What is a Cognitive Bias?
A cognitive bias is an idea that attempts to assist in producing a more informed decision but leads to an unfavorable outcome instead. The example you just gave is an instance of this type of thought process. It’s a systematic error in mental processing.
If you are able to pinpoint these obscure ways of thinking, you can make sound decisions on your own and you can then employ them to influence your prospects to pick you.
How to Use Cognitive Biases In Your Marketing
In 1976, Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky conducted research that helped to illuminate many of these behaviors and how they impact our daily lives. Here are the results of their study, presented alongside how to utilize cognitive tendencies to improve marketing.
Showcase your authority to boost people’s trust in your brand
We can begin by referencing the convenient method you may have chosen to arrive here. Authority preference is a term that conveys people’s inclination to bestow more trust in those they have labeled as powerful. The amount of Twitter followers your preferred account has, how often their posts get shared, and even their job as a CEO, all point towards that person or business being authoritative and trustworthy.
When you saw her Tweet, you assumed that if the person she tagged found it useful, it must be worthwhile. I was confident that the content was of an excellent standard because I was aware of her intelligence and her appreciation of quality. Subsequently, I opted to engage with the said content, having identified its author as someone worthy of my trust.
Take advantage of this tendency by displaying prestigious titles (for example “Doctor” or “Chief Marketing Officer”), attire (such as lab coats or posh suits), and items associated with success (like a collection of books or fine jewelry). These communicate your success to prospects.
You must have a good salary to be able to buy pricey suits. The same goes for high-end jewelry. If you have the designation of Chief Marketing Officer and your workspace is crammed with a collection of large books, it’s obvious that you are intelligent and educated. The sum of these elements gives a false sense of legitimacy and trustworthiness, regardless of accuracy (simply being a doctor does not equate to being a great one, and just standing in front of shelves stocked with books does not mean that all of them have been read).
This same concept applies to businesses and people alike, except for garments obviously. Instead of being labeled a Chief Marketing Officer, a title could be “Fortune 500 Company,” and the associated benefits could include having a contemporary office in a famous location, as seen in destinations such as the Empire State in Manhattan. You could show medals or trophies for accomplishments in your profession, placed prominently on your home page. Here’s an example from Metric Theory:
Showcase Who Values Your Product
The other evening I had a meal with my uncle who had traveled from away. He exclaimed that the tacos he obtained from a local food truck near their hotel were unlike anything he had ever tasted before. We must have gone by it a lot when it was dark, yet did not realize it until I spied a lengthy queue assembling outside in the daytime. At that point, I realized the cuisine had to be excellent.
He was prepared to spend thirty minutes in the queue because he concluded that if other people were content to wait so long to get tacos from the truck, then the food must be of good quality. This is called “the bandwagon effect.”
Signs that the offer is good value can be seen when there is a large uptake or lots of glowing comments being made about it. If it was not worth it, why would so many people have devoted their resources to it? Why would they continue to rave about it?
Utilize this resource to strengthen the appeal of your proposal with the assistance of social proof, such as reviews or tally marks on your arrival page. Here’s an example from a graphic design agency, Fell Swoop:
Maintain objectivity at all times
Prior to attempting any improvement of a web page’s conversion rate, you should have a specific purpose in mind. If, for example, your A/B testing data reveals that people are leaving your landing page right away, it could be because there is a disconnect between your advertisement and page, or because your headline is not appealing enough. It’s possible that your navigation menu is facilitating an exit for potential customers. Any of these is a plausible cause.
It is less likely that the main picture on your website would frighten people away, or that the colors on your homepage must be changed to make it visually more appealing. Sometimes, those responsible for enhancing the page will interpret the data as they desire.
A videographer might suggest that the reason people are leaving the page might be due to the absence of any videos. We should add an explainer video above the fold.”
A copywriter might express the same information by saying, “It seems like nobody would want to spend their time viewing a video.” It does not appear to be a problem with the headline, and a designer most likely would not agree with this assumption. We need to alter the hues of the page to enhance the readability of the content.
This is an instance of “confirmation bias,” which is when people will view the evidence as if it supports their preconceived opinions. Some people get their news only from outlets that have a single viewpoint. Some individuals stay entrenched in an environment that is populated by individuals who do not have diverging perspectives.
It might be why your webpage is not doing well, even with the alteration you or your team made such as adding a video, changing the text content, or switching the colors. The thought was that the adjustment could prevent visitors from leaving the page too quickly.
In order to avoid your conversion rates suffering from this cognitive bias, strive to be impartial and get multiple perspectives related to your information or website, but pay attention to who you are getting them from. Nobody is immune to confirmation bias.
Give Your Prospects Everything They Need To Make A Decision
Individuals take great care with their time and money, and rightfully so. They only have a limited amount.
