MARKETING EVOLUTION
Marketing Psychology Basics
By Marion Wakahe
Recently , I went shopping with a friend . Inside the supermarket was a sampling table for organic juices . She really wanted to try them out but declined after seeing the prices they were being sold at . From her perspective , sampling should only be done if you have not just the intent , but also the capacity to buy the actual product at the time . A lot of us can relate to this , very few will sample and not feel compelled to buy the product in question . This is the principle of reciprocity , a tendency to want to return a favor someone else does for us .
Reciprocity is one of the principles of marketing psychology . Marketing psychology offers an understanding of human behavior specifically in relation to response to marketing communications , materials , and strategies . Understanding someone ’ s motivations , pain points , and solutions sought is critical to the development and marketing of products . Marketing psychology seeks to determine the why behind product purchase and not just the superficial what .
A story is told of a non-governmental organization that had the noble intention of helping women in an arid area here in Kenya . It was estimated that women in this area spent at least four hours of their day collecting water for their families . Additionally , these women and their families faced disease with the worst-case scenario being death . As a result , this organization garnered the funds and other resources needed to build boreholes close to these women ’ s residences so that they would no longer need to trek long hours in search of water .
A few months in , an interesting trend was noted . These women continued their long treks in search of water . Unsurprisingly , this behavior befuddled the organization . One member of staff approached the women and asked why they still walked these long distances and they answered with a smile , “ we need to talk .” As much as the organization addressed the obvious need of access to water , the underlying need , to interact and mingle , they did not . They assumed the ladies would know how to fill the free time and be in a position do so . With this deeper understanding , a center was built where these women could interact and engage in economic activities such as weaving and making ornaments .
Many marketers and business owners believe that people make their decisions from rational bases such as price , quality , guarantees , amongst others , but it has been well established that this is not the
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Marketing psychology can give marketers and business owners a competitive edge , by improving marketing strategies and tactics in ways that positively influence people ’ s behaviors and purchase decisions . case . We can all relate to moments when we purchased an item and later regretted the decision , what is known in marketing parlance as post-purchase dissonance , for example . Thanks to digital marketing , it is now easier to predict purchase behavior but even then , there are still gaps which is why proper data analysis and drawing insights is a critical exercise every organization should engage in . Marketing psychology can give marketers and business owners a competitive edge , by improving marketing strategies and tactics in ways that positively influence people ’ s behaviors and purchase decisions .
In order to attract , influence , convince and convert more people with your marketing efforts , below is a list of marketing psychology principles and their application .
Reciprocity
First described in his book , ‘ Influence : The Psychology of Persuasion ,’ Robert Cialdini defines reciprocity simply , that if someone does something for you , you naturally will want to do something for them . Marketers use this principle in different ways , for example , to get your details in exchange for a free download , giving away free samples of products generally resulting in a purchase , amongst others .
Priming
In essence , priming involves being exposed to a particular stimulus and its effect on response to another stimulus . For example , if someone shows you something yellow and then asks you to name a food , you ’ ll likely respond ‘ banana .’ Using subtle priming techniques , marketers can get customers to
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