“The art of persuasion.” That’s among our favorite definitions of advertising. Ads are about awareness but also meant to persuade. And it’s quite a bit easier to convince someone to do something once you know what motivates them. Psychology is the study of behavior. Predicting and capitalizing on behavior is what our industry does.
Appeal To The Attitude
This limited-edition Bentley Bacalar sold for about $2 million.
Brand new this Chevrolet Spark was around $14,000.
Both vehicles do the same basic job, getting you from point A to point B. The Bentley is undoubtably going to get you to point B more comfortably. You’ll be noticed when you arrive. You’ll inspire envy. Your Bentley is a significant status symbol. Buying the Spark on the other hand, is either a parsimonious or prudent purchase.
There is an underlying psychology in nearly everything we do. If you are trying to sell a Bentley, you appeal to ego and elitism. If you are selling a Spark, you appeal to thrift. Psychology is the map, marketing and advertising are the drivers.
Reciprocity
A common principle in psychology is reciprocity, that makes it a common marketing and advertising technique. When someone does something for you, you will usually want to do something for them. That’s reciprocity. According to the book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Dr. Robert Cialdini, when a waiter brings your check with a mint, the tip goes up an average of 3%. With two mints it climbs to 20%. This is one of the reasons department stores offer a “gift with purchase.” It’s the reason why you get samples at See’s.
The Magic in the Middle
Here’s a common marketing practice known as the Decoy Effect. It provides a consumer with a frame of reference.
Here is the offer-
Online Subscription: $60
Print Subscription: $120
Online & Print $120
Why offer the online and print subscription for the same price as the print only? Because it works. When all 3 options are there, the combo gets picked. Take out the print subscription alone and consumers pick the cheaper option. The middle option made the third one look better.
Rare Form
Decades ago, a study was conducted to see how scarcity affects people’s perception. People were asked to rate chocolate chip cookies. Researchers put 10 cookies in one jar and two of the same cookies in a separate jar. Despite being identical cookies, the cookies from the 2-cookie jar were rated twice as good. This is a psychological adaptation to supply and demand. It’s called scarcity, the concept that less is worth more. Rare is valuable.
Diamonds are dazzling and depending on carat, clarity, color and cut, they can be very valuable. But they are not rare. They are, in fact, the most common precious stone. In the 19th century, De Beers maintained a monopoly on diamond mines, limited supply drove up demand, and made a lot of dollars. We’re not suggesting or supporting this kind of ploy, but mention it as an example of how well scarcity can succeed.
The more you learn about human behavior, the more effective your marketing strategies will be. On the other hand, we have more than 25 years of experience, so just put your campaign needs on our couch. (Consumers pay more attention to authority figures in a particular industry. That’s actually called Authority and it’s what we just did there).