Understanding Consumer Psychology

Consumer psychology basically deals with understanding the behavioral pattern of humans when it comes to buying. Humans, most times, buy on emotions and justify the purchase with logical reasons. Why would a person with a rack full of shoes still order a pair of sneakers because of the color? Emotions! A buyer must be able to key into what pulls humans to make purchases.

The way a product appears may draw several buyers to purchase it. This is where packaging and positioning come in. Many times, people go to stores to make purchases of listed items but they end up buying more, even much more. This is not unconnected to the fact they could have been captivated by the promise of satisfaction in a product and the affordability of it.

In this article, we shall discuss why consumers make purchases and how sellers can key into it.

Consumers are driven by research.People want to know more about what they are buying and as such, you have to empower them by providing information. For instance, sellers of food items provide the calorie count of the product they are selling. This endears buyers as they can feel empowered to make decisions on their calorie intake.

Apart from supplying information on the product, there must be a way buyers can connect you to learn more about the product. Email addresses and hotlines are not supplied on product for nothing, they are to give an avenue for enquires.

You need reliable sales representatives. These people get to meet retailers and buyers personally and they can answer questions arising from the use of the product.

Emphasize consumer gain. Consumer gain is what the consumer is benefitting from the use of the purchase or the service. You have to sell more than a product. People want to buy abstract things like happiness, satisfaction, longevity, delight, humaneness, and a whole lot of others with the product or service. The abstract entity is the end result of the product. How is your product helping buyers to achieve their goals? You have a competition to deal with – you cannot afford to sell the same way your competitor sells. You have to sell differently.

Have you ever thought why people love to buy products/services they don’t need just to support a charity drive? This is human behavior – we always want to feel good and pleased with ourselves.

Don’t underestimate the power of emotions. Emotions make us human. Many decisions are made on emotional impulses. If consumers have a strong emotional connection to a product, that product has got its big break. This is because emotional connection creates feelings that are longed for. For instance, if you are in need of a wrist watch, $5 – $10 can get you one. However, why would a person spend about $25,000 on a Rolex? A Rolex wrist watch is more of a status symbol – it evokes the fact that you may be a very successful person. It also gives confidence to appear anywhere. The emotional satisfaction and sense of achievement the brand gives will always draw numerous buyers.

A seller who understands consumer psychology can evoke a lot of emotions from the buyer. For instance, people always long for a time in the past when things were beautiful and blissful. You can give them that strong feeling of nostalgia. Take them to their past and gain their attention.

Some persons, because of their past experiences or of something connected to their personalities, can appeal to the emotions of buyers. For instance, a person who survives a fire with the help of a product or service can be used by the seller or producer of that merchandize to promote the brand and this can draw a lot of buyers.

Know how to get the best out of the use of colors. Colors send messages. You have to know the knowledge that best presents the abstract entity you’re selling with your product or service. For instance, if you own a clothing store, you want to give present elegance as your brand – black does this well. You have to study colors well and know what they represent or stand for. The message you pass across to your buyers will go a long way in determining how they will prefer your product to that of your competitors.

When choosing your colors, know that simplicity matters. You don’t need to use too many colors to send your message; just pick a color or two that resonates with your brand well enough.

Small changes make a wall of difference. The little things matter. For instance, a warm courtesy has a strong emotional pull. Your chance against your competitors is to make the best out of every single interaction with potential buyers. One way you can do this is by enticing buyers to try your products/services before buying them. Normally, every product/service should be paid for but when you have confidence in your product/service and you look beyond just selling to establishing a relationship, you should look at making some sacrifices.

You should capitalize on the future outcome of the product. The future outcome is the ultimate satisfaction they are going to derive from your product/service. Placing emphasis on that can take the buyer’s mind off the price and help convince faster.

Use some powerful words that will focus on the buyer. Words like “you” etc. have a way of making the buyer feel in control.

Just like the premiere to a movie, build anticipation. Give the promise of the perfect solution when you are advertizing. Let the promotion start way before the product or service so that expectations may be high about it.

In conclusion, just like selling a $900 pen to someone who can easily buy a $2 pen. You have to sell more than the product or service – you have to sell a dream. Satisfaction can always be extended. Don’t just sell a pen with ink, sell elegance.

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