Marketing ploys. The smartest marketing tricks to increase sales

There has even been a whole movement that studies human-oriented trends, gives them a certain classification, and identifies the most effective and in demand. In today’s article we will talk specifically about mtrends that are focused primarily on the consumer, and we will try to tell you how and how best to use them in your business.

10 marketing trends that can change your business

1. Usefulness
The first marketing trend that is gaining rapid momentum is utility. Whatever you do, whatever type of business you develop, try to create products that are truly useful for the end consumer. If you have an Internet resource, then research user requests, give them exactly what they are looking for in this moment. If you work in sales, then use all the possibilities of the Internet, including mobile. Many big brands have adopted one interesting technique - they develop special applications for mobile devices, which significantly help users. These applications are absolutely free, but everyone who downloads it will receive one or another information from the manufacturer.
Everything is positive. The user received a useful feature, the company received a direct connection with a potential client.

4. Simplification
Simplification comes from English word, meaning "simple". You must understand that the trend of our time is simplicity and conciseness. Websites that are full of colors, loaded with all kinds of blocks and every second offer the user to perform this or that action have sunk into oblivion. If there are still such people left, then their popularity is slightly more than zero. Look at the TOP 10 most visited RuNet sites. All of them are made very strictly, in pleasant colors and without any special problems. If you analyze foreign sites, such as Google or Facebook, then they also use minimalism, but it is as clear as possible to the user and answers absolutely all their questions and requests.
Why is that? Well, we already wrote above that life is accelerating, and every second is worth its weight in gold. The most important task is to save the user’s time, make the site intuitive and neat. The easier it is for a client to use your product, website, or application, the greater the chance of ultimate success you have.

5. Materialization
Yes, there are a lot of prospects on the Internet, and many companies make money solely on the fact that they work through social media or various aggregators. But the trend is still aimed at being able to combine online development and offline business. Perhaps you are releasing an interesting electronic journal, which is popular. So why not try to launch it in offline business? Perhaps this idea will be very successful, and you will reach even more people potential clients.
Always take a broader view. If something goes well online, then you can try to materialize it, translate it into reality. If the idea is less successful offline, then you can close it at any time, while continuing to develop a successful online project.

6. Flexibility
Previously, we made business plans for 5 or even 10 years in advance, trying to strictly adhere to the specified course. Today similar strategy can be very wrong. As already mentioned, the world has accelerated, and this has affected the economy to a very large extent. Of course, you can make plans for years in advance, but you always need to understand that the business must be flexible, very flexible, so that at any moment you can adapt it to the needs of the market and the needs of potential clients.
You can't know what will happen in a month, a year or two. The situation can sometimes change dramatically for the better or for the worse in a matter of hours, and if your project is not flexible enough, then consider that everything can fail in one moment.

7. Gamification
This term comes from the English word meaning "Game". And indeed, a very fashionable marketing trend last year is a kind of game, involving your clients in the process. Large grocery supermarkets work very well with gamification, offering their customers all kinds of gifts and souvenirs for purchases. Not so long ago, in the Silpo supermarket chain (Ukraine), when purchasing goods for a certain amount, they gave an interesting medal. There are a huge number of these medals, and anyone could collect a whole collection. The game was designed for children and teenagers, but it turned out to be so interesting that it even attracted adults who willingly bought more goods just to get another medal.
This is one example, quite simple, but almost any self-respecting company is now trying to use all the possibilities of gamification in order to retain existing customers and attract new ones.

8. Individual approach
The times when all clients were treated with the same brush, using standard methods for both young and old, both men and women, are long gone. Today the trend is personalization and an individual approach. You must clearly understand the needs of each social group of your potential clients, and you must understand their tastes and wishes. All this is done in order to answer requests as clearly as possible and give exactly what a person wants to see at the moment.
This is how advertising in search engines works. Search robots know almost everything about you. Your interests, wishes, gender, age, place of residence, where and when, and most importantly, what you bought, looked at, asked the price about. Using thousands of parameters, they show you advertising that best suits your desires and needs at a given time.

9. Collaboration
Another marketing trend that involves combining the forces of several similar companies. Hold joint exhibitions, presentations and other events. This will increase the trust of potential customers in both brands.

