|
  |
|
|
Behavioural Economics – ‘Irrational’ Buying Triggers You Can Use to Boost Sales
By Matthew Ambrose
Why do people buy specific products and brands? Is it after a calm, objective assessment that they’re the best option available? Or does commonsense go out the window when we’re spending money? Well, copywriters and advertisers have known for decades that there are all sorts of social, cognitive and emotional triggers at play in people’s buying decisions. But classic economic theory ignores these so called ‘irrational‘ factors, instead placing its faith in cold, calculated logic. To fill in the gaps, ‘behavioural economics’ has grown in popularity as a way of understanding irrational human behaviour and finding ways of influencing people’s actions. Here are 4 key principles of behavioural economics you might want to consider using in your copywriting and marketing: 1. Price framing When you’re selling an expensive product a great way of justifying its price is to compare it to something else of higher value. The supermarket chain M&S, for example, frames its ‘Dine in for 2’ range as an alternative to eating out in a restaurant, thus raising its value in people’s minds. Another example is the reason why restaurants often sell an exceptionally expensive bottle of wine. This then gives context to the other wines available, and is why the second most expensive is often a big seller because customers feel as though they’re splashing out without going overboard. 2. Offering too many options makes it harder to choose In an experiment, one shop sold 24 types of jam and another sold 6. The shop selling 6 types sold 5 times as many because people found it easier to decide which type of jam to buy. When you present people with too many options it simply increases the potential objections they might have to each purchase. So offering only a few options places less strain on people’s decision making process and makes it easier to buy. 3. People like to hold on to the default option According to behavioural economics, if you offer a default option it increases the likelihood of it being chosen over the other options available. Why? Because the sense of loss people feel when giving up something they already have is greater than the sense of gain by switching to something else. 4. Delayed payment softens the pain of spending money When sofa showrooms and shops selling expensive TVs offer delayed payment do you think they’re doing it as a favour? The fact is that delaying payment makes it easier for people to buy. It eliminates the sting people feel at the point of purchase because they don’t feel the pain of money disappearing from their bank account. Commonsense marketing Some of these tactics might not sound like anything new. But I think it’s worth considering how you could use them in your copywriting and marketing to influence people’s irrational triggers and to sell more products.
Matt Ambrose is a freelance copywriter who provides punchy, persuasive copywriting and marketing expertise to startups, SMEs and international brands.
|
|
 |
|
PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
Please login or sign up to rate this intel.
Please login or sign up to add a comment.
This is information that not only I appreciate but in the concise but powerful format I desire. I love the few, but key examples that provide a good illustration of the concepts being discussed: M&S, jam store. Great, thank you!
The copyright for this content entitled "Behavioural Economics – ‘Irrational’ Buying Triggers You Can Use to Boost Sales " has been specified by the contributor as:
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0
Details 
This content may be copied and distributed (but not modified), as long as a) it's for non-commercial use and b) the original author is acknowledged with a link back to the content page.
If you use this content according to the license specified, you must link to the following URL:
http://mattambrose.qondio.com/
|
|
May, 2012
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May
|
|
Not a member yet?
Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to
promote, we can help.
Sign up and get in on the action.
|
|
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.
|
|
