Last week we talked about two of the psychological buying triggers mentioned in a Ladies Home Journal article on spending less that could be used to get your customers to spend more. Here are the three more tips they gave, along with how you can leverage the relevant buying trigger in your business.
Get Rid of Temptation
Well, we didn’t really need a magazine to tell us that an endless stream of emails and direct mail from your favorite companies intensifies your urge to splurge.
Or did we?
Because if anything, most business owners don’t mail or email their customers enough. The fear of becoming a pest seems to have reached epic proportions in the marketing world.
But there’s a reason why the saying “Out of sight, out of mind” has been around so long.
It’s awfully hard to “tempt” anyone into buying anything if you’re not communicating with them. Then when they do need something, they’re going to contact the first company that comes to mind–again, that’s not likely to be you if they don’t hear from you.
And with everyone’s inboxes flowing these days, they probably aren’t seeing every message you send anyway.
Still, you should mix it up by using more than one method of communication–such as email and direct mail. Not only will it keep them from getting tired of your messages, email and direct mail are proven to be more effective when used together.
Don’t Be Enticed By Free Trials
I can think of at least one book on my shelf that came from one of those “try it for 30 days and if you don’t like it, just send it back and you won’t owe a thing” offers. Or don’t send it back and they’ll just bill you for the book.
Offers like these have been popular for years because of what’s called “status quo bias”–people tend to stick with their current situation even when they don’t want it or its not in their best interest. (Thus, why most diets and other attempts to change habits fail!)
In other words, a whole lot of people never get around to sending the book back. (Like me in this case!)
But status quo bias can be a good thing for you, if you can create a monthly ongoing product or service and then give away free trials to get them started.
Don’t get me wrong–I’m against selling people things they don’t want. However, there have been times when I didn’t have time to try, say, a membership site during the free trial. But then continued emails from the site prompted me to start using it and I was quite happy I did sign up.
Note…ALWAYS make sure it’s clear they are signing up for a monthly service that will continue if they don’t cancel.
Know your Limits
Apparently, there may be a limit to the amount of self-control we can exert during a day. Once you reach your daily quota, you’re more likely to overspend.
University of Minnesota researchers found people who had to perform tasks involving self-control before shopping were more likely to make impulse buys and to spend more than those who didn’t. It’s that old “Well, I worked out this morning and ate healthy all day so I can afford the hot fudge sundae” reasoning.
And the self-control you exert does NOT have to be money related. So getting the salad instead of the burger you really wanted at lunch could cause a spending binge later.
What does this mean for you? Next time you’re scheduled to speak to a group, brainstorm some creative ways to incorporate exercises involving self-restraint into your presentation. (Or make sure yummy desserts are offered!)
Another way to leverage this is to make down-sell offers to people leaving your sales pages. Because people who are interested but didn’t buy will feel they’ve earned the right to buy a less expensive alternative that also meets their needs.
And if you missed last weeks’ tips on putting psychological buying triggers to work for you–Keep Your Hands to Yourself and Pretend You’re the Lone Customer–check them out for more sales-boosting ideas.
