Month: March 2021

This is the tenth in a 12 part blog series, where I review CXL Institute’s ‘Digital Psychology and Persuasion’ Minidegree. In today’s blog we will discuss 9 triggers and techniques you can apply to persuade users to take a desired action.

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Focusing Effect

We have a tendency to only focus on a few things at a time, leaving the rest of the aspects unattended. Those that have a noticeable difference are the only once to grab attention. This unequal focus on aspects is called the focusing effect. Use the following online persuasion tips:

• Put the focus on only a few (a max of three) USP’s.
• Emphasize your most unique USP so intensely that your customers lose focus on less favorable aspects.
• Don’t just focus on your best aspects, but also on those that differ significantly from your competitors.
• Also, emphasize the huge change that happens the moment people buy your product or use your service.

Context Dependent Memory

It’s our tendency to forget things out of context and then remember them when the original contextual cues reappear. Using the same contextual cues (coloring, content, logos) across media facilitate the recall of your brand and products. Changing the cues and context between encoding and retrieval reduces our ability to recall. Use the following online persuasion tips:

• In general: Try to create a consistent context in your online presence across platforms and sites using the same contextual cues (from SEO, SEA, display, sites, to apps and social media, etc.
• When you want a visitor to remember you or your offer at some point, prime them with contextual cues that will be present in the situation where you want them to remember you.
• When you have a recurring visitor, use cues from their previous visit to help them remember that visit.

Self-generation Affect Effect

We tend to like and remember an idea better when it has been generated by our own mind, even if they have spent only a little cognitive effort into it. Use the following online persuasion tips:

• Ask questions in your content.
• Ask for answers in a proactive way (i.e. by means of a feedback tool).
• Why are they considering your offer?
• Why did they buy the product when they did?
• Try not to just provide your USP’s, but ask your customer to think of one or two himself.
• Allow people to tailor your product. Not just to satisfy individual preferences, but also to invest cognitive effort and thereby liking (you might even allow your customers to create and design their own products).

Affect Heuristic

Keeping the rest of the facts the same, our decision making depends on our mood and emotional state. We are more likely to take risky decisions when happy and more conservative decisions when upset or worried. The effects of our mood becomes stronger when deciding on more complex and conceptual decisions. Use the following online persuasion tips:

• Test inducing a tiny bit of sadness or melancholy if you want users to make a conservative choice (like renewing a subscription).
• Make sure that when you induce a negative mood, you clearly provide the comforting and reassuring aspects of your offer.

Facial Distraction

Our brain processes faces very thoroughly. When offline this can be very persuasive as the brain focuses on the face and also draws attention to the verbal message. However, online the face distracts from the rest of the image and the text message. Use the following online persuasion tips:

• Use faces to attract attention outside your own platforms (i.e. in banners, especially recognizable faces!)
• If you currently show a face on your platform (where you have already have the user’s attention), test an iteration without one
• If you do use a face… use Gaze Cueing to redirect attention to your most persuasive content!

Attentional Bias

This is our tendency to pay more attention to emotionally dominant stimuli because it’s hard to ignore it. Use the following online persuasion tips:

• If your brand or product is related in a positive way to an intense emotion, promote this visually and contextually.
• Display your USP’s and CTA close to the most emotionally dominant parts of your page (e.g. an expressive image).
• Place counter-persuasive elements (like ‘terms & conditions’ or ‘privacy’) away from the emotionally dominant parts of your page.

Fear Appeals

It is a persuasive message to scare someone with the intent to motivate them to take action against the threat. But it should be handled delicately, weak fear appeals may not attract any attention and strong fear appeals may make the person ignore the problem altogether. Strike the balance with ‘perceived efficacy’ which is made up of self-efficacy (can i avert the threat myself?) and response-efficacy (will the action recommended avert the threat?). Campaigns will work better if accompanied with a reassuring efficacy boosting message or CTA. For example, “Smoking can cause a slow and painful death: Join 230.000 successful stoppers, and go to www.stop-simply.de right now!” Use the following persuasive tips:

• Use personally relevant threats (not too small nor too big).
• Make sure you directly boost your customers’ efficacy by convincingly offering your solution as easy and effective.
• Provide a clear and strong call-to-action directly after / next to your scaring message.

