What’s the ultimate goal of any (online) business?
I’m sure you would agree with me when I say that:
The ultimate objective of every online business is to increase their sales and profits.
At the end of the day, the value of your online business lies in it’s ability to convert website visitors into paying (and repeat) customers.
It’s really that simple.
But to do that, companies spend thousands of dollars to study and analyze the behaviors, desires, and needs of their target customers.
They hire consultants in specialized fields to help them improve the effectiveness of their marketing and advertising strategy, there is no doubt about it that they’ll do whatever in their power to make you buy what they offer.
Today, I’m going to show you seven powerful psychological tricks that the big boys use to increase their sales, and grow their online business.
Ready? Let’s get down to business.
1. The desired outcome
This may seem surprising to you, but… People don’t buy products online.
”You must be joking.” – you say.
No, I’m not. Let me explain…
When people buy your product, they didn’t buy it because it’s awesome or because they think your company is great. They bought your product because they wanted to improve themselves.
… They wanted to become a better version of themselves.
People don’t buy your products, they buy a better version of themselves.
From a psychological perspective, every human being has an unmet psychological need or a desire that they want to fulfill.
For example:
Let’s say your selling a ”weight-loss” product. People who’ll buy your product are people who’ve a desire to loss weight. So technically, they want to buy a better version of themselves.
Your product/service, sales page, ad copy, etc – they all have to convince your target customer that once they buy your product, they’ll not be the same again. They’ll be able to become a better version of themselves. Their desired outcome.
2. Benefits over features
You’ve probably heard this advice a million times:
Don’t focus on features, focus on the benefits.
Yet it seems so many marketers don’t really understand the meaning of this basic marketing principle, or how to effectively use it to persuade visitors into buying their products.
Which one do you like the most?
Ad #1: Our energy drink has zero sugar and no alcohol!
Ad #2: Boost your energy and unleash the beast!
I think you agree with me that the second one looks much more appealing, it makes you feel the benefit of buying that product, it makes the product look more desirable.
People don’t want to hear about your product (… zero sugar and no alcohol!), they care about what your product can do for them (boost your energy and unleash…).
Focus on the benefits, focus on what your product can do for your customers.
3. Fear of missing out
Fear is a very powerful emotion.
It can make us do things that we normally wouldn’t do, or don’t want to do. People hate to miss out on an opportunity that they care about. They’ll do everything to avoid that.
Direct-response marketers and advertisers use the ”fear of missing out” to get potential customers to take the action they want them to take.
They use deadlines or limited-time offers such as, ”offer ends in…”, or ”this won’t last for long…” to get visitors to buy the product at that exact moment.
4. One call-to-action (CTA)
Have you ever seen a YouTube video and in the end, you’ve been told to subscribe, like, share, comment, and click the link below, etc. Did you do that? Probably not.
It probably felt like too many requests. Right?
Well, you’re not alone. Most people feel the same way that you do.
When someone asks you to do so much, you end up doing nothing. Because you’re confused, you don’t know what to do first, you’re not sure which action is more important.
When we get faced with multiple options, we end up doing nothing.
In psychology, they called this… ”Analysis paralysis”, which causes a state of over-analyzing that basically makes it hard to make a decision or take any kind of action.
Your marketing message (sales page, emails, ad copy, etc) need to have only one call-to-action (CTA).
Your potential customers will find it much easier to take the action you want them to take, and your conversions will increase.
5. Sense of urgency
When you’re asking your potential customers to buy your products and services. Even if they want to buy, They’ll most likely think this to themselves:
”I’ll buy this later”. And later is usually never.
you want them to take an immediate decision, you need to give them a reason to ”buy now”.
To do that, you need to create a sense of urgency. Create limited-time offers, and use words that create urgency such as, ”hurry”, ”today only”, ”only 3 left in stock”, etc.
6. The power of free
The word ”free” is the most powerful word in the history of marketing.
It’s a very persuasive word. After all, who can resist free stuff?
It’s easy to get your potential customer’s attention using this word, because everyone likes free stuff. Although it’s overused and probably abused by some marketers and spammers, it’s still effective.
Online stores have made a fortune out of using the simple words, ”free shipping”. It makes people feel comfortable. You can also use it to promote your free reports to build your list of potential customers, or encourage people to buy through you by adding free bonuses.
There are many ways to use the word free to increase your sales and conversion rate.
7. New is better
Everyone likes new stuff, everything that is ”new’‘ seems to make us feel excited, and interested in buying it.
Think about why iPhone users always want to buy the new iPhone even before it comes out.
It’s crazy.
But how can you use this to increase your online sales?
Well, you can use the word in your marketing message and ads to get people interested in your product, you can also use the word ”new” even before you launch your product to get people excited and waiting for your upcoming great product.
Conclusion
There are many things that you can do to persuade people into buying your products and services.
But the best way to do that is by understanding the needs of your target customers, how they behave online, and what makes them click the ”buy now” button.
So what do you think? Do you already use these tricks in your online business?
