Let’s talk about Psychology and Marketing – as these two fields have always had a close relationship. 

Underlying any marketing campaign is a psychological principle.

Marketing is all about tapping into people’s emotions and desires in order to generate sales. It’s a complex and often subtle process that relies heavily on psychology.

As humans, we all have certain psychological preferences that we exhibit regularly, whether we know it or not.

Knowing which psychological triggers to target when designing a marketing campaign is essential to achieving our campaign objectives.

Using the knowledge of our ideal customer’s psychological preferences, we’re able to target them with specific messaging that triggers them to take action. Similarly, understanding people’s hierarchy of needs allows us to talk to and address our ideal customer’s specific needs or desires.

What are the key principles of human behavior?

The key principles of human behavior are the building blocks that allow us to understand how people think, feel and behave in the context of marketing. 

When it comes to understanding human behavior, there are a few key principles like cognitions, emotions, motivations, and social cognition.

• Cognitions are the thoughts and ideas that we have about the world around us.
• An emotion is a feeling that we experience inside our bodies.
• Motivation is what gets us moving in the direction of our goals.
• Social cognition is our ability to understand how other people think and feel.

Knowing these principles also allows you to understand how people behave in the context of marketing. 

For example, when trying to market to someone, it’s important to understand their thoughts and feelings. You can do this by understanding their cognitive state (their thoughts), their emotional state (their emotions), and their motivations (what gets them moving).

Another example of utilizing these principles of human behavior would be if you know that your ideal customers are more motivated when they feel like they’re making some progress towards their goals. 

This finding would suggest that you should create a marketing campaign that encourages customers towards completing tasks or reaching certain milestones – as opposed to a one-and-done type of deliverable.

If this was true for your audience, hosting a three-day workshop with homework they need to submit for a chance to win an extra resource would go over like gangbusters compared to a standard 60-min masterclass that’s a lecture and then a Q+A.

Understanding human behavior and tapping into key principles like cognitions, emotions, motivations, and social cognition will give you a HUGE leg up over your competition.

How To Integrate Psychological Tactics In Your Marketing Strategy

Some of the most common psychological tactics used in marketing include: 

Positioning & Consistency: People are often persuaded by things that are consistent with their beliefs and preconceptions. Understanding how your target audience sees and perceives you will help you determine which marketing messages will resonate with them. 

Scarcity & Urgency: People are motivated by the fear of missing out which means that they are often driven to take action in order to secure what they see as a scarce resource. Create time-sensitive offers for your audience where their time is limited and they should act now in order to get the best possible deal or product.  

Social Proof: People are influenced by what others are doing, and will often follow the lead of those around them. Showing others who have already made a purchase or positively engaged with your brand is prime content. Social proof can be shown through online reviews and testimonials or even social posts.

While there are many more tactics available, these three will help to get you started. 

Looking for more marketing psychology content?

Check out this blog on How To Use Psychology-Based Marketing Strategies To Drive Sales And Increase Conversion Rates.