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General

The Psychology Of Marketing

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The Psychology Of Marketing

 

Marketing aims to identify and satisfy customer demands by providing products and services. The marketing process includes exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet a target market's needs, whether online or at trade shows and public events. 

The decision to launch a marketing campaign is reasonable based on several factors, such as the availability of products, the need to correct erroneous information, or a desire to drive traffic to a particular website. 

You can implement a marketing campaign to emphasize specific themes or attributes and select a target audience. These themes or features may inform customers about the value of that particular product or service or inspire them to purchase it. It is essential to know your target demographic, as it allows you to tailor your ads to meet their needs and desires.

Marketing arose as a result of the rapid development of civilization. As long as there was an excess of demand over supply, manufacturing companies could concentrate on production only. However, with the rapid growth of technology, the production process accelerated, and gradually the market began to satiate until supply began to exceed demand. At that moment, solving how and what to produce was already necessary. 

With the modernization and simplification of production, the number of companies on the market also grew, and consumers got more choices. With increasing competition, companies began to address the question of what steps to take to make consumers choose their products. And hence there was space for the emergence of marketing.

 

Thus, marketing creates links between the market and businesses. It is based on human needs and desires. The human factor is applied and manifested both on the demand and supply sides. It is evident that psychology will also play a role in marketing.

Five Basic Psychological "Tricks."

1. Reciprocity (commitment)

    – give a little something for free, and then it'll come back to you

      as no one wants to be in debt 

2. Liquidation Offer and Consistency

    – we don't all like to make decisions 

    – we are afraid of the new and the unknown

    – we'd better shop at a friend's

3. Price Anchor and Contrast

     – When something's on sale, we go and shop

4. Paralysis of Decision-making

    – make it easier for people to make a choice and make an offer that, at a glance, 

      is the best possible solution you can buy

5. Social Proof

    – a lot of people have already bought it.

More About These Five Points:

What is the principle of reciprocity?

One person gives another a "gift," and the donee feels obligated. Thus, they feel a natural obligation to return the gift (to meet the following requirements of the donor).

What is a liquidation offer?

It is an offer so convenient and cheap that we do not have to think about buying for a long time. The price tag of such a liquidation offer is often meager, so we just do not have to consider for a long time whether it will pay off for us or not.

How does the principle of consistency work?

The principle "advises" us not to take risks and do what we already know and have tried. It protects us from the fear of the unknown. It is the principle people follow when they shop in the same supermarket for years, even if a few meters away is a new modern supermarket, which is cheaper and has a broader range.

What is a price anchor?

Discounts in marketing can work precisely because of the price anchor. It is the price tag or value of the goods. For example, when a product costs 100 USD, the price anchor equals 100 USD. When the goods suddenly have an "action" price of 69 USD, it seems advantageous to us thanks to the price anchor.

What is the paralysis of decision-making?

It is caused by more similar offers where the customer hesitates on what to choose.

Eliminate selection where possible or pre-select the most crucial option – the most effective solution to decision paralysis.

How does contrast work in marketing?

It is similar to a price anchor. In short, we compare two variants (more expensive / cheaper). And naturally, we choose the more profitable one. 

If it is not evident at first glance which offers are better, then follows a decision paralysis. In this case, customers often choose neither because they are looking for the best possible solution (convenience, savings, etc.) and cannot make a choice.

What is social proof?

It's confirmation from other people that our decision is the right one. These are references, sales figures, but also, for example, restaurants full of people.

 

 

Half of all our activities are based on habit. 

In marketing, on the contrary, we need to break the potential customer out of his habit. But psychologists have observed that we are most accessible when we have a life change – we are moving, we have a baby, we are approaching 20., 30., 40., 50…. birthday. 

Finally, Something About Colours

Colour psychology is the study of hues as a determinant of human behaviour.

Carl Jung was one of the pioneers of the interpretation of colours and their significance for the human psyche.

Jung said,"colours are the mother tongue of the subconscious." Colour influences perceptions that are not obvious, such as the taste of food. Colours have qualities that can cause certain emotions in people. They can carry a specific meaning.

        

 

What Is New In The Last Years

Biochemical marketing, as the new type of marketing is called, can increase efficiency by up to half and reduce costs by 70-80% in the format of low-cost multi-layered marketing. And in doing so, it is enough to know and use the biochemistry of four substances generated in a healthy human body: serotonin, dopamine, endorphin, and oxytocin.

