A Short Guide to Consumer Psychology

Have you ever wondered what attracts a certain customer or client to your business or even why certain clients chose your competitors over you? Now sometimes it’s as simple as price or location but many times the reasons are far more subtle and unexpected. This is where consumer psychology or the science of buying comes in.

Consumer psychology is the understanding of why customers select, purchase and use goods and services. By understanding this aspect of human psychology businesses can give themselves the upper hand when competing for customers and clients.

Many psychological studies are done through both questionnaires and observation, both of which can be done by any business, large or small. One area of development in consumer behaviour is linked to neurological studies where certain parts of the brain light up when exposed to certain products or messaging. These types of studies need to be performed in a laboratory setting and require serious funding which is beyond the budget of most Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SME’s). However, this research is often available to the public and often the findings translate from one industry to the other.

The best way to benefit from this research is to observe what larger companies (who have invested the money in the research) are doing and then mimic this in your own organisation. In fact, this approach doesn’t have to be limited to just the marketing department. A quick look at how larger corporations deal with customer complaints, staff issues along with how they handle their social media can be very instructive.

People buy things for many different reasons and it’s not always the ones you think. A good example is if you’re marketing a detergent and selling it on price that may not be the best strategy if many of your customers are more concerned about the environment or whether it is safe for them and their family. Changing the focus in your marketing to its safety and the fact you package it in recyclable material may be a much more powerful message and attract many more customers.

With the growth of the internet and websites it has become much easier to split test what messages, offers, colours and lay outs get the best response from your customers. Back in the day, direct marketers used to send two different versions of a mailer out to a large list and then they had to wait weeks, sometimes, months to collect the results. Today, with online software those results are often back within days so companies can make much quicker decisions as to what is working best with their customers. These software packages are affordable and even small businesses can apply them to their websites.

Understanding your customers and what influences their buying decisions can be very valuable information to a business and we’ve looked at a few ways that you can access this information in this article. Use some of the tips in this article to get to know your prospective customers better and reap the benefits this brings.