We all seek to understand exactly why our customers purchase from us. What makes them tick? Why do they purchase from us or from any for that matter? 100?s of books are written on buyer’s psychology, or making the perfect pitch in order to get the customer to purchase. It is actually not all that complicated to explain but might be a little more difficult to implement consistently.
The key to getting your customers to buy is getting them to feel the direct link to your product through their emotions. This doesn?t mean you manipulate them but there is no doubt that using emotion to influence is an effective tool to increase sales.
Fear
Of all the emotions used to create sales, this is by far the most overused tactic. Every 4 years during our presidential elections the fear messages are sounded loud and wide. There were more fear messages presented to the voters during the months leading up to the actual vote. All parties involved were incredibly passionate and their pleas created splits in the general populations. Why do we bring this up? Simple to prove that the power of Fear as emotion is more intense and lasts longer than any other. We are still hearing the echoes of past elections, while the new messages for current campaigns begin to circulate.
In selling, there are multiple ways to use Fear as an emotional tool. For example ? fear of loss, fear of looking bad, fear of being left out, fear of not belonging, etc. To use fear effectively is to build a strong brand, to abuse, the fear emotion is the best way to end the life of your product much younger than it should.
Security
This emotion is something that is often coupled with fear. By using this product x you won?t have to worry about this fatal flaw in your life. We often see this in the Home alarm commercials. Some masked villain is about to break in to do harm, scared away by the alarm. (Image of alarm commercial) Other phrases are the fact that you can rest securely knowing someone else is watching out for you. This works great for some products and not so well for others. It is an emotion that does lead to more sales or closing the sale.
Another great example is the commercials for the direct calling feature with the painful ?Help, I have fallen and can?t get up.? The ability to have a secure environment is built into our sense of survival. We all want this security as something that has been ingrained into us over thousands of years of trained survival instincts.
Excitement
Every year in January and February we have a series of events in the US that draw more excitement than any other event. The weekends leading up can only be expressed in an absolutely frenzy of excitement. Fans of their favorite team anticipate this excitement as their home team advances. The home town of the winner of the Super Bowl is an absolute madhouse of excitement.
When selling there are multiple ways to create this excitement. It can come through your ad copy, through others that are purchasing, or something as simple as a once in a lifetime contest. Creating excitement around a product launch can be crafted into a successful launch but the key is to build this excitement in a way that can be satisfied through a superb product. Do this and you will hit those sales goals every time.
Opportunity
An opportunity has become the new ?scarcity?. You don?t have to look far in the online selling space to see a countdown timer or limited time offer. Whether you call it scarcity or opportunity it triggers the same emotional effect in the buyer’s mind. ?If not now? I will lose.? If the opportunity is real this is a great way to trigger the emotional bond with the sale, however, if the opportunity is fake and the customer feels like they have been duped? you lost that customer for life. So be careful, the world is full of ?buyer beware? and your brand is far too important and valuable to use manipulative practices.
Perceived Convenience
Wait, WHAT!!! Convenience is an emotion?
How often have you been in the grocery store and seen the gum and candy right next to the checkout? One retailer I know uses his cash register space as a way to increase its sales by 10%. All he does is have stickers setting conveniently at arm?s reach. That 2 square feet of space make more money per foot than the rest of the 2000 square foot store. So, absolutely, convenience is an emotion.
For those selling online, you have the most advantage when using convenience as an emotion. Amazon is the best example of how making it convenient to purchase online will give them a market hold that seems almost impossible for even someone as large as Walmart to break.
To use these emotions effectively, you must first know they exist. Then take the next step and start testing your ad copy and sales pitch around the different emotions to see which one will work best with your demographic. Don?t be afraid to layer up some of the emotions. For example, Fear of loss of something dear to your customer?s heart and security are two options that work perfectly together. Layering on top of that a limited time offer creates an opportunity to make a purchase the customer might not have normally made. Test and experiment with different varieties to find what works.