Each of these substances has its own features and functions. Still, they are all responsible for positive changes in the human body, increasing the level of trust between people, reducing stress and anxiety, and creating a sense of well-being. And thanks to this, low-cost marketing can be done through public relations, social media, events, etc., with the help of biochemistry.

 

In no case should we forget, whatever methods we use, that our goal is a satisfied customer who returns. The applied psychology of the marketing world helps to find the necessary keys to understanding how the human mind works and is the basic knowledge of getting potential customers to buy your products eventually.

 

Although, at first glance, marketing may seem like a simple matter, if you delve into the issue more, you may start to feel a little lost. Markethive will provide you with comprehensive marketing tools. It is a platform for entrepreneurs with many innovative features. You will find all the tools for your business under one roof and have the opportunity to contribute to the spirit of friendly cooperation.

"Marketing is a war of perceptions.“         Ivo  Toman

 

Sources:

https://www.marketingovenoviny.cz

https://foxentry.com

https://www.dusansoucek.cz

 

 

 

General

What does Customer Centric actually mean?

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Creating a positive consumer experience at the point of sale and post-sale. A customer-centric approach can add value to a company by enabling it to differentiate itself from competitors who do not offer the same experience. Does the business you are involved in fall into the category? Well, these are the indicators: –
 
  • Puts customers above everything else.
  • Enhances the buyers experience, promotes sales and works to ensure customer loyalty, above all.
 

Here’s my list of seven steps for creating a customer-centric culture at your company.

 
These figure in my work as a company culture consultant; I've found them to be central to creating a corporate customer service culture that’s devoted from top to bottom to the customer experience. I am recapping the list here at the request of a MarketHive reader; I hope you find it useful.
 
 
1. Articulate your central philosophy in just a few words, a few meaningful words. That’s right: a company’s culture can begin with words, but those words need to represent a decision – something you actually stand for, a decision then expressed in the clearest, and ideally fewest, words. Find a central operating principle. Think of the Ritz-Carlton’s“We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen,” or Mayo Clinic’s “The needs of the patient come first.”
 
2. Elaborate on your central philosophy with a brief list of core values – a list short enough that every employee can understand, memorize, and internalize it, yet long enough to be meaningful. Your core values should cover how customers, employees, and vendors should be treated at all times.
 
3. Reinforce your commitment to these values continually. You may want to go as far as to devote five minutes every morning you stress one value, or an aspect of one value, at your departmental meeting. If that’s too often for your business reality or sensibilities, do it weekly. But don’t save it for the annual company picnic. Annual anything is the enemy of ‘‘core.’’
 
4. Make it visual. The above-mentioned Ritz-Carlton has ‘‘credo cards’’ – laminated accordion-fold cards that each employee carries during work hours. The brand’s entire core beliefs, plus shared basics of guest and employee interactions, fit on that card. Zappos highlights one of its core values on each box it ships out. And sometimes ‘‘visual’’ doesn't mean words at all. One way that FedEx shows that safety is a core value is via the orange shoulder belts in its vans: Everyone can see – from twenty-five yards away – that the driver’s wearing a belt.
 
5. Make your philosophy the focus of orientation. That way, if safety is one of your core values and you stress this at orientation, on day two, when the new employee’s co-worker tells him ‘‘In this restaurant, we stack the high chairs in front of the emergency exit when we need more room to do our prep work’’ [This is a real-life example, unfortunately], the new employee will experience cognitive dissonance and work on a way to align the actions of the company with the core values they’re supposed to reflect.
 
6. Train, support, hire, and, if necessary, use discipline to enforce what’s important to you. A core values statement is two-dimensional until you bring it to life – with the right people and energetic guidance. ‘‘Maintaining a culture is like raising a teenager,’’ says Ray Davis, President and CEO of Umpqua Bank, a the Pacific-Northwest-based U.S. retail bank that’s consistently top rated for service. ‘‘You’re constantly checking in. What are you doing? Where are you going? Who are you hanging out with?’’ And, sometimes, you have to use some tough love when that teenager is acting up in ways that don’t support the culture you’re working to build.
 