When potential customers arrive at your sales page, they will examine your offering to determine if it is worth the price for what it provides. A few general questions they’ll ask:
- Why is this solution better than others like it?
- Is this a trustworthy company?
- Have other people claimed this project?
- Does this product or service actually work?
- Will I have the support I need if I ever run into trouble with this product or service?
- Is this webpage secure?
- Can I get a refund if I don’t like the product or service?
If your web page does not address and provide solutions to problems relevant to your business, potential customers will be reluctant to convert. The “ambiguity effect” explains why people are inclined to choose choices that appear most likely to lead to a positive result.
How to Use the Mere Exposure Effect to Boost Your Sales
1. Leverage retargeting to boost sales. When attempting to market your products or services, retargeting individuals who have already looked at your website will bring about substantially better outcomes than concentrating on potential leads. A distinct study discovered that a retargeted advertisement has 10 times the click-through rate of a regular display ad, plus people who are retargeted with banners are 70% more inclined to complete a purchase.
2. Repurpose and distribute existing content. You can increase sales by amplifying the scope of your material by transforming it and dispersing it. You can repurpose a blog post into various other types of content, such as an infographic, video, podcast, and slides. The possibilities are endless! When shared through various outlets, it is possible for some viewers to come across it multiple times – which can be beneficial for your income!
3. Reshare existing content on social media. You can also take advantage of the phenomenon known as the mere exposure effect by sharing existing content on social media again. Buzzsumo conducted an investigation of 100 million articles to observe the impact of consistently reposting content on social media, resulting in a 686% rise in reach and engagement.
Loss Aversion
In 1979, a study carried out by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky discovered that individuals have a tendency to be unwilling to lose something they already possess rather than obtain something of identical value. Essentially, most people would prefer not to miss out on an opportunity to get $10 than to have to suffer a loss of $10. Loss aversion appears to be something that we are inherently inclined to do, as evidenced by a study from 2005 that looked at capuchin monkeys. This study showed that when given a choice, the monkeys preferred to take a risk that would result in a possible gain, instead of a risk that would result in a possible loss, even though the economic value was equal.
Your strategy should take into account that prospects have the propensity to avoid situations that may produce a loss for them.
How to Use Loss Aversion to Boost Your Sales
1. Offer free trials and samples of your product. People are more likely to form an attachment with something if they have directly experienced it, as opposed to never having had the chance to use it. When people have a risk-free way to interact with and explore your goods or services, they will be more willing to register and experiment with them. Contemplate providing complimentary samples, demonstrations, or even a complimentary testing period, like what Amazon Prime has available.
2. Offer a limited-time bonus. Advertise an offer that has a set time limit to it, and it will make customers feel like there is a lack of it, leading them to buy quickly. If they elect to make a purchase now, they will get a special promotion; if not, they will miss out on this bonus.
3. Use a countdown timer. Demonstrate to your potential customers the importance of the offer by incorporating a timer counting down to zero. Your potential customers can observe the time slowly counting down until your offer ends – not just taking advantage of the law of scarcity, but also guaranteeing that they truly sense an urgency.
The Compromise Effect
In 1992, it was possible for individuals to opt for 35mm Minolta cameras in an experiment by researchers. In the first test, participants were presented with the following options:
- Minolta X-370 priced at $169.99
- Minolta Maxxum 3000i priced at $239.99
Participants were split 50-50 between both cameras.
They then changed the experiment to determine if providing a middle-ground option would change the results. This time around, participants were presented with the following options:
- Minolta X-370 priced at $169.99
- Minolta Maxxum 3000i priced at $239.99
- Minolta Maxxum 7000i priced at $469.99
The majority chose the option in the middle, which is known as the compromise, making up 57% of the respondents. Approximately a quarter of the participants opted for the least expensive camera and an equal number decided to go for the priciest one, with the remaining participants spread out among the other choices.
This study concluded that by including an alternative solution, a “compromise,” the selection people make can be greatly impacted.
The Framing Effect
In 1984, psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky conducted an experiment in which they posed a question concerning a possible epidemic occurring in the United States.
Here’s the exact question they posed:
Picture the U.S. making preparations for an atypical Asian illness that is estimated to result in 600 fatalities. Two distinct approaches to fighting the illness have been suggested. Assume that the exact scientific estimates of the consequences of the programs are as follows:
- If Program A is adopted, 200 people will be saved.
- If Program B is adopted, there is a one-third probability that 600 people will be saved and a two-thirds probability that no people will be saved.
Which of the two programs would you favor?
The majority of participants, 72%, opted for Program A, whereas the remaining 28% selected Program B.
The same question was presented to other participants with different options:
- If Program C is adopted, 400 people will die.
- If Program D is adopted, there is a one-third probability that nobody will die and a two-thirds probability that 600 people will die.
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