How Psychology is Used to Influence Consumer Behaviour

In marketing, creating an impact on consumers is a challenging task. Marketers incorporate psychological tactics into their marketing strategies to tap into consumer behaviour. It allows them to find ways to attract and engage customers more efficiently. And potentially, persuade them to buy their product or service.

Consumer behaviour is a valuable source of research, particularly in the retail industry. It provides companies with insight on how they should market their products and services. Therefore, in some cases, by using manipulation, fear, and consumer habits and tendencies to influence their purchasing decision.

Using Cognitive Bias to Influence Buying Perception

Cognitive bias, as defined by Very Well Mind in a November 2018 article, is “a systematic error in thinking that affects the decisions and judgments people make”. Therefore, cognitive biases are often the result of how people remember an event or how much they pay attention to their surroundings. In other words, when faced with a difficult decision, it is the brain’s attempt to simplify information processing. A shortcut that people tend to make so they can arrive at decisions more quickly.

A January 2018 article published in Entrepreneur.com, enumerates different psychological strategies that marketers use to influence consumer behaviour and change buyer’s perception in their favour. Some of them are as follows:

• Decoy Effect: In product pricing, marketers present consumers with decoy option. This strategically placed decoy is priced closely to the more expensive option. Also, suggesting that the more expensive option is the better option.
• Familiar Face Effect: Marketers increase product familiarity through repeated exposure. Consumers tend to be more interested in a product the more they see or hear about it.
• Scarcity Effect: Marketers would say that a product will be available only for a limited time or that there are only a few stocks left. This leads consumers to believe that they can be missing out on a good deal if they don’t purchase immediately.

Conclusions

To sum up, the above suggests that there is a line that connects psychology and marketing. In addition, marketers need to have a good understanding of how consumers will think and react for them to create compelling content and influence their market’s buying behaviour.

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