The aisles of goods in a supermarket can be the scene of an invisible battle in which the simple-minded search profitable purchases On the buyer's side, there is a cunning and thoughtful experience of organizing supermarket sales.

1. Products located at eye level

It is not surprising that on the middle shelves of shopping malls you will find expensive goods that are considered the best, because these are the most visible places. To avoid falling into this trap, look for cheaper replacements on the top and bottom shelves. You may have to bend over or reach up to do this, but the effort will likely pay off.

2. Buy fresh

Of course, supermarkets will try to sell the oldest vegetables and fruits first, so that they do not linger on the shelves. Always check the expiration date whenever possible. Look for the newest items in the back rows or under all other items. When you buy food that is fresher, there is less weight lost, which means you save money.

3. Temptations near the cash register

Marketing Tricks are not finished even when you get to the checkout. Most supermarkets will try to tempt you with sweets, magazines and all kinds of batteries. While you are waiting in line, similar products will catch your eye everywhere. If you are shopping with your children (in my experience, this is usually a mistake) and if they have not yet pressured you into buying something while you were wandering around the supermarket together, then this is where the final chord will come and they will definitely try to pressure you . Of course, these items are displayed near the cash register to entice you to make unplanned purchases.

4. Identical products at different prices

Supermarkets thoughtfully price similar products differently and arrange them in different parts store. For example, it is rare to find natural products next to their unnatural counterparts. Why? Because it will be easier to compare various goods and most of us will choose what is cheaper. Thus, the supermarket has two target markets, where everyone pays what they are willing to pay.

5. Make a list and check it twice

In supermarkets necessary goods are placed separately from each other so that when you walk through the store looking for what you need, you make a longer journey. And on your way you come across tempting products that push you to make unplanned purchases.

You can do an experiment. Let's say, choose a hotel in Bali with a charter flight from Moscow and see how much it will cost at a travel agency, and then, following my recommendations, see how much the same thing will cost if you do everything yourself. I am sure that the difference will be 30%.

By making a shopping list and making a firm decision to only buy what's on that list at the supermarket, you can combat the temptation to make unplanned purchases and thus reduce your spending. Making a list takes some sort of skill. You must learn to plan meals for a week (or even more if you can, because the less you go to the supermarket, the better). Don't forget to check the contents of your refrigerator, freezer and kitchen cabinets for the availability of food supplies and everything that can be used for food. This way you will learn not to buy goods that we don’t need.

6. The second one is free

Many offers like “if you buy one product, you will get the second one free” are tempting. But unless you really need the second item, it's a false economy.

7. Cheaper goods

In marketing, this is called “downbranding” - a phenomenon when a cheaper alternative is found for the desired goods. As noted above, products located on the middle shelves are products that are considered the best, and products located above and below are cheaper products.

In life, we must strive to minimize costs without compromising the quality of life, maximizing income and investments/savings. With a high degree of probability, we can say that there are always significant reserves for savings in such items as expenses for food, accommodation, communications, loan servicing - up to 20% of these costs can be cut and you will not be worse off.

Nowadays supermarkets don't make their branded goods themselves (unfortunately they don't have their own factories for everything they sell under their own brand), so it may well be that supermarket branded goods and cheaper goods (or goods from other manufacturers) are actually made by the same people. You can try a cheaper alternative every week the desired product and see if it matches your taste and requirements to the same extent as a more expensive product. Of course, this doesn't always work, but over time you'll likely find products that are the same quality as more expensive products for less. The key to success in this business is the absence of snobbery, which is usually expressed in a preference for branded products.

8. These tricky goods in the bargain

And again, this is a trick to force the buyer to make an unplanned purchase. Pay attention when there is something else attached to the product you are buying. For example, if you take a beer, you may find some delicious nuts or chips attached to it, or, in the same way, when buying tea or coffee, you may accidentally buy some cookies along with them. Once again, it should be emphasized that you should have a list and you should check it all the time so as not to make such unplanned purchases!

