7 Mental Triggers to Use in Your Marketing Strategyby Camila Porto | Dec 9, 2010 | Entrepreneurship | 34
Many people suffer from a big problem in their marketing when they need to sell their products or services: they don't want to "force the bar" to close the purchase, but they also don't want to miss the sale. That's where the mental triggers.
In these situations, it can happen that the client is not comfortable with you and also that you feel inconvenient. Have you been through this? If so, in this post we will show you how mental triggers will help increase your sales, without having to insist that the customer buys.
We will teach you how to increase your business sales in a powerful way, using mental triggers to motivate your audience to buy, without having to shove your products or services down their throats.
Mental triggers are strategies that many companies use to create enticing offers for the consumer and still boost sales.
WHAT ARE MENTAL TRIGGERS?
Every day we choose between things we are going to do or not, what we are going to eat for breakfast, what clothes we are going to wear, which way we are going to go to work, when we are going to have leisure time, whether we are going to watch TV or read a book. .
To help people make decisions faster and in an easier way, mental triggers began to be applied in a variety of contexts, from relationships to sales.
Mental triggers work are everywhere and are shortcuts to define your day-to-day choices. You can use mental triggers to educate your kids, hire people at your company, present jobs at college or work, and of course, use mental triggers to sell.
Learn more: Digital Entrepreneurship: ideas for creating your own online business
Many people confuse mental triggers with manipulation. However, it's nothing like that. Manipulation happens when someone “forces the bar” for a person to do something, regardless of whether it is good for them (or not).
On the other hand, mental triggers work together with persuasion, with the aim of stimulating people's true will, so that it is done spontaneously, according to their will.
By using mental triggers, you present logical and even emotional arguments, whether in a conversation or in a video, for example, and the person decides on their own, naturally.
By using mental triggers in sales, you can motivate people to take action so that they feel encouraged to make a purchase. Remembering that you should always use mental triggers ethically and deliver to your client what you promised. Combined?
7 POWERFUL MENTAL TRIGGERS
You can use the 7 mental triggers presented below to:
- Create a new positioning for your business;
- Transform your product or service into something extremely valued by people;
- Create expectations for your next releases;
- Generate trust and create a connection with your audience;
- Show that your brand is relevant to many people and gain even more followers;
- And increase your sales, without having to pressure or be inconvenient with your customers.
1. AUTHORITY
Authority is a powerful mental trigger for your business. You can convey to people that your brand is an authority in the segment in which it operates, generating more confidence and security when closing a deal.
It is already characteristic of the human being to listen to celebrities and influential people. No matter the field and what they say, they position themselves as subject matter experts. So building your authority in the market is critical to standing out when someone searches for your work.
You must be asking yourself: but how to conquer authority?
You can gain authority in several ways: giving lectures, writing articles on your blog or being a columnist on major portals, for example.
Other tips for you are:
- Make posts and record videos teaching something or conveying your opinion on a subject you dominate;
- Write books about your industry;
- Conquer the reference of major players in the market.
All of this can make your brand stand out, create value for people and even increase the number of customers for your business.
2. SCARCITY
Have you ever missed a product or service, what it can do in your life if you don't buy it soon? Did you think that other people will buy first and there will be no options left for you? This feeling is called scarcity and it is powerful to increase sales.
This is visible in the ancient law of supply and demand, that the higher the demand and the lower the supply, the higher the price. Therefore, situations where we have limited editions or limited-time offers draw attention.
And this has everything to do with mental triggers, because the rarity of a product or service also influences the choice. When people realize that a product is scarce, they value it more, consequently, they buy it faster.
How can you use this scarcity mental trigger? To generate scarcity in your product or service, you can use some magic words when promoting it, such as:
- Limited vacancies;
- Bonus;
- Limited edition;
- Only until tomorrow;
- Available for a certain time.
You know what also makes a big difference? Use time counters, those digital clocks, within your website. Use whenever possible.
But remember: before using the scarcity mental trigger, you need to generate value for your audience. Create content that helps people solve their problems or fulfill their desires. This content can be in the form of: blog post or social networks, videos, infographics or ebooks.
3. EXPECTATION
You must have seen those people who wait in line for hours to buy an iPhone. These situations happen because Apple knew how to use one of the main mental triggers very well, the trigger of expectation.
In addition to having already created great value in people's lives, it is possible to see that the brand works hard to generate this expectation. You can also create this effect on your audience by sharing small information about a new product or service you are about to launch.
The mental trigger of expectation is powerful to promote your brand's visibility in your segment and still increase your sales. In addition, if used well, it can give your business a bonus: generate an even greater connection between you and your audience.