Reflection Effect

We’re risk-averse when we have something to gain, but risk-seeking when we’ve got something to lose. Use the following persuasive tips:

• When you want customers to make a risk-averse choice (such as staying with you), test by phrasing your USP’s as gains.
• When you want customers to make a risk-seeking choice (such as switching to you), phrase your USP’s as losses.

Gaze Cueing

The Dutch online bank MoneYou tested gaze cueing by displaying a face in their ‘mortgage quick quote’ widget looking in the direction of the quick quote fields instead of looking at the visitor. This resulted in a 9% increase of quote requests. Use the following persuasive tips:

• When using faces on your website, direct their look towards the most important element(s) on your page.
• Consistently place your important elements -like your CTA- on one side (right side is optimal), and have faces on your site looking in that direction.
• Place negative elements (i.e. prices) outside the perceived gaze direction.

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Next week, I will further discuss my learnings and opinions from the next few courses I take in the Minidegree. To stay updated with my weekly blogs and explore the ‘Digital Psychology and Persuasion’ Minidegree with me, subscribe to my blog.

Until then, explore the various programs offered by CXL, by clicking on the link below:

This is the ninth in a 12 part blog series, where I review CXL Institute’s ‘Digital Psychology and Persuasion’ Minidegree. This week I took two new courses: i) Social Proof, and ii) Principles of Persuasive Design. In today’s blog we will discuss a 4 step framework to discover key emotional targeting tactics and how to run meaningful A/B tests for it.

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You don’t sell a product! You sell solutions, a better version of the consumer after using your product or the experience they have with it.

Everything we do has an emotional reason, be it: being loved, become a part of the community or become a better version of ourselves. So if you have a cab service, you aren’t selling cab rides but easy and convenient transportation. If you are a skincare company, you don’t sell toners, but smooth and glowing skin. It is essentially about addressing your customers’ emotional needs. The root of every conversion is a human behavior which results in some emotional need being met.

Our aim should be to understand our consumers’ emotional triggers and what makes them buy our product. Then use this understanding to develop better landing pages and funnels.

4 Step Framework to Understand Your User at an Emotional Level

Talia Wolf of Conversioner, a CRO agency specializing in emotional targeting, shares a 4 step framework to discover key emotional targeting tactics and how to run meaningful A/B tests for it.

1. Emotional Competitor Analysis

Emotional Competitor Analysis is different from a regular Competitor Analysis. We aren’t going to compare features, benefits, products or prices. We analyse two aspects: where the market is emotionally and where we fit in that market. Follow the steps below to perform an Emotional Competitor Analysis:

Step 1: Choose 10-15 of your top competitors. Competitors can be both direct and indirect. An indirect competitor is someone who doesn’t compete with your product directly but targets your target audience.

Step 2: Grade selected competitors on the following four parameters:

1. Message: The message they are sharing on their landing page
2. Colors: Colors have a huge emotional effect on us. We want to analyze the industry in terms of its top color choices.
3. Image: Build an understanding on what visuals the competitors are using and what is the first thing the customer sees when they land on the competitors landing page.
4. Emotional trigger: What are our competitors trying to make the customers feel?

After this analysis we have a guess on what emotions our competitors are trying to evoke in the customers. The next step is to question whether we want to focus on the very same emotions or should we be different. However, before finalizing this we need to test both the options to see what works better.

2. Emotional SWOT

The emotional SWOT tells us what the customers think about us and how they feel about the industry. We evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in our product and the opportunities and threats present in the market.