When going to visit our friends, we often go for a small gift or a souvenir so as not to come with empty handed. As a result, we leave the store loaded with huge bags and a lot of unnecessary purchases. Why is this happening? What pushes us to make such thoughtless purchases? Maybe magic?

But there is no mysticism or magic in this - this is properly structured, carefully thought out and planned marketing. It is precisely all these tricks of sellers that we fall for: we go into a store to buy a cake, we see many “profitable” offers and we can no longer stop.

13 most common tricks of cunning marketers.

Forewarned is forearmed!

1. Association of the color red with discounts

All supermarkets have a lot of posters and advertising banners outside, “screaming” about a variety of discounts and promotions. Discounts are always highlighted in red. Our subconscious plays a cruel joke on our consciousness - as soon as we see the color red, we immediately, automatically rush to this product. But what about?! After all, it's a discount!

Don’t rush, you don’t need to grab a “profitable” product right away - most often this discount is small or non-existent.

2. Carts are too big

If you think that large supermarket trolleys have only just been invented, you are deeply mistaken. Marketers were working on this issue back in 1938! Over the past decades, the cart has doubled in size and is now much larger than the “consumer basket” of the average family.
How does this trick work? The buyer wanders along the endless aisles between the shelves with a half-empty cart. In his subconscious the thought is ripening that he needs to fill the “emptiness” with something. The result is a lot of unnecessary food in the refrigerator.

If you don’t want to make unnecessary purchases, never take a cart - a small basket is enough, which, by the way, is always in an “inconvenient” place. This is also done on purpose. Don’t be lazy, “get” your basket, and then your wallet won’t be empty so quickly.

3. Vegetables and fruits always “greet” the buyer at the entrance

Another tricky one marketing ploy.

Not long ago, the willpower of buyers was tested. It turned out that as soon as the buyer sees something that seems useful to him, he immediately forgets that harmful products exist.

Shop owners immediately took advantage of this beneficial discovery and now place “healthy” vegetables and fruits at the entrance.

There is a clear relationship: the more the buyer spends his money on “healthy” things, the more he will allow himself to purchase harmful products (chips, crackers, beer, soda, etc.).

4. Why are bread and milk so far away?

Essential products are always located in supermarkets at the back of the store.

This display of goods and the location of the counters is not at all accidental: before you get to the product you need, you will pass by “mountains” of goods that you do not need at all. But on a subconscious level, you still want to buy something.

5. Creates the illusion of fresh vegetables and fruits

You've probably noticed that there are no dirty, unwashed vegetables and fruits in the supermarket. All of them are polished to a perfect “picture-like” shine and beckon the gullible buyer to put at least something in the basket.

Store owners even go so far as to periodically spray these products with water, despite the fact that this will cause them to spoil faster. This is a banal incentive for the buyer to purchase fresh goods.

Do not fall for such tricks; vegetables and fruits in supermarkets are often treated with certain substances in order to maintain their presentation.

6. Aromarketing

All supermarkets actively use scent marketing to increase the purchasing power of their customers. Each department has its own "smell" because the human nose has certain expectations for each department of the store.

For example, the aroma of fresh baked goods will push him to buy something in the confectionery department, and the delicate subtle smell of perfume will not allow a woman to leave the cosmetics department without buying something. The fact is that as soon as we hear pleasant aromas, dopamine, the pleasure hormone, begins to be actively produced in our brain. We immediately begin to feel the anticipation of a good shopping experience and buy things that we would not even think about purchasing in another situation.

Advice to buyers: enjoy the aromas, smell all these fragrances, but do not forget that you are being subtly manipulated, forcing you to buy an unnecessary product. Be sure to go to the supermarket with a list of necessary purchases. And most importantly, don’t forget to read it periodically. All marketers and merchandisers are powerless in front of a client with a shopping list.

Supermarkets often hold all sorts of tastings, mostly in the afternoon, late in the evening, when a tired, hungry and angry stream of customers pours into the store. Nice, smiling girls and helpful guys offer to taste juicy sausage, the freshest cheese, and the most tender bacon. Well, how can you resist here? The natural reaction of someone who has tasted this “yummy” would be to go and buy something for themselves. And what’s most interesting is that few people pay attention to the fact that the cost of this product is much higher than they could afford to spend. People are already noticing this at home when they review their receipt.

