Cognitive Bias Marketing: How To Convert Potential Leads By Using The Psychological Upperhand

<em>“Cognitive </em><em>bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment, whereby inferences about other people and situations may be drawn in an illogical fashion.”</em>

In other words, “cognitive bias” is psycho-speak for “prejudice”. The tendency to jump to conclusions on the basis of partial information. And then basing opinions about people, products, politics on that pre-conceived conclusion. And being entirely uninterested in changing it – even in the face of new information that proves this early conclusion to be erroneous.

As ego beasts, we all suffer from cognitive bias. And we instinctively know how to recognize it because we’re always seeing this obdurate bias in others.<!–more–>

Many lifelong friendships have cracked under the pressure of cognitive bias during Superbowl. It has segregated people in the run-up to Presidential elections, isolated Android users from the iOS camp and distanced pro-lifers from the pro-choice advocates. Socially speaking, it’s quite a tiresome thing.

In the hands of marketers though, cognitive bias can be a miracle tool to build brand loyalty. The theory can be applied in so many ways to predict human behavior, and exert subconscious, neuro-scientific `stimulation’ to make customers think good thoughts about their products.

Here are 7 examples of cognitive bias that seem to be tailor-made for marketers looking for some psychological CTA to convert potential leads into brand loyalists and repeat buyers:

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<h3><span style=”color: #ff9900;”><strong>#1: ANCHORING BIAS</strong></span></h3>
<strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>•</span> </strong>Forming a belief about something on the basis of the first piece of information people hear. The belief becomes so ingrained, they refuse to change it afterwards, and base all relevant thoughts and actions on it.

<strong>A Marketing Example Of Anchoring Bias</strong>: Show customers an inflated price – say, $ 900 – first. Allow that sum to take root in the buyers’ mind. Then, when you discount that price and put a new price tag of say $ 500 on it, the purchase seems like a deal. The customer has already `anchored’ the price at $ 900. Even though $ 500 is still a lot of money, they are now only looking at the $ 400 they are saving.

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<h3><span style=”color: #ff9900;”><strong># 2: BANDWAGON EFFECT</strong></span></h3>
<strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>•</span> </strong>Adopting a belief because a lot of others already believe it.

<strong>A Marketing Example Of Bandwagon Effect: </strong>Testimonials. Others have loved this product, and so I probably will too.

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<h3><span style=”color: #ff9900;”><strong># 3: INFORMATION BIAS</strong></span></h3>
<span style=”color: #000000;”><strong>• </strong></span>Tendency to seek extra information – not to use it, but to feel more confident in just the having of it.

<strong>A Marketing Example Of Information Bias: </strong>Extra product information that have some scannable confidence words sandwiched into paragraphs of `information’ that nobody expects you to actually read.

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<h3><span style=”color: #ff9900;”><strong># 4: PLACEBO EFFECT</strong></span></h3>
<span style=”color: #000000;”><strong>• </strong></span>You know this one.

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<h3><span style=”color: #ff9900;”><strong># 5: RECENCY EFFECT</strong></span></h3>
<span style=”color: #000000;”><strong>• </strong></span>Basing decisions on the latest piece of information seen.

<strong>A Marketing Example Of Recency Effect: </strong>Amping up the CTA in the last piece of information a potential buyer is going to see. Example: online product descriptions.

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<h3><span style=”color: #ff9900;”><strong># 6: OUTCOME BIAS</strong></span></h3>
<strong><span style=”color: #000000;”>•</span> </strong>Making a decision based only on the outcome and not suitability of the path that led to it.

<strong>A Marketing Example Of Outcome Bias: </strong>Building a marketing strategy that focuses on the benefits of the product, and not the product itself.

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<h3><span style=”color: #ff9900;”><strong># 7: CHOICE SUPPORTIVE BIAS</strong></span></h3>
<span style=”color: #000000;”><strong>• </strong></span>Feeling good about a particular choice, because that decision had been supported by happy hormones flooding the system.

<strong>A Marketing Example Of Choice Supportive Bias: </strong>Encouraging the decision to buy a product with reminders of previous purchases.