Email marketing aims to convince people to engage with your brand and purchase your product or service. Understanding your target audience is essential to a successful email marketing campaign.
Marketing psychology anticipates buyer behavior and looks for patterns in humans and how they relate to their purchasing decisions. It helps us understand how peoples’ minds work, how they respond to various marketing elements, and what triggers specific actions.
Various psychological triggers can help influence and guide people. If you want to take your email marketing to the next level, consider utilizing these psychological theories in your emails:
1. Scarcity and the Fear of Missing Out
The definition of scarcity is the state of being in short supply. When people believe a product or service is in short supply, they perceive it as more valuable. Scarcity and unavailability can cause people to experience a fear of missing out. When you utilize scarcity and the fear of missing out, you can evoke an urgent response from the customer.
Ways to execute:
Use a limited-time offer: Specify the expiration date and time
Show there are limited items in stock: Specify how many products are remaining
2. Reciprocity
One of the fundamental laws of psychology says that when someone gives you something, you want to pay them back. We have been conditioned to seek equal ground regarding giving and receiving. When you give something free to your potential customers, they often want to reciprocate by purchasing your products.
Ways to execute:
Lead magnets: Create and share free blogs, guides, and checklists in exchange for their email address
Free samples: Provide customers with samples of your products
Discounts and offers: Give discounts to those who are likely to convert to customers
3. The Anchoring Effect
The anchoring effect theory focuses on a cognitive bias in which decision-making favors the first piece of information received. The initial information the customer receives is the anchor for any future information. For example, you want your first email to captivate your customers and introduce a strong brand image.
Ways to execute:
Anchoring to manipulate price perception: Create price options to make other possibilities seem reasonable by listing the initial price next to the new sale price
Anchoring to build habits: Label certain behaviors as the correct behavior to encourage your customers to build a habit that will make them return
Specify how your products solve your customers’ specific problems
4. Social Proof
The social proof theory involves using the actions of others to influence the decisions of your customers. For example, when people see a famous person using a product, they are more interested in it.
Ways to execute:
Use testimonials and user ratings in your emails to influence the way customers view your products
Use celebrities to endorse your products
Display share counts to encourage others to share a post
5. The More Exposure Effect
The more-exposure effect says that people grow a preference for things the more they see them.
When you send consistent emails, you will help familiarize your customers with your business so they will develop a fondness for your brand. Don’t send too many emails but remain consistent in the quality. Include testimonials.
Ways to execute:
Send consistent emails to customers to build brand awareness
Remain consistent with branding and include your logo in all emails
6. The Picture Superiority Effect
Make sure your emails have a text-to-image balance. But remember that some devices will not allow the readers to see the images. “View in the browser” is a safe option to ensure readers can see the emails. Keep your campaign exciting and visually attractive.
Ways to execute:
Use clear and colorful images that make sense and apply to your content
Utilize your brand’s logo throughout the campaign
7. The Foot in the Door
This concept works off the assumption that when you make a small request of potential customers, and they agree, they will be more likely to agree to a more significant request. People see subsequent requests as an extension of the original request.
Ways to execute:
Send an email asking the customer to sign up for a free trial and then follow up by asking them to purchase
Ask the customer to fill out a short survey and then follow up with a request to purchase
8. The Paradox of Choice or Choice Overload (Why Less is Always Better)
The paradox of choice is when you offer your customers fewer choices because too many can overwhelm people. People don’t want to regret their decision if they make the wrong choice. It’s your job to eliminate the confusion. Ways to execute:
Limit the number of products or services you show in your emails
Minimize the CTA’s (Call To Action) in your email
For more information on the psychology of email marketing, don’t forget to check out the Understanding the Psychology of Email Marketing companion piece (link to companion piece).
If you need help creating an email marketing campaign for your business, don't hesitate to contact MLC Expert Consulting at 843.819.0103 or through our website.
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Understanding the Psychology of Email Marketing (2 of 3)