7. Include the wider world. Your people want to be part of an organization with a sense of purpose. Pizza parties and overtime pay (and even, believe it or not, stock options) only go so far. More inspirational: A version of a corporate “triple bottom line,” such as Southwest’s “Performance – People – Planet” commitment and annual report card. Or Ritz-Carlton’s “Community Footprints” social and environmental responsibility program. Or the story Umpqua Bank Regional VP Michele Livingston shared with me, about her employees visiting the homes of disabled customers to help them fill out their paperwork. Now that’s really something.
 

If you believe that my message is worth spreading, please use the share buttons if they show at the top of the page.

Stephen Hodgkiss
Chief Engineer at MarketHive
markethive.com

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

General

How to Create a Customer-Centric Culture

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What makes the great companies so great? It’s the service and experience the customer receives when doing business with them. The companies that get it are customer-centric. They put the customer at the heart of decisions, ideas, marketing, system design and more.
 
customer centric companies
 
 
It is definitely not the product. The product can be truly amazing, even a lifestyle changer, but that’s not what makes a company great. Take for example, cable television. Cable TV is truly amazing. When I was growing up, there were only four channels from which to choose. Today we have hundreds of channels to choose from with amazing high-definition clarity. We can record shows on the cable box to watch later, or watch movies and other programs ‘on demand,’ whenever we want to watch them. This is an amazing product. However, the cable TV industry, as a whole, delivers an abysmal customer experience. One of the less-than-customer-friendly policies: Asking a person to stay home on a workday to meet the cable TV installer during a four-hour window. That hardly seems customer-centric.
 
 
On the other hand, there are companies that sell the same products as everyone else, but the customer experience they offer really does set them apart. Ace Hardware is one of the best examples of this, having been awarded the JD Power award for highest customer satisfaction in its industry eight years in a row. These smaller, independently owned hardware stores compete against big box stores such as Home Depot and Lowe’s and sell many of the same items as the big stores. 
 
 
However, many Ace Hardware stores are only one-tenth the size of one of these larger stores. Imagine an 8,000-square-foot store going up against an 80,000-square-foot store. And, these larger stores outspend Ace Hardware in advertising dollars by 30 to 1. Yet, Ace Hardware thrives in this competitive environment. So, what does Ace Hardware have to offer? The experience, which comes in the form of helpful customer service. As an Ace customer in Seattle put it, ‘Even though the prices can be, but are not necessarily, higher, the convenience and help are worth it.’
 
 
Ace doesn’t promise ‘friendly’ service. It promises helpful service, and there’s a difference. It’s the way Ace stores engage their customers, provide knowledgeable employees who help them with their projects, and deliver a higher-level customer experience.
 
 
Consider several reasons to create a customer-centric culture. I’ll argue that customer service can make the difference between a company’s ultimate success or failure. It can mean the difference between having loyal, repeat customers or one-time-only customers. And, it can mean the difference between customers’ rave reviews or online rants.
 
 
Steven Hodgkiss
Free Inbound Marketing Tools from MarketHive
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Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

General

Why do Customer Centric Companies Stand Out?

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The bottom line is that customer-centric companies stand out. They are more desirable for consumers to do business with and more enjoyable places for employees to work. The top-rated customer service companies are often the best companies to work for as well. The reason is that the culture within the company offers a similar experience to what the customer experiences on the outside. Some things to consider about customer-centric companies:
 
Customer-centric companies empower employees to make decisions that are for the benefit of the customer. They have guidelines versus rules and policies, and the mindset that if what the customer is asking for isn’t illegal or immoral, won’t cost the company money (although sometimes that’s still OK), and won’t harm the company’s reputation, then it should be considered.
 
customer centric companies
 
Customer-centric companies hire people who fit the culture and have personalities that align with the company’s core values, mission and vision. Skills and experience are important, of course, but these high-performing companies are looking for other qualities as well. It takes the right combination of skill, personality, and attitude.
 
Customer-centric companies invest a lot of time and money into soft skills training such as customer service and relationship building. Technical and product training are important, but constant reinforcement of the “people side” of the business is equally important, if not even more so. Customer-centric companies know the importance of their employees, and take a “people first” approach. They develop their people at a level that keeps them engaged and enthusiastic about taking care of the company’s customers.
 
Steven Hodgkiss
Free Inbound Marketing Tools from MarketHive
See MarketHive for more information and to register

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member