3. Emotional Content Strategy

In our emotional content strategy we should answer the specific weaknesses and threats evaluated in the emotional SWOT. We must individually address all the issues observed in our product and the industry and try to remove or ease out the points of friction. There are 223 emotional triggers. Most companies should use a combination of these emotional triggers and avoid using just one.

4. Testing

The aim of testing is to understand our customers to the best of our abilities and then translate it into a funnel. Brainstorm different test hypotheses by listing the different emotions, elements, words, visuals and color. Using these hypotheses, create different landing pages which result in different emotional triggers. Test these landing pages to figure out what emotional triggers work best with your customers.

Responsive Design Kills Conversion

When designing landing pages always design and test for both – mobile and desktop. Landing pages are still being designed with a desktop first approach. However, the desktop is no longer the major source of website traffic. According to statcounter GlobalStats, 54.46% of the web traffic worldwide comes from mobile phones, 42.63% from desktops and 2.91% from tablets. Due to this inefficient approach of desktop first, mobile visitors convert less. According to stats from Monetate, mobile traffic converts at less than half the rate of that on desktop, at 2.25% compared to 4.81% for desktop. Data from SaleCycle 2020 Ecommerce Stats Report shows that mobile sales continue to grow, but shoppers still seem to prefer to convert on desktop.

One of the reasons for difference in conversion rates on mobile is that users on their mobile are on the go or multi-tasking. As a result the user’s emotional state and behavior is different. Therefore, we need to specifically address the needs of mobile users and create a better user experience.

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Use these basic tools to get to know your customers better. This systematic framework can help you into adapting test strategies for emotional targeting.

Next week, I will further discuss my learnings and opinions from the next few courses I take in the Minidegree. To stay updated with my weekly blogs and explore the ‘Digital Psychology and Persuasion’ Minidegree with me, subscribe to my blog.

Until then, explore the various programs offered by CXL, by clicking on the link below:

This is the eighth in a 12 part blog series, where I review CXL Institute’s ‘Digital Psychology and Persuasion’ Minidegree. This week I took two new courses: i) Psychology of Communication, and ii) Psychology of Pricing. In today’s blog we will discuss how you can create a favorable context for your price and effective strategies to improve its perception.

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One will easily pay $80 for 5 items at Whole Foods, but that same amount seems to be a lot when spent at a regular supermarket. The acceptable price of a beer at a local grocery store will be different than what one is willing to pay at a bar on the beach. What causes this difference in acceptable prices? The answer is in the context!

Context shapes the perception of a price. This is how the same product can have wildly different prices across different markets. Lets discuss few ways to shape the context of your price.

Create the Context of a Price

Price of a product is more than just the input cost, value of the product and its list price. It also depends on how your customer thinks about it, how much they value the product and how much they are willing to pay for it. All these factors can be shaped by creating a context. A context is essentially a scenario of the purchase. Let’s take a look at few ways we can create the context of a price.

Comparisons

A proposed price should be linked to the customer’s point of reference. Comparisons are generally made with similar goods in the market and can be done either by the customer on their own or can be stated by the marketer.

1. Implicit Comparisons

When consumers compare products themselves it is known as implicit comparison. Research and evaluate the implicit comparisons your customers could be making:

• Who are the competitors to a product? What do they charge?
• Have these customers used similar products before? What did they pay?
• What price ranges do they normally pay for services or products? Are they price sensitive (i.e. Wal-Mart shoppers)  or value-sensitive (i.e. Whole Foods shoppers)?
• What type of budget do they have for products like this?

2. Explicit Comparisons

When comparison is specifically stated or brought up by the marketer or advertiser, it is known as explicit comparison. Use this to highlight the comparisons you think the consumer should be making and demonstrate why your product is of a higher value.

Research and evaluate the explicit comparisons you could make:

• What other products are consumers considering when choosing your product?
• What do they charge? How can you differentiate value?