This is because people will start following your company every day to find out what the next release is first hand. And, with good service, you stand out and conquer your future customers even more.
You can use a few words to trigger the expectation in people:
- Stay tuned;
- Don't miss out;
- Tomorrow you will receive news;
- Tomorrow I will tell you how to solve a specific problem.
4. GUARANTEE
Many things can leave you in doubt about closing a deal. The value can be too high or low, the fact that you don't know the quality of the product, don't have referrals from friends, among other reasons. However, something that always helps when making a decision is the guarantee.
Think about when you are going to buy an appliance, for example. One of the first things you look at is the product warranty. If one refrigerator has a 3-month warranty and another has a 12-month warranty, there is a good chance that you will choose the second option, as it is a very relevant benefit.
The mental trigger of the guarantee helps to generate confidence to close the purchase of your product or service. People feel more comfortable when they know that if the product has problems or doesn't achieve the expected result, they can exchange it or get their money back.
For this, this guarantee needs to appear as a purchase differential and also needs to make sense with the product you are offering.
What guarantees can you use:
- Offer a consultation if the person does not achieve results;
- Offer to return the money invested;
- Offer to return the money invested plus a bonus.
An important tip is that you do a research with who requested the guarantee. This way you will be able to make improvements to your product or service to prevent other people from being dissatisfied.
5. SOCIAL TESTING
When many people are talking good or bad about something, it's normal for you to be curious and research to find out about the product or service. This happens in various branches of the market and can be used as social proof that it is good or bad.
The social proof mental trigger is used to show the general public that the people who are buying your product or service are really satisfied with it.
When you use the social proof trigger, it shows that many people trust you or your business. This clears doubts that future clients may have about your work and generates curiosity to know more about your business.
What to use as social proof?
- Customer success stories;
- Number of positive testimonials you received;
- Number of fans on social networks;
- Number of people who bought at its launch;
- If there is a queue for a product or service;
- Number of registrations for an event.
Remember: social media is a showcase. Try to make quality publications for your audience, have a good relationship with your followers and also respond politely to people who complain about your work.
Another tip is: never lie! Lying is always the worst way. Whenever you talk about numbers, put real numbers and also use true testimonials about your business.
6. COMMUNITY
We humans have a tendency to follow the crowd, that is, to do what most people do. This behavior helps us to reduce uncertainty and anxiety, because if everyone is making the same decision, it is certainly the best one.
Solomon Asch's experiment is a good example that following the majority comforts us. A candidate and some actors are placed in a room and told which lines on a role are the same size.
Actors always give the same answer and it is wrong. To feel comfortable, the participant, even knowing he is wrong, agrees with the others.
For sales sites, the use of wish lists, popularity lists, testimonials, analyzes and recommendations are tools that help the user to choose better, as all the opinions that are there help to reduce uncertainties.
But what does this have to do with the community trigger? All. If the public perceives that your service or product will help them and, in some way, make them feel that they belong to a community, they are more likely to make a purchase.
7. RECIPROCITY
Finally, the last of the mental triggers presented here is the innate behavior of the human being to return favors. If someone does us a favor, it's practically an obligation to reciprocate. It's the famous phrase "I owe you one".
In the market, promotions that encourage customers to call their friends to register. On Instagram, giveaways that ask you to tag friends. In groups, specific purchases that depend on invitations. These are some examples of the mental trigger of reciprocity.
But it is important to point out that, especially if you are a company or brand, it is essential to generate value for your customers in your content. And distribute, preferably for free, because that way the chance of them buying your product or service will be much greater.
BOOK TIPS FOR STUDYING MENTAL TRIGGERS
If you want to delve deeper into the study of mental triggers, we suggest reading these two books that address different ways to persuade people.
1. WEAPONS OF PERSUASION
Book by author and psychologist Robert B. Cialdini, which shows his quest to understand what are the factors that lead a person to say “yes” to a request and which techniques best explore these factors.
In the book, Cialdini reveals how to influence people using mental triggers and, at the same time, defend yourself against manipulators.
Each mental trigger is discussed by the author in terms of its role in society and how a persuasion practitioner can mobilize his or her power in purchase orders, donations, grants, votes, permissions, etc.
To purchase this book on Amazon, click here.
2. HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE
One of the greatest classics of all time by author Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People, is considered the Bible when it comes to developing human relationships, social skills and effective communication.
With stories, practical examples and advice, this is essential reading for anyone who wants to build good bonds, become more persuasive, leave a positive mark and inspire others with energy and kindness.
To purchase this book on Amazon, click here.
By now, you already know that mental triggers can be used to assist when decisions are made wherever you are. And, above all, mental triggers are powerful to help your customers make a decision to increase their sales.
