7 Psychological Hacks to Impress Your Customers (& Boost Sales)

As a brand, it is crucial to build relationships with your consumers and also solidify them by exploiting the psychological vulnerabilities of the human mind. Humans are a union of thoughts and emotions, and if you are able to hijack the consumer psyche, you win.

A consumer’s mind functions by constantly evaluating the pros and cons offered by the variety of products and services available to them. Even the slightest bit of a problem can turn them off to some other product. To make sure your consumers choose you, you must evade any reluctance when it comes to the following questions:

What’s in it for me? 

Is my money/time investment worth it?

A valuable answer is the one that offers results which mark a distinction for your brand and also provide them with a product or service which makes a difference for them. It can be a little tricky to identify ways to attract consumers and therefore, we have woven a list of hacks which will not only simplify your process of finding and retaining consumers, but also make it easier for them to decide on your offer.

Personalisation works like a direct appeal and lets them know that you care about them, understand them, and that your products and services are designed especially for them. 

Make use of emails to welcome your consumers, check up on them or redirect to new or existing content which can be valuable for them. Always make sure to revert to the mails and direct messages you receive. 

Modify your packaging by using personalised insertions such as a handwritten note or even a tag with their name on it. Go a step forward in this process delight your consumers by adding a surprise gift to their package along with the ordered product.

If your business is service-based, you can always opt for an additional feature such as a freebie resource.

In order to achieve success, you must work on building a robust mechanism that aims at delivering utmost satisfaction to your consumers. You must build a brand with the genuine intention of giving consumers a good time and something which lingers in their memories.

Befriend them and be accessible. Work on a Brand Voice which is friendly, welcoming and entertaining to keep them hooked. Listen to them, allow feedback, take criticism and build from it. 

Your goal is to build an emotional attachment between your offer and its users. Prioritise user experiences and success will follow. 

You can wait for people to contact you, or you can be smart. Your choice.

Your offer is not a mere product or service, but a solution for your consumers. Now, think of solving problems in a manner which appeals to their emotions.

Invest time in understanding and defining the motivations of your consumers. This will enable you to read in between lines and decode the unsaid.

Your solution does not always have to be in your shop. Sometimes, it is good to sneak a freebie in for your consumers. This is you offering them a valuable resource in exchange for their email address.

This works like a sign up reward, such as a free ebook, printable planner or even a short duration email course.

Start by offering choices to your consumers and then create a distinction amongst similar items by introducing decoy pricing. What you should aim is to build a cognitive bias and maximise their intent of purchase.

While reviewing this laptop, we found that this is a perfect example of Decoy pricing. It makes the $1,999 model look like a steal deal. For just $200 extra, you get twice the storage.

By doing this, you are creating an implicit difference between the two, forcing users to think that the product with half the features may not be worth it and more value is being offered at a reasonable price.

A similar mechanism can be offering related items and combos to your consumers at a discounted price before the checkout phase.

Think of your shopping page as a piece of architecture. Now, list the features of that particular piece and rank them on the basis of what makes people the most interested by each. The top two points will be similar to:

The most alluring or attractive section.

The most talked about section.

People prefer what catches the eye or word of mouth.

That’s exactly how you need to organize the structure of your online shopping page - in alignment with their preference.

A high rated or most reviewed product is an assurance for potential buyers. Social Proof is a solid way of building trust. By looking through the unbiased reviews of real-life consumers, they begin to build their trust, believing that a lot of people cannot be wrong.

Work on building all of your products equally, but mark a distinction based on high preference of people to bring in others too.

Delight and conversion are interlinked. Exclusive insider perks such as memberships, Invite-only events, Email-only special discounts not only serve their ego, but also make them feel lucky and special - the feeling of being let in on a secret deal. 

Reward their loyalty, it makes people feel special. You can also offer occasional promotions to your list such as holiday discounts and birthday coupons.

People buy products from brands associated with their past with experiences. Build a memorable brand and message, and pay attention to details.

In order to make reward programs work and bring users back, ditch clickbait offers and focus on quality deals. Your exclusive offers must be good enough and encourage them to take action. 

Fear of missing out is real.

People fear missing out on deals. Moreover, there is a sense of defeat linked with things others have and they missed. As a brand, this fear can be used to bring in more consumers through time bound offers and deals.

Nobody likes being left behind. Limited duration offers create a sense of urgency in the human brain and make them rethink their choices.

Not only this, a deal such as a discount available for a couple of days or hours puts them in a dilemma whether this may not be offered again and if they should take the risk of not buying it instantly.

Brands can leverage this fear and work on offers linked with this. Apart from discounts, you may also offer an extremely valuable product or service free along with a product at a regular price for a limited duration. Another option is a one-time offer which will never be back in stock.

Implement such strategies in your offer and take advantage of the human triggers.

Don’t work your way up a straight path, but a cyclic one instead.

Modify your plan, you are not looking for a single time hit but a repeat. Build a pattern and involve your consumer base into it. Aim for a never-ending cycle. You can make use of your email list by:

- Asking recent buyers for their unbiased reviews or conducting surveys. Not only does this make them feel their opinion is valued by the brand, but also builds credibility online, luring in potential consumers which may be scrolling through your products. 

- Informing interested consumers about restocked items they were looking for. By doing this, you can redirect them to your website and also remind potential consumers about products they may have forgotten about.

- Sending suggestions to your prospects and buyers by listing similar items to the ones they had either bought earlier or were interested in. For instance, sending in suggestions of skincare products to people who had recently bought face wash.

- Reminding them about products they showed interest in or had added to their cart but did not complete the process any further. You may also add a limited time checkout discount for abandoned cart users, this can help in increasing the chances of them returning.

- Creating paid marketing campaigns to effectively re-market their previously viewed products/services on Facebook & Google.

Remember to implement these with utmost care. Your aim is not manipulation of consumer emotions, but bridging the gap between them and what they need, that is, your offer.