This post and content is courtesy of www.helpscout.net.
I’ve snipped my personal favorite top strategies, but you can also check out the full list here.
1. Utilize positive social proof.
While negative social proof (“Nearly 90 percent of websites don’t use heat mapping software!”) has been proven to dissuade customers rather than encourage them, numerous studies on customer motivation have shown that positive social proof (“Join 20,000 of your peers!”) is often the most effective strategy for getting people to listen.
2. Use the words they love to hear.
Not all words are created equal. Certain persuasive words encourage customers to buy more than others, in particular: free, new and instantly. When customers hear these words (and the promises they imply are backed up), they’ll enjoy their purchases more than they would have otherwise.
3. Reduce pain points and friction.
All businesses, no matter the industry, are going to have to sell to the three types of buyers that are out there. According to neuro-economics experts, nearly a quarter of these buyers will be conservative spenders, or “tightwad” customers. George Lowenstein of Carnegie Mellon University recommends using bundles, reassuring words (e.g., change “a $5 fee” to “a small $5 fee”) and reframing as strategies to better sell to these conservative buyers. Read more about his advice here.
4. Make it personal.
In a study from the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, researchers found that waiters could increase their tips by 23 percent by the simple act of returning to tables with a second set of mints. So do mints have magic powers? Apparently not: The researchers concluded that the mints created the feeling of a personalized experience among the customers who received them. So it was the personalized service received that made them enjoy their experience so much more.
5. Utilize surprise reciprocity.
Although reciprocity works incredibly well on it’s own, research shows that it is even *more* powerful when started by surprise. For a simple example, recall a time that someone did something nice for you unexpectedly; the gesture probably wasn’t all that unusual, but the fact that it came out of nowhere left a strong impression on you.
TAKE ACTION: Start practicing even a few of these strategies today and you will IMMEDIATELY recognize a difference in both your ability to gain and keep customers. Pick one or two, put them in place within your organization, and reap the benefits!
