The power of consumer behavior

Creating marketing experiences that your customers will love is no easy task. Many brands pour investment into campaigns that, when launched, just fall flat. When this happens, a lack of analysis on consumer behavior and preferences is usually the culprit.

So how can marketing teams understand and harness the power of consumer behavior?

Consumer behavior in marketing

Consumer behavior can impact many different types of decisions within your business. It can (and should) influence elements such as product design and customer service interactions, to name just a few. But where your understanding of consumer behavior is most impactful is through your marketing programs.

Your marketing team creates customer interactions at the most crucial moment: when the consumer is deciding whether or not to buy your product. From online advertising to email marketing campaigns and the layout and copy of your website, every touchpoint is an opportunity to convert consumers to customers.

Researching consumer behavior and continually testing your messaging, design elements, and ad placements can vastly improve your conversion rates and revenue generation. You’d be surprised at the huge impact even the tiniest changes can have—and it’s all down to conversion psychology.

Conversion psychology: What does the research say?

Since consumer behavior has such a drastic impact on businesses, it’s no surprise that there’s an endless amount of research available on the topic. Here are some key statistics and figures that highlight the importance of consumer psychology when it comes to conversion rates.

Consumers have higher expectations than ever before. According to research from HubSpot, 82% of consumers expect an immediate response if they have a sales or marketing question.

Despite high expectations, buyers are not afraid to try new brands. Data published by Stackla showed that 73% of consumers are comfortable buying from a new brand. In fact, 59% purchased from a new brand during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another dominant trend in consumer behavior these days is the hunt for authenticity. Stackla’s research revealed that 88% of shoppers say brand authenticity is an important purchasing decision factor for them.

Along with broad consumer trends like these, you’ll find a huge amount of case studies into A/B testing of marketing campaign elements. For example, Zalora changed the copy on their product pages to highlight their free returns policy. By simply adding the word “free” to the start of the sentence, they increased their checkout rate by 12.3%.

Understanding core buyer types

Understanding which buyer types make up your target audience and designing your marketing campaigns accordingly can vastly improve your results.

Spendthrift buyers

The quintessential impulse buyer, these consumers lack self-control when it comes to spending. While they’re more likely to regret a purchasing decision since they feel the pain afterward, they require a lot less convincing to make an initial purchase.

Frugal buyers

Also known as the “tightwads” category, these buyers spend their money very carefully. Every purchase is a careful, planned decision. Marketing campaigns that highlight value for money, deals, and savings are most likely to succeed with this group.

Average spenders

The average buyer sits somewhere in the middle of these two categories. In general, they research purchases to an extent and are focused on value for money. Average spenders will often hold out on a purchase until they can find a deal or a discount code.

Applying consumer psychology to your marketing

Understanding consumer behavior is important. But how and where should you apply it to your marketing campaigns?

Design

Something as seemingly simple as the use of specific colors can have a huge influence on persuading consumers to buy. Color psychology can apply to everything from your brand logo to website design to advertising creative—and even the color of your call to action buttons.

Calls to action

Calls to action are a powerful method for influencing buyers to make the final purchasing leap. How you phrase those CTAs, whether it’s in a marketing email or on a button, can have a drastic impact on conversion rates.

Copywriting

How you position your brand, offers, and products isn’t just about design. Copy across your website, ads, social channels, and marketing materials can be tested to make sure your messaging is resonating with your target audience and converting customers.

Offers

As you can see from the types of buyers, pricing strategies and product offerings can have very different effects depending on which category your target audience falls into. For example, subscription services often show pricing per month rather than annual billing because a smaller monthly fee is easier for more frugal buyers to digest.

Leveraging your customer data for better results

No matter how well you understand it, consumer behavior doesn’t provide a “one-size-fits-all” approach to your marketing campaigns. Each brand has to figure out what makes their customers tick so they can improve conversions. With Lytics’ Decision Engine, you can get real-time behavioral insights to fast-track your marketing optimization and drive higher conversions. Check out this quick 5-minute demo to learn more!