Perceived Benefits

A product’s benefits, both conscious and subconscious, define its value to the consumer. According to Leigh Caldwell, in The Psychology of Price, there are certain drivers that helps us access the price of a product:

1. Primary Drivers: A product’s features;
2. Level 2 Drivers: Benefits of the feature;
3. Level 3 Drivers: Emotions or goals the benefits satisfy;
4. Basic Drivers: Biological drivers behind emotions or goals, they are: avoidance of pain, pleasure, time and money.

Research an evaluate the perceived benefits of your product:

• List the drives that determine the perceived benefits of your product:
• For each of those buying reasons, who are the competitors? What is their price spectrum?

Strategies to Improve Your Price’s Perception

Price perception is one of the leading variables in a consumer’s buying decision. It can either be determined by a logical assessment of the price or can be shaped by employing various psychological strategies. The essence of price perception lies in its subjectivity, that is, the customer’s perception of the price doesn’t need to match the actual price level.

A brand should aim to create a desirable price perception that brings in revenue profitably and at the same time satisfy customers with the value they receive at that price. Lets discuss a few psychological strategies that can help in improving price perception and encourage the customer to take a desirable action:

1. Decoy Effect

This is the phenomenon whereby the consumer changes their preference between two options when presented with a third one – the “decoy”. The decoy is not intended to sell but is introduced to make the other options look more attractive. It is usually used to nudge the consumer to purchase the more expensive option.

2. Centre Stage Effect

Research shows that when faced with a range of products arranged vertically or horizontally, the consumer is most drawn to the options in the middle. This effect is even more pronounced when choosing for someone else. We can use this bias to almost assure that the items placed in the middle are noticed favorably.

3. Anchoring

It is a cognitive bias which refers to the tendency to heavily rely on the first piece of information offered when making a marketing decision. Placing premium options before the standard ones will make them appear as a bargain in comparison. This can also be used in reverse. First position a lower priced option with less features followed by a slightly expensive option with more features, to nudge the customers into your preferred direction.

4. Social Proof

Using social proof is a proven strategy to increase order value and conversions. It can be used in a variety of ways: using “Recently Sold” notifications to justify prices, providing “People Also Bought” to cross sell or upsell items or tagging popular products to eliminate choice paralysis and guide the consumer to make a desirable purchase.

5. Free Trial/Freemium

It is the practice of offering a basic set of services for free and enhanced features for a fee. Suggest the plan with the least amount of friction. Get them to sign up and see how great your product is (and that it’s worth the upgrade!). This might, however, result in a large number of users using your services for free and only a small number of users upgrading to the paid offer.

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Price context and perception are key factors in driving buying decisions in consumers. The above discussed biases and strategies can help in guiding the customer in a desirable direction. This can help them in crafting pricing strategies that ensure market competitiveness and also bring superior financial returns. Ultimately, always test different options. Never blindly follow any principles. It is best to research and interview your audience to understand what will work best with them.

Next week, I will further discuss my learnings and opinions from the next few courses I take in the Minidegree. To stay updated with my weekly blogs and explore the ‘Digital Psychology and Persuasion’ Minidegree with me, subscribe to my blog.

Until then, explore the various programs offered by CXL, by clicking on the link below:

This is the seventh in a 12 part blog series, where I review CXL Institute’s ‘Digital Psychology and Persuasion’ Minidegree. This week I took two new courses: i) Psychology of Products, and ii) Psychology of Websites. In today’s blog we will discuss value proposition that improve conversions and marketing.

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What product are you selling? Who should buy your product? Why should the customer buy your product over your competitors? What value will your product provide to the customer?

A value proposition answers these questions and moves your ideal customer closer to purchase. It has to be the first thing a visitor sees on your page and strike curiosity in them to explore more. Presenting your product in a compelling way will improve conversions and help with marketing strategies across channels.

What is a Value Proposition?

A value proposition explains what benefit you provide for who and how you do it uniquely well. It describes your target buyer, the problem you solve, and why you’re distinctly better than the alternatives.

