Psychological Triggers That Will Help You Sell More Online (Part 2)

We’re continuing with more psychological triggers you can use to increase your online sales.

In the article Psychological Triggers That Will Help You Sell More Online (Part 1), we covered the first 12 triggers. Now we’ll look at 12 more that are sure to help your business.

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#13. Make your prospects feel valued

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, love and a sense of belonging are among the basic needs that motivate people and influence their choices. We all want to feel valued and important, so we tend to choose options that are more likely to make others recognize the value of our individual uniqueness. 

#14. Communicate authority

While people usually follow the crowd, they may follow a single person or company if they view them as an expert in that field. You can position yourself as that expert to sell more—for example, by naming the media outlets where you’ve appeared or been featured—or showcase people or companies that endorse you to establish your authority. If you have top-tier customers, feature their endorsements on your website. If a celebrity endorses you, let people know to help drive that increase in sales.

#15. Color psychology

Did you know that colors trigger more emotions than words? Red is associated with energy and passion, orange with fun, positivity, and good health, yellow with optimism and joy, and blue with trust and confidence. Colors shape our moods and can influence our responses, which is why they’re an important part of color psychology in ecommerce. 

Not only that—the brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text! Color psychology is an excellent way to help you predict and guide the choices your customers will make so you can sell more.

#16. Leverage emotions

Did you know that pain is more powerful than pleasure? Address pain points to sell more, but don’t overdo it to the point that it feels fake. 

#17. Create a sense of belonging

We all have an innate desire for community and a sense of belonging, as Maslow clearly noted in his hierarchy of needs. That’s why making your prospects feel like they’re part of a larger group can make them more receptive to your message. 

#18. Use reciprocity

People don’t like feeling that they owe someone something, so they’ll want to return the favor! If you give them something, they’ll want to give something back. Sell more by first offering your prospects free tools, resources, samples, or gifts.

#19. Sell benefits, not features

Companies tend to advertise the features they created for their products. After all, those features are what help people get results, right? The problem is that features lack an emotional connection; they’re purely logical.

#20. Use the PAS formula: Problem, Agitate, Solution

This formula works like good storytelling. Start by identifying the problem, then agitate it by highlighting common symptoms your customers can relate to. Don’t get straight to the point, though. First, you need to build enough tension. If the story is well crafted, the sale should be easy and your solution should be the obvious answer. Agitate the problem, then provide a solution—your solution.

#21. Build anticipation

Just like the preview for the next episode at the end of the Netflix episode you just watched, you can build excitement around your new launch. People need just enough tension to get excited and keep coming back for more. 

In fact, the Zeigarnik Effect states that people are more likely to remember incomplete information because the missing piece stays on their minds. That missing piece just needs to spark enough curiosity to keep them thinking about it. 

To build anticipation, you need to think a few steps ahead in your campaign so you can plan how to create it. Will you use teasers? Webinars? A countdown? Marketing emails? Your goal is to spark enough curiosity that people want to come back, learn more, and buy more.

#22. Use social proof for your business

To paraphrase Robert Cialdini, social proof is one of the six key principles of persuasion. When combined with reciprocity, consistency, authority, liking, and scarcity, you can use it to influence people’s actions.

That’s exactly what a brand focuses on when promoting itself.

Social proof is directly linked to popularity and likability, and in most cases, it happens on social media. As discussed earlier, a brand personality built through content, influencer marketing, and other digital marketing tools can help you increase conversions and, more importantly, earn mindshare with your customers. 

This is an essential factor in mastering ecommerce psychology.

#23. Loss aversion

From a psychological standpoint, the pain we feel from losing something has a much stronger effect on our decision-making process than the satisfaction of gaining something.

This is known as loss aversion, and it’s a powerful tool for persuading prospective customers to buy.

To create a sense of loss among your target audience, you can share different types of content, such as tutorials or videos of people using the product, and personalize your language. Beyond that, let users’ imaginations take over and place them in scenarios where they feel a sense of urgency—that if they don’t try or buy your product, they’ll miss out on must-have deals.

#24. Jump on the trend

It’s no secret that we live in a world where trends are driven by digital media and are deeply embedded in our everyday lives.

Although most trends come and go very quickly, they still offer a great window of opportunity to sell a product while riding the wave of popularity.

Take Barbie, for example, with the highly anticipated and heavily promoted release of its movie. The extensive promotion encouraged other brands to borrow the concept and launch limited-edition Barbie product lines of their own.

Conclusion

Understanding how your customers’ minds work and which triggers can help you meet their wants and needs will be key to boosting your online sales and becoming a major player.

The psychology behind consumer behavior will give you a head start in the ecommerce sales game.

Don’t forget to review these psychological triggers the next time you plan your strategy. After all, your customer relationships are your most valuable asset!