How Psychology Plays a Significant Role in Marketing and How You Can Use It to Improve Your Results

Psychology plays a central role in marketing. Too often we forget that the human brain has evolved and adapted over thousands of years. All of our thoughts and actions are rooted in survival. 

When presented with any type of marketing messaging, your customer makes a split-second decision of whether the message has come from a friend or foe. This emotional response ties directly into our fight or flight response, so if your brand comes across as a foe, it’s game over.

To improve the conversion rates of your marketing campaigns, it’s important to understand the human psyche and how it influences the decision-making process.

3 Aspects of the Human Psyche

There are three major parts of the human psyche that marketers must account for in order to understand how people think and what they desire. These three parts according to Freud are the id, ego, and superego which dictate what we want and need at any given time. 

• In short, the id is the primal part of the human psyche that deals with our most basic instinctual drives and desires. It acts according to the pleasure principle, which is the idea that needs should be met immediately.  
• The ego is the rational side of the psyche, governed by logic and reason. It operates based on the reality principle, which strives to satisfy the Id’s desires in an appropriate and realistic way.  This is the part of the psyche that controls our emotions, thoughts, and behavior.  
• The superego is the conscience, or internalized moral code, which re-frames what we desire in a way that makes sense to society. It works to suppress all unacceptable urges of the id, and it helps the ego act according to moral standards.

Freud’s take on the psyche may sound like outdated jargon, so let’s break it all down into a simpler message: 

The human brain is processing 11 million bits of sensory information every second and only 40-60 bits per second are processed at a conscious level.  

AKA… the subconscious mind is running the show.

If you’re not connecting with your audience on a subconscious level, your marketing efforts will be inadequate. 

Successful marketing hinges on your company’s ability to convert customers and drive revenue. This becomes much more difficult when you’re not addressing the psychological barriers your customers are facing. 

Let’s take a look at how cognitive biases arise and how to successfully integrate psychological triggers into your marketing strategy.

Psychological Triggers To Increase Conversion Rates

The battle for your audience’s attention is fierce, especially online. But there are certain psychological triggers that can be activated in order to stand out and get noticed.

Here are a few psychological triggers you’ll want to incorporate into your upcoming marketing campaigns.

Anticipation 

Humans are wired to anticipate and look forward to positive outcomes.  If we adjust our sales copy to keep our audience in a state of anticipation, they’ll be more likely to convert when the time is right.

An example of the ANTICIPATION in action: If a new product is being released at the end of the month, you can send your email subscribers reminders about the upcoming launch as well as tease behind-the-scenes content on your Instagram story in preparation for the launch. Both of these actions will get your audience excited and waiting on the edge of their seat for the product launch, which will ultimately result in more conversions when the cart opens.

Authority

It’s part of the human condition to inherently trust figures of authority. If a conflict arises, we turn to those we trust for help. 

An example of AUTHORITY in action: When authors release their first book, often you’ll find well-known authors or other prominent public figures’ testimonials on the cover. This is to make anyone who picks up the book who’s never heard of the new author go, “Wow, if Seth Godin read this book and liked it… I’m sure I will too!” You trust that if an authority figure in your industry has praise for the book, then it must be worth the $25 and you purchase it without a second thought, even though you’ve never heard of the actual author before.

Bandwagon Effect

People are sheep. As in we all naturally follow the herd and prefer conformity. The more people who think in one specific way, the more likely that thought pattern is going to grow in popularity thus becoming the main thought pattern for newcomers.

An example of the BANDWAGON EFFECT in action: Have you ever subscribed to an email newsletter after you saw the claim that 2,000 other people just like you are subscribed? Yeah, me too. We followed the herd. We saw the popularity of the newsletter and instantly wanted to become a part of the tribe.

Implementing Psychological Triggers Into Your Marketing

If you haven’t figured it out by now, our subconscious mind affects our emotions which affects our decision-making processes.  Thus, it’s important to capitalize on human emotion and integrate psychological triggers in order to improve our conversion rates.

When we’re able to understand our customers on a psychological level, it becomes much easier to know what content to produce to optimize the customer experience. 

Every element on your webpage, from the copy to the colors and fonts, creates an impact on your audience. With that in mind, let’s break down the following webpage.

SOURCE: NexHealth

The immediate headline and above-the-fold copy on NexHealth’s webpage play into the Authority and Bandwagon Effect we spoke about earlier.  The headline highlights that it has been chosen as a winner in patient scheduling tools according to G2 reviews when compared to other industry leaders. 

Following the headline, the copy prompts us to “Join thousands of doctors, hundreds of developers, and millions of patients” which triggers our follow the herd mentality. 

When you scroll down a bit more, you’ll be hit by another psychological trigger – Authority – informing that NexHealth is “trusted by the world’s most innovative practices and health tech companies.” This is then followed by social proof which plays into the Bandwagon Effect.

SOURCE: NexHealth

The homepage closes out with the use of the Anticipation trigger asking the viewer if they are ready to see what their program can do, prompting the viewer to book a free demo.

SOURCE: NexHealth

You’ll also notice NexHealth’s impeccable use of clean, modern design elements to showcase their product’s ease and accessibility.  Their color scheme promotes an approachable, accessible brand that’s inviting to potential users.  Plus, there’s a subtle nod to the “medical green” seen within aspects of their site (ex: the signup form). 

Isn’t it neat seeing how it all comes together?? 

If you’re interested in learning more about psychological triggers and how cognitive biases affect our marketing strategies send me a DM on Instagram or message me on Linkedin and I’ll be happy to discuss further!