Never go shopping hungry.

Without exception, all supermarkets actively use this cunning and profitable trick.
With the help of music you can easily control the flow of customers. For example, if the owner wants to increase his sales, then slow, calm music will be played in his store. What will happen to buyers? They will begin to linger at the shelves, they will develop a feeling of comfort, measured slow music evens out a person’s pulse. The result is that the buyer spends more time in the store.
During peak times, supermarkets always play active, rhythmic music. This is another smart marketing ploy - people are encouraged to make purchases as quickly as possible and leave the store. As a result, a person “rakes in” a bunch of goods that he did not need - the rush has done its job.

Interesting fact: a certain musical direction can regulate the sales of a specific product. Marketers conducted an amazing experiment: in the wine department, where Australian, Chilean, French and Italian wines were sold, only French music was played for a week. The results stunned everyone: the number of sales of French wine brands amounted to 70% of the total turnover in 7 days!

9. I'm in too much of a hurry!

In expensive departments, the floors are laid out with small tiles. As a result, when you pass there, the cart begins to rumble louder, as if hinting that it is empty. The natural reaction of a person is to fill it up, and also to slow down a little, because he is going too fast (it seems so to him). Such a slowdown in the expensive department plays into the hands of the store owner - an expensive purchase has been made, a profit has been made, which means that marketing has done its job.

10. Successful left-right formula

Movement in supermarkets is most often organized counterclockwise.

The buyer is forced to turn left all the time, and his gaze always falls in the middle of the right side. As you probably already guessed, they often post either expired or expensive goods. No, no, but some of the visitors will buy it.

11. Confusing with complex prices

Customers are also encouraged to make larger purchases due to “confusion” in prices. These treasured “0.99 kopecks” warm the soul of many customers; they think that a kopeck will help them save a lot: on this product it’s a penny, on the second, they’ll get a ruble.

American scientists have proven that the buyer’s highest demand for a product occurs when he sees a price tag ending with “9.” The explanation for this is simple - a person always reads from left to right, and when he sees a price of 1.99 rubles, he perceives the first number - 1. On a subconscious level, such a price will be perceived as one that is closer to 1 ruble than to 2. In other words, those price tags that end in 9 are always associated by the buyer with a favorable price.

12. Changes at the cash register

At the cash register there are always stands with various pleasant little things: chewing gum, condoms, chocolate bars, cookies, packaged coffee and other “goodies”, the price of which at first glance is quite low. While we are standing in line, we inevitably pay attention to all this. The thought immediately arises in the brain that this bar, for example, is incredibly tasty, or this commercial has a beautiful video. And something from the shelf migrates to the basket.

13. Window dressing and gifts

Professional designers who are trained in marketing strategies work on the design of store windows. They make us stop and admire all this beauty. Of course, the thought is stored in the brain that this particular product is beautiful, it is advertised, and therefore it is popular. You need to buy it.
The display of goods on the shelves follows the principle - everything that is most beautiful (read - expensive) and with an expiring expiration date is located first. The buyer will not want to bother himself with digging and looking for something in the depths of the shelf, so he will take the product or product that lies on top. And the phrase “Second product as a gift!” is also attractive. For example, they often give nuts or crackers “free” with beer, and juice or a bottle of soda with cookies.

How often do you buy more products than you actually need? You go to the store to buy bread, but come out with a bunch of products that will most likely go from your refrigerator to the trash bin. What excuses come to mind at this moment? Perhaps there was a sale at the store, or you just wanted to grab a bite to eat? In fact, the fact that you are buying unnecessary products is thanks to marketers who know exactly how to increase sales. And today we will reveal their tricks to you so that you no longer throw money away.

1. Celebrities in advertising

“They eat it too!” That's what you think when you look at a banner that shows a smiling athlete or actor holding a hamburger, a bottle of Coca-Cola, or a bag of chips.

Subconsciously, we want to lead the same lifestyle, so we buy products whose advertising we like, even if we don’t need them.

