Ever bought a book that's a New York Times Bestseller? I sure have. Or remember how in 2021 everyone went crazy and bought so much toilet paper that stores ran out of stock? All because everyone else was doing it.
That's cause sometimes we act or change our actions to match those of the majority of the population or a group. Social norms can alter our behavior. And you're not immune to it. In this blog, I will discuss a marketing psychology technique that tackles herding behavior. Let's go.
An experiment showing our herding behavior.
You may have heard of the following experiment. In a hotel, there was a variation of a sign asking people to reuse their towels.
These were the two variations:
One stated: "Reuse your towel and help save the environment."
The second: "Join the 75% of our guest who reuse their towels to help save the environment."
The second sign was more successful. More people reused their towels who had the second sign in their hotel room. Why? It's cause we like popular ideas. We conform most of the time.
How do you use this in your marketing efforts?
There are a couple ways you can utilise this psychological effect:
If you want people to subscribe to your newsletter and you already have 537 people who have subscribed, mention that number.
Ever seen the message "customers who bought this item, also bought..." or the banner "most popular choice"? That's another way to reinforce desired behavior.
Utilize quotes from your customers/clients in your copy. That’s basically using a part of a review or testimonial in your web copy and/or product description.
You may have noticed that herding and social proof are closely related. So, having a bunch of great reviews or testimonials also helps.
If you want help using quotes from your customers or clients in your copy, get in touch. Make your copy irrestistable. Send me a message and let’s get started.
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