The Principles of Persuasive Marketing For Startups

What makes one startup more successful than its competition? If you’ve been handling your startup for any amount of time, you must have tried many different techniques to increase sales. Many articles talk about luck, timing and the economy but they forget to mention one crucial factor: social psychology.

Because people have taken on behavioral patterns that are deeply ingrained into their psyche, making use of the science of persuasion will help to influence their actions. Developing your communication skills is enough to make a subtle push to influence the choices of customers. These principles of persuasive marketing will help you gain the customers before they flock to other businesses.

Here are some principles of influence that you can apply with persuasive marketing:

  • Reciprocity

When customers receive unexpected gifts before they make requests, there’s a higher chance that it will convince them to make a purchase. This act makes them feel compelled to reciprocate or return the favor.  Many businesses apply this principle of persuasive marketing by handing out samples to customers. Before you go handing out free trials of every product or service you have, find out your target market and why you want to influence them. Determining what would appeal to them to get as a sample is a great way to ensure success when implementing this principle.

  • Consistency

It’s much easier to keep a customer than to get new ones. It’s also easier to lose customers than to keep or attract them! People tend to want to be consistent with their words, actions and purchases. Once someone has publicly committed to a person or business, they’re more likely to push through with their intentions. You can utilize this by offering free trials for a limited time period or by obtaining smaller “Yes” answers before selling a product (get them to subscribe to your newsletter or read a blog post).

  • Sympathy or Likability

When you like a person, you’re more likely to listen to them or do what they ask. If your business uses sales agents, customers are more likely to purchase from them if they see their selves, friends or people they respect in their manner or appearance. It’s very rare that someone will buy a product from a person they dislike, unless they had no other option. You can apply this principle by studying your buyer’s persona and speaking/dressing like they do so they feel you represent them.

  • Scarcity

If a customer knows that they might miss out on a great deal, they’ll act fast. Things seem more attractive to a person when they’re limited in number or when there’s a high risk that we won’t have an opportunity to own them. This is why collectors still number in the millions in today’s age. When you put your items up for sale and there are only a few of them left, make sure your potential customers know this! They’ll want to buy it even more. Another way to apply this principle is by limiting the number of items that one person can buy.

Startup marketing tips abound on the internet, but Inc published an article with several solid points that every owner should read. When you’re ready to scale up your marketing efforts, consider a Shared Teams membership to be able to access a full marketing team on demand. Learn more about our real-world solutions to small business challenges here.