2. Relaxing music

Have you noticed that classical music is often played in restaurants? Scientists have proven that this “helps” people spend 10% more than if they ate in silence. The music trick also works in supermarkets. You sing along to a familiar tune you hear in the store and fill your cart with unnecessary purchases.

3. False benefits

What immediately catches your eye when you walk into a store? Of course it is attractive prices and discounts. But, as a rule, discounts do not give you any benefit.

For example, on one shelf you may notice a bright price tag and a “Discount” sign, and on the next shelf you may notice a product with a regular price tag (but the price for this product is higher or lower). However, upon calculation, it turns out that the second product is cheaper than the one that is discounted that day.

4. Healthy eating

Popularization healthy image life has also influenced food brands. Manufacturers understand that if consumers perceive food as organic, they will be more likely to purchase it.

Unfortunately, health claims made by products are often untrue. And labels like “Non-GMO” or “100% Organic” only increase the price of products, not their benefits.

5. Products before your eyes

Marketers know that to make products more attractive, they need to be placed in a specific way. They use special programs to record eye movements to determine the "hot spots" where people tend to focus their attention. It is in these places that the most expensive and attractive goods are placed.

6. Delicious smell

Data about smells goes directly to our brain, causing emotions associated with them. This trick is used to create a connection between your idea of ​​the product and a special smell. American scientists claim that “warm” smells make people buy more products, while “cold” ones prevent customers from spending extra money.

Many supermarkets heat up something delicious in the microwave (like fried chicken) and spread the smell everywhere.

7. Addictive Dietary Supplements

Everyone knows that sugar is addictive. But there are many other “mystery” substances that you could be addicted to without even knowing it. Here is a list of additives that cause addiction:

Monosodium glutamate. Scientific debate about the effects of this supplement on the human body has been going on for a very long time, but there is still no significant evidence of its harm. The additive is needed to enhance the taste of the product, and that is what makes us want more.

Sugar substitutes and sweeteners: aspartame, saccharin, neotame, sucralose, sugar alcohols, etc. They do not contain sugar, but are sweeteners. Research shows that such supplements stimulate your appetite and increase your desire to eat foods that contain carbohydrates.

Corn syrup with high content fructose. It increases our cravings for fast food and leads to the formation of abdominal fat.

8. Resizing

Did you know that the standard serving of French fries has doubled in the last 40 years? Other manufacturers are also increasing portion sizes, and with them prices, while we may not even realize that we have started to eat more. Although sometimes the opposite happens: the weight of the products decreases, but the price remains the same. And this feature applies to all products: milk (900 ml instead of a liter), butter (180 g instead of 200), etc.

9. Foreign language

Studies conducted among bilinguals who know English language and Hindi, showed that the inscriptions on product packaging made in native language, reminded shoppers of friends and family while the captions on foreign language evoked emotions associated with the atmosphere of this country. It turns out that we often consider foreign goods to be more prestigious, thereby justifying their high cost.

10. Open kitchen of the culinary department in a supermarket

Marketing people love sales tricks like this! Customers believe that the store has nothing to hide, and subconsciously begin to trust it more.

11. Reduced prices

Psychologists say that we are more willing to buy goods whose prices have decreased. However, stores most often offer discounts on products that are about to expire.

Stores are also trying to attract customers' attention to the reduced price. Thus, they say that their prices are more attractive than those of their competitors. However, on the same shelves there are also more expensive goods that you will definitely buy. As a result, the store wins.

The trick of lowering the wholesale price compared to the retail price also works well, although not every client may notice it.

12. “Geography” of the store

You may think that the items in the store are placed randomly, but this is an illusion. The most popular products are usually placed in the middle, not at the entrance. And while you are going there, along the way you fill your basket with products that you never thought of buying before.

In addition, marketers take advantage of the fact that most customers are right-handed. This is why the so-called “impulse” positions are located on the right. We grab these goods along the way without even thinking about it.

13. Products in the picture

Usually, very attractive images are placed on product packaging. This is the work of stylists who make food look more beautiful in photos so that you immediately want to buy it. And this trick usually works. We often don't notice the small print on the packaging that states that the picture is just a serving example.