Simply put, it summarizes why a customer should choose you.

What makes a Unique Value Proposition?

Also known as USP (Unique Selling Point), a UVP is the value you promise to deliver to your customers.

Clearly state these three things to captivate your ideal customers:

1. Pain-focused: How will your product address customers’ pain points and improve their life?
2. Relevance: What specific benefits will your product deliver?
3. Differentiation: Why should they use your solution over your competitors?

A value proposition should always be benefit focused. Instead of dwelling on features of your product, use UVP to explain which pain points your product will address, how it will improve their life and how that will make them feel.

Transform these into a distilled insight into your product, roughly as:

We help (X) do (Y) by doing (Z).

Lastly, you don’t need to be unique in the whole world, but just in your customer’s eyes.

What the Value Proposition is not!

It isn’t a slogan: Wheaties – The Breakfast of Champions.

It isn’t a positioning statement: America’s #1 Bandage Brand. Heals the wound fast, heals the hurt faster.

Although slogans, taglines or positioning statements are essential brand accessories, they don’t encourage your potential customers to make a purchase. Mission statements don’t help the customer in differentiating different businesses, but value propositions do.

How to Write a Value Proposition?

Start with the following formula:

1. Headline. What is the end-benefit you’re offering in one short sentence? It can mention the product and/or customer. Make it an attention grabber.
2. Sub-headline or a 2–3 sentence paragraph. A specific explanation of what you do/offer, for whom, and why it’s useful.
3. 3 bullet points. List the key benefits or features.
   Visual. Images communicate much faster than words. Show the product image, the hero shot, or an image reinforcing your main message.

Use the Correct Language to Write Your Value Proposition

How your product is discussed within your business will be much different than how your customers talk about it. A value proposition should always be written in a language used by the customers. If you don’t write your value proposition the way your customers would talk about it, there will be a gap between what you say and what they understand.

Interview or survey your customers to understand how they speak about your product. Identify common words and phrases used then write them into your UVP to attract new customers.

Process of Creating a Value Proposition

Step 1: Identify customer benefits.
Make a list of all benefits your product offers to customers.

Step 2: Link Benefits to value offering.
Identify what value your products bring to the customer.

Step 3: Differentiate and position yourself.
Make it clear who your target customer is, what you offer to them and how you are different.

Tactics for Developing Effective Value Propositions

• Clearly explaining the value of products and services
• Clearly explaining why the ideal customer should choose your solution over the competition.
• Developing unique value propositions for separate products or services
• Targeting specific value propositions for specific buyer personas
• Competitive research
• Testing value propositions through various media.
• Clarity! It’s easy to understand.
• It communicates the concrete results a customer will get from purchasing and using your products and/or services.
• It says how it’s different or better than the competitor’s offer.
• It avoids hype (like “Never seen before!” or “Amazing miracle product!”), superlatives (“best”) and business jargon (“value-added interactions”).
• It can be read and understood in about 5 seconds.

Also, in most cases, there’s a difference between the value proposition for your company and your product. You must address both.

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“While the value chain focuses internally on operations, the value proposition is the element of strategy that looks outward at customers, at the demand side of the business. Strategy is fundamentally integrative, bringing the demand and supply sides together.” – Harvard Business School’s Institute for Strategy & Competitiveness

Your value proposition has to be the first thing visitors see on your homepage, but it should also be visible at all major entry points to the site. Although it’s often found above the fold on the homepage, you should be aware of other common entrance points (e.g. a landing page, category pages, blog posts, and product pages). Finding a unique value proposition usually involves a new way of segmenting the market. It is a cost vs benefit equation that shows your prospect’s motivation.

Next week, I will further discuss my learnings and opinions from the next few courses I take in the Minidegree. To stay updated with my weekly blogs and explore the ‘Digital Psychology and Persuasion’ Minidegree with me, subscribe to my blog.

Until then, explore the various programs offered by CXL, by clicking on the link below: