed by scientific data.
The reality is that there are so many messages being thrown at consumers every second of every day that individual voices have a tough time cutting through the noise.
That, coupled with the fact there are now 4 million Google searches a minute, marketers really need to be in the right place at the right time.
Luckily, countless studies have revealed interesting insights into consumer behavior that are invaluable in the race to gain market share.
We’ll talk about 10 of them.
1. Potential Customers Readily Respond to Visuals
It’s well documented that people rely heavily on their sense of vision to navigate the world around them – we’re actually wired that way.
In fact, 50 percent of our brain’s capacity is dedicated to processing visual information.
According to recent findings; consumers are 65 percent more likely to remember information accompanied by an image.
This is one of the reasons why social media sites like Pinterest are leading the charge and capturing 41 percent of all e-commerce traffic. For some perspective, Facebook comes in second place at 37 percent.
So if small businesses and marketers want to improve their odds, adding images or other visuals such as videos and infographics are tried-and-true methods for increasing traffic, retention and conversion rates.
2. Information Overload Is a Real Thing
Whenever marketers attempt to describe a new product or service, they’re faced with decisions regarding how much information to share. Generally, the idea is to lead consumers gently down the content marketing funnel.
Source: http://modedigital.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Content-Marketing-Funnel.jpg
Best practice principles involve spreading high-level information before focusing on specifics and narrowing the scope of your marketing message.
Avoid flooding your readership with overly complicated or poorly organized information and streamline the process. By doing this, you’ll find customers become much easier to acquire.
3. Variety Serves to Capture and Retain Engagement
This point reiterates the importance of breaking up dense blocks of text and making content scannable or palatable for modern audiences. Recent research into how users consume information online has revealed many insights as to how content should be presented.
In a further study conducted by the Nielsen Norman Group, 79 percent of participants scanned any new webpage they came across and only 16 percent read the information word for word.
Interestingly, it isn’t enough for marketers to just be brief. They must also establish credibility before the content they create is taken at more than face-value.
4. Comparative Pricing Works When Positioning Products
Of all the psychological pricing strategies – and there are many – comparative pricing is perhaps the most effective at establishing and retaking market share. Still, marketers must be cautious when pricing products and services below their competitors as positive public perceptions may diminish.
Marketers can also use this strategy to direct buyers towards a specific product. Again, you’ll need to be careful as consumers don’t always opt for cheaper alternatives when confronted with choice.
For an example, consider a company that offers:
- A phone-charging cord for $10
- A phone cord wall adapter for $15 and
- A phone cord and wall adapter for $15
Most consumers would purchase option three as it represents the most value, but only because they have the second option to compare it to.
Half the battle lies in understanding your target audience and what they’re prepared to spend. All you really need to do is ensure that you can add value in a meaningful way.
5. There Is a Psychological Response to Color
Take a moment to think about the world’s most established brands and ask yourself what they all have in common. If you answered “a great brand identity” or “an iconic company logo,” the good news is you’re half right.
What makes a brand immediately recognizable in today’s age is color – and it can say a lot about company, according to this psychology of color infographic. Additionally, it affects the way potential customers react to marketing materials and whether or not they connect with the message.
Source: http://www.webpagefx.com/blog/web-design/psychology-of-color-infographic/
Be sure to consider how colors make use of psychological triggers to create desirable emotional responses before marketing your product or service. Those who understand the power of color can use it to their advantage and are able to create much more effective marketing campaigns.
6. Consistency Is Key in Business Blogging
Up until now we’ve only scratched the surface of best practice in content writing, but it is just as important to populate your website and marketing campaigns with meaningful words as it is for anything else.
Results of a recent HubSpot survey involving 7,000 businesses revealed those who had 51 to 100 pages available on their websites generated 48 percent more traffic than those with less than 50 pages.
Source: http://cdn1.hubspot.com/hub/53/Marketing-Benchmarks-from-7000-businesses.pdf
One reason for this is due to having a larger network of inbound links; that is, traffic being directed to the website from other, external sites or online spaces.
According to Social Media Today, 61 percent of U.S. consumers in 2013 followed through with a purchase after reading a blog post, making the case airtight for quality business blogging.
7. Emotions Influence People’s Purchase Decisions
While this point won’t be news to marketing professionals, the extent to which this statement is true varies by degrees and by more than you might think.
It’s the job of marketers to push their message beyond the buyer’s subconscious through the use of consumer psychology to spur them into action.
Though various approaches have been thoroughly tested, most marketers begin with the benefits and features of a product and then conduct consumer research in the pursuit of matching needs and motivations.
8. Your Choice of Wording Matters
While quality content is important in all forms of content marketing, it is vitally important where calls to action are concerned.
Marketers first need to pique a buyer’s interest before they can persuade them to convert. According to recent research, success hinges on satisfying consumer expectations when they click through to checkout.
Source: http://www.mashbout.com/psychology-of-conversion/
As you can see, there is a marked difference in which words are more likely to convince customers to click in the first instance, but keep it in mind that placement is also an important consideration you’ll need to factor in.
9. Bundling Reduces Pressure on Consumer Pain Points
Generally, pain points resemble those extra surcharges or fees that artificially drive up prices until consumers’ wallets are hurting. However, they needn’t be related to financial matters – pain points can encompass inconvenient purchase processes.
While customers can be broadly categorized into three distinct groups, conservative buyers typically seek to buy something in a single transaction, according a recent article and George Loewenstern, a neuroeconomics expert.
Source: http://www.sparringmind.com/customer-psychology/
It should be noted that any upgrades that directly affect price also diminish the value of a product in the minds of consumers the closer they come to their spending threshold.
Thus, it’s essential your marketing efforts seek to alleviate the fears of your target audience and that you can justify price-affecting factors.
10. Creating a Sense of Urgency Converts
The one thing that makes indecisive customers become suddenly able to make rapid-fire decisions is time – and it can be used to great effect as a clever marketing tactic to drive sales.
Establishing a heavily discounted shopping atmosphere during a 24-hour flash sale serves to motivate consumers so they don’t wait until the last minute to convert, or miss out entirely.
Source: http://www.wiser.com/infographic-psychologicalpricing
It creates an illusion of scarcity and enables potential buyers to break through action paralysis, provided specific details and/or instructions are given. Additionally, consumers can become part of a social activity – something that’s been missing from the average shopping experience for quite some time.
So there you have it, 10 ways to utilize scientific findings and data-backed consumer psychology to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your next campaign. Use some or all of these tips to drive sales and increase conversions.