14. Making the product more attractive

Psychologists have noticed that the drops of water shown in the photo make us want to refresh ourselves. In addition, product ingredients written in larger fonts seem healthier and more trustworthy, so people tend to buy such products again and again.

15. Positive emotions

Modern marketing specialists sell us not products, but a mood and a way of life. They show wonderful baked goods and create a festive atmosphere. They also create the feeling of a safe place: a lit space, delicious smells, friendly vendors and colorful wrappers.

Have you ever wondered why you bought another “robe with mother-of-pearl buttons” that you will never wear at “only half price”? Or why you definitely need to spend half your salary on new version smartphone, “like people’s”, although you are generally more comfortable with the old one? Today, on the heels of publications for professional marketers, we are sharing with you ten marketing “hooks” that we fall for again and again in the ocean of the consumer market.

1. Priming effect

Have you ever played a game where one person says a word and the other person immediately responds with the first association that comes to mind? Lately Games such as Alias ​​are popular. As a rule, the use of such stable associations in the game as: “Tula …” - gingerbread, “last …” - bell works flawlessly.

It's kind of like programming. You receive one signal and it affects how you respond to the subsequent signal. Psychology Today magazine cites a study of two groups of people reading the words “yellow” followed by either “sky” or “banana.” Because people have a semantic connection between a fruit and its color, the yellow-banana group recognizes the word banana faster than the yellow-sky group recognizes sky.

How does marketing apply this? For example, using this method to select the background of an Internet site can help site visitors remember key information about a brand—and perhaps even influence their purchasing behavior.

This has been tested previously. In a study conducted by Naomi Mandel and Eric Johnson, researchers changed the background and design of a website to see how it might affect consumers' product choices. Participants were asked to choose between two products of the same category (for example, between Toyota and Lexus). The researchers found:

“..visitors who were programmed for money (for background website was green color and dollars) looked at the price information longer than those who were programmed to be safe (the background was red-orange with a flame image). Similarly, consumers who were primed for comfort when choosing a sofa took longer to view information about the comfort of the sofa (the site was designed in blue color with the image of light clouds) than those who would be programmed for money (green background with dollars).”

2. Reciprocity

In Dr. Robert Cialdini's book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, the concept of "reciprocity" is presented in a very simple formula - if someone does something for you, you will naturally want to do something for you. the answer for him.

If you've ever received chewing gum along with your bill at a cafe or restaurant, you've been a victim of reciprocity. According to Cialdini, when waiters bring a customer a check without chewing gum, this will certainly affect the tip amount as a reflection of the perception of the quality of service. With one piece of gum, tips increase by 3.3%. Two mints? Tips can increase up to 20%!

There are many ways to take advantage of reciprocity in marketing. At the same time, the seller should not go broke by giving you valuables for free. A bonus can be anything - from a branded T-shirt to an exclusive book, free desktop wallpaper, or a collection of tips on some issue. Even something as simple as a handwritten card or note can be the key to establishing reciprocity. It is enough for the seller to give you a free and, most likely, unnecessary thing before asking for something more tangible in return.

3. Social influence

Most are already familiar with this concept, but it is too important to be ignored. If you are not familiar with it, then according to the concept of information social influence(or social proof) people tend to accept the beliefs or actions of the group of people they like or trust the most. In other words, it's a "me too" effect. Or the “dance floor” effect - few people want to be the first on the dance floor when the dancing first starts, but as soon as the first few people start dancing, the rest immediately join in.

The simplest way to use social influence is to use social media buttons under posts on blogs and websites. The number of reposts speaks for itself, forcing a new reader to do the same, and the presence of friends in the readers of a page or blog creates an irresistible desire to “join”.

4. Lure effect

The most common use of this effect is in a pricing model - one price option is intentionally included to encourage you to choose the most expensive option.

In Dan Arley's famous TED talk "Are we really in control of our own solutions? (Dan Arley, “Are we in control of our own decisions?”) he gives an example of an advertisement from The Economist magazine outlining subscription package options for that magazine. Here's what they suggested:

• Online subscription: $59
• Print subscription: $125
• Online and print subscriptions: $125

Crazy, isn't it? You can get just the print version of the magazine and the online+print package for the same price. Why are they offering this?

