Marketing Psychology is a discipline that studies consumer behavior in order to design products and strategies that suit their needs. Let us analyze its theoretical and practical bases.
Marketing Psychology is another branch of this discipline that has the function of studying the human mind, its tastes, its interests and motivations, to produce a greater number of sales . Really, both parties can benefit since the merchant will be able to sell his product and the client will be able to obtain the product that he wants.
In order to achieve this goal, increase sales and attract customers, different strategies related to the field of Psychology have been used. The variables of the subject that are taken into account are their motivations, their beliefs, ideology, attitudes, thoughts… We will try to know all these factors to capture their attention and ensure that the need or interest in consuming the product or service arises in the subject. .
In this article we will mention Marketing Psychology, what its main function is and what strategies and techniques are used to achieve its purpose.
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What is meant by Marketing Psychology?
In general terms, we could say that Psychology is the science that deals with the study of the human mind, well, in the specific case of Marketing Psychology, this discipline has the function of knowing the tastes, motivations or needs of people with the intention of creating or presenting you with products that satisfy your desires.
We see how the main objective is still to know the human mind, but in this case with the aim of capturing their attention and getting potential buyers to end up with the product . Thus, it will be much easier to sell an item if we know the characteristics or preferences of the subjects to whom it is addressed.
Well, this is the function of psychologists who work in the field of Marketing, they use different techniques and tools to understand the behavior of potential consumers so that it serves as a guide for the creation or improvement of the product. The end result is that both sellers and buyers win, since the seller positions his products and the customer gets what he needs.
Strategies used in Marketing Psychology
As we have seen, knowing the tastes and needs of the client is necessary, and adapting the products to the culture or society where we intend to market also ensures a better sale. For this purpose, from Marketing Psychology, some strategies or techniques have been used with the intention of better adapting the product to potential buyers. Below we will mention some of the most used tools or skills in this branch of Psychology.
1. Neuromarketing
Neuromarketing is one of the most widely used techniques as it allows the consumer’s mind to be studied more precisely, to know the motivations they may have and to anticipate all the possible actions of the client to create the product or present it in the most appropriate way to achieve greater customer satisfaction. sales number.
As we have said, it is the strategy most related to the study of the human brain, specifically its different cognitive processes such as attention, memory, thought or perception, and how these variables influence more subjective factors such as preferences, tastes or motivation , in order to know the best way to present the product.
2. Marketing emocional
A very important factor to take into account and with which Marketing Psychology also works are emotions, since it has been seen that they greatly influence the decision-making of subjects. Although we like to think that our choices are rational and objective, on many occasions we let ourselves be carried away by the emotional part. In the same way that it is impossible to deactivate our emotions, we will not be able to stop them from influencing our decisions.
In this way, an attempt will be made to arouse emotions in the subjects to get them to be clients . We see this strategy applied, for example, in branding, which consists of expressing the values or purposes of the brand, in order to try to achieve a greater connection with potential buyers.
We see how brands are currently positioning themselves more, thus making known their beliefs or which ones they support. Even getting the subjects to buy their products more for their ideals than for the article itself.
3. Copywriting
In the case of copywriting, we work with the mode or style of writing, a way of writing is used to achieve the purpose of the creator of the product, which is to sell . The fundamental writing strategy will consist of persuasion, which is the action carried out with the aim of convincing or influencing someone.
In this way, the text will be created stating the arguments and giving the most appropriate information so that potential buyers cannot decline the offer. The intention of persuasion is not to lie or manipulate, but to present or give the precise information according to the situation or the subject to whom it is addressed, knowing how to choose the words and transmit the appropriate message.
4. Operant or instrumental conditioning
Operant or instrumental conditioning is a behavioral technique whose purpose is for the subject to learn a behavior. In the case of Marketing, the objective will be for them to know the product in order to promote and achieve purchasing behavior. To apply conditioning, a very useful strategy consists of allowing the product to be tested, thus attracting the attention of potential buyers and it is easier for the subject to acquire the product if they have tried it before.
For example, we will let the customer use the product for a few days for free or in the case of food, we will let him try it when he goes to buy at the supermarket. Thus, the subjects will be able to verify for themselves how it works, how it tastes or what utilities the article in question has.
5. Production of expectations
The purpose of creating expectations is to draw the customer’s attention and increase their curiosity or need to learn more about the product or want to consume it. This effect that occurs in the subjects is called in psychology the Zeigarnik effect, which states that unfinished tasks are remembered better than those that do have an end.
Applied this effect to Marketing, it would mean that the products that we present in an unfinished way, generate expectation and interest in the subjects, thus increasing the possibility that they consume it.
We see examples of creating expectations in advertisements, where the product is presented in an attractive way to make the customer want to buy it and get hold of it, or in the trailers made to promote movies, created with the intention of producing the viewer curious to know more and need to see the film.
6. Generate motivation
Another strategy used by Marketing Psychology consists of knowing and using the motivation of individuals, understood as the internal and external force that directs and influences behavior in order to achieve their goals. Knowing the motivations of each subject, what they like and what their goals are, it is easier to offer each one the products that may interest them.
A very frequent example today and that you have surely observed is the need to accept “cookies” to be able to consult a web page . This is a way to know what your interests are, your motivations and thus show you information or advertisements linked to them. A similar thing happens when we want to watch a video on one of the internet platforms, an ad will appear before us, often linked to themes according to your search profile.
7. Cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is understood as a feeling of discomfort that appears in the subject when there is a contradiction between their beliefs or attitudes and their behavior. In this way, if there is no external cause that explains this inconsistency, for example that they have received money to act in this way, the subject will try to reduce the dissonance using different strategies: such as trying to justify the behavior by adding more information, giving it more importance to the beliefs that support our action or simply deny the dissonance.
If we apply this effect in marketing or sales, we observe that if we get the subject to buy the product, it is unlikely that he will return it , since when we make a choice between different options, once the purchase is made, the other alternatives are less attractive and we justify and see the chosen product as more attractive.
Likewise, although we may question the purchase, we will also try to justify our action by claiming that we really need the product or that it will surely be useful to us in the future.
We propose the following example to make it clearer: imagine that you want to buy some shoes, the two options are equally attractive, similar prices, same comfort, same shape, but with the difference that some are white and others black. If we finally choose the black ones, we will instantly value the ones we have bought more attractively. We try to justify and defend our choice.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.
