Lets start by defining what marketing is; marketing is the set of activities you do to entice ideal buyers to become paying customers (either one-time or repetitive). Psychology is the study of thoughts. So by definition, marketing psychology is the thoughts people have leading up to making a buying decision.
“So why does it matter what people think right before they buy something?” you may be wondering. Simply put, thoughts drive actions. And you want people acting to buy your product-set or service-set right? So how do you get people thinking “I need your product-set or service-set”?
There are a wide variety of marketing tactics that can lead people to buy your product-set or service-set, but below are the basics:
- What is the business offering that I need right now?
- Is it affordable for me at this point in time?
- What similar products or services do other companies offer for better price points?
- What is the business’ reputation? How do I know if they are trustworthy?
Find answers to these four simple questions and you’ll have the psychology behind why a customer wants what you sell.
For example, lets say you sell cell phone plans. How do you know what the customer wants? Simple; you ask them what they are looking for in a plan today. They will tell you. And they will likely tell you what is bothering them about their current plan, then ask can you help them.
The next step is to offer the plans you have available for sale today and ask them which plan they are interested in today (possibly touching on affordability and whether the plans offered are a fit for their needs right now). Simple right? Most people will either choose a plan or say they want to do more shopping around and leave. You might get the odd customer who wants a customized plan. For that issue, you may want to talk to your manager and get them to help you sell a plan to the customer.
So as you can see, marketing psychology can be very simple and with a bit of help, anyone in business today can do it.
For more information on marketing psychology or if you have a specific marketing issue you need help with, feel free to email me directly at alisonsilbert@gmail.com.
Happy marketing!