Dan Arley also asked this question, but when he contacted The Economist, he, of course, did not receive a direct answer.

So he decided to conduct his own study involving one hundred students. He gave them the price packages described above and asked which one they would like to buy. When all three options were presented to the students, the students chose the combined subscription - this was the best deal, wasn't it? But when he eliminated the "pointless" option (a $125 print subscription), students preferred the cheapest option.

It turned out that middle option was not so useless - it gave students a starting point in order to evaluate how “good” he was combined option and convinced them to pay more for this option.

So, to achieve his goal, the seller can add a third option to the two main options, thereby increasing the chances of purchasing the product that he himself is primarily interested in selling...

5. Limited

Have you ever bought plane tickets or booked a hotel online and seen a warning message saying “only 3 seats left at this price”? Yes, that is what a deficit is (another concept Dr. Cialdini uses). This principle of psychology goes back to the simple formula of supply and demand: the rarer the opportunity, content or product, the more valuable it is.

In 1975, Stephen Worchel, Jerry Lee, and Akanbi Adewole conducted a study to see how scarcity affects our perceptions. They asked people to rate chocolate chip cookies. One jar contained ten pieces of cookies, and the other only two.

6. Anchor effect

Have you ever wondered why it's so hard to resist sales at your favorite clothing store?

This is often due to the anchoring effect—people make decisions based on the first piece of information they receive. So if my favorite store usually sells jeans for $50 but has them on sale for $35, I'll be thrilled. I'll be thinking, "I'm getting a crazy deal on these jeans!" And most likely I will buy them. But if my friend usually buys $20 jeans, he won't be as impressed by this discount.

The anchoring effect is the most important move for marketers: they must set the anchor clearly - indicate the initial sale price, and then indicate the actual sale price next to it and indicate the percentage of savings (preferably in a bright and catchy way).

7. Baader-Meinhof phenomenon, or frequency illusion

Has it ever happened to you that, having heard about something for the first time, you then begin to see it everywhere in the world? Everyday life? You can thank the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon for this. This kind of thing starts happening after you encounter something for the first time, and then you start noticing it appearing around you. Suddenly you see advertisements for this product every time you watch TV. And when you go to a store, walk along the counter, you accidentally discover the same item. And ALL your friends already have this product.

Strange, isn't it? This phenomenon, which also has another name - frequency illusion, is caused by two processes:

“First, selective attention dies when you are startled by a new word, thing, or idea. You then unconsciously keep an eye out for that object and end up finding it surprisingly often. The second process is confirmation, which convinces you that each new appearance of a product in your life is further evidence of your impression that the thing has acquired overnight omnipresence.”

For marketers, this phenomenon is extremely important. Once you start to notice their brand, they want to help you see it “around the world.” And they start sending you targeted messages by e-mail, issue targeted advertising so that you can once again make sure that you will no longer be able to escape their unobtrusive attention...

8. Verbal effect

According to a study conducted by a team of scientists at the University of Ontario, people are more likely to remember the gist of what someone said rather than specific details. So, when you attend a training session on how to blog better for your business, you're more likely to remember details like "Send your article to someone to edit before publishing" rather than "Send to a Google Doc three working days before publication to colleagues so that they can make edits to your work. Remember to make corrections in “edit mode” so you know what you missed!”

Scientists call this the “verbatim effect,” and it can have a huge impact on how content is perceived. People are known to spend a small amount of time reading online, and on some sites they don't spend more than 15 seconds.

This is why marketers focus on short and catchy headlines. If the title clearly reflects the content of the article, then you will remember the essence of the article much faster, and later you will easily remember its title so that you can find it again on Google.

9. Clustering (grouping)

People have limited short-term memory space. Most of us can only remember seven pieces of information at a time (plus or minus two pieces in a given situation).

To deal with this problem, most people tend to group similar pieces of information together. For example, if you had a shopping list of random items, you tend to mentally group the items into certain categories (dairy, meat, etc.) so that you can better remember what was on the list.

This is why marketers pay so much attention to content clustering. Grouping similar topics together—under numbered lists or with different heading sizes—helps us remember information better.