Successful marketers know that the key difference between strong and weak marketing lies in understanding how people behave and why they behave in certain ways.

Great marketing doesnt happen by chance.

Fortunately, human behavior falls into a series of predictable actions and those actions are defined by well-established principles.

Marketing psychology can give smart marketers and business owners a competitive advantage, by optimizing marketing strategies and tactics in ways that intentionally and proactively influence peoples behaviors and decisions.

Priming is the process of presenting someone with a word, image (or sentence) that prepares them to be more receptive to a particular point of view. Priming can influence action as well as thought.

Using subtle techniques, you can help people remember key information about your products and services, and about your brand.

And, you can influence their buying behavior.

In fact, its possible to prime someone to say Yes. This specific form of priming is often called the foot-in-doormethod.

Foot-in-door is the technique of priming consumers with small asks (such as signing up for a free email newsletter) to prepare them to be more receptive to larger asks (like buying a subscription to a paid newsletter).

Ask people to share comments on social media, read blog posts, attend free webinars, or download an e-book before you ask them to buy your products or services.

People feel an obligation to do something for you when youve done something for them. This is known as the principle of reciprocity.

Reciprocity is a powerful psychological principle that can help you to grow your business faster.

Giving something first can seem counter-intuitive, but offering a gift or service without the expectation of something in return can be profitable.

David Strohmetz of Monmouth University conducted anexperiment with his colleagues to test the principle of reciprocity. The experiment, set in a restaurant, showed that waitstaff could increase tips by 3% when they bring candy along with the bill.

Tips jumped up to a shocking 14% when customers were offered two pieces of candy and rose even further (21%) when the wait staff delivered a single piece of candy and returned a minute later to give another piece because it had been such a great table.

Social proof is a psychological and social phenomenon where people are unable to determine the proper behavior and instead, assume that people around them know more about the current situation and behave like the other people.

Simply put: we want to know what others are watching, buying, wearing, and experiencing which ultimately influences our decisions to do the same.

Consider these effective social proof strategies to boost sales.

We all want what we cant have.

And we flaunt when we have something others dont.

Thats why zealous Apple fans camp overnight at Apple stores around the world before major iPhone launches.

This is the principle of scarcity.

The psychology of scarcity was famously tested in 1975. ResearchersWorchel, Lee, and Adewolewanted to determine desire based on scarcity. Their experiment was simple: they placed two replica cookie jars side by side. They filled one jar with many cookies and the other with only two.

The question: Which cookie would people value more?

Ultimately, the cookie jar with only two cookies was rated as more desirable simply due to their scarcity.

Scarcity marketing thrives on a members-only attitude.

All Tesla owners drive a Tesla, but few drive the Performance versions of their Modely Y, Model 3, Model S, or Model X. The days of iPhones being only for the elite are gone, but only a small number of people have the highly coveted Red iPhone XR.

This is a form of exclusivity scarcity, which states that the item may not be short on supply, but instead only an elite few are able to acquire it.

It may seem counterproductive to limit supply, but the buzz created by a lack of supply can significantly boost long-term sales at the expense of lower short-term sales.

People frequently act illogically, making their behavior difficult to predict.

And, they rarely take the time to learn the full facts before taking action.

Instead, people tend to unconsciously latch onto the first fact they hear, basing their decision-making on that fact whether its accurate or not.

This phenomenon is called anchoring.

The anchoring effect can work for you or against you in marketing.

When anchoring works for you, it becomes easier to market your companys products or services. When anchoring works against you, its increasingly difficult to do so.

There are many ways you can use anchoring to drive sales.

When a prospective customer first learns about your brand, they hear your business name or see your business logo. Are both unique and strong? Its impossible to anchor and create an advantage if your prospective customer cant remember or spell the name of your business or if your logo is generic and looks like thousands of other businesses.

When it comes to website design, if you dont help people understand in a few seconds how you can solve their problem, theyll leave your site.

Anchoring has a deep impact on a persons perception of value which makes it an essential tool when considering a pricing strategy for your business.

The value you assign to a price gives it meaning and helps consumers decide if they are willing to pay it.

Heres an example: you walk into a convenience store on a hot day looking for a soda. The sign says you can get a 20 oz Coke for $1.79 or a 32oz Coke for $1.99. For just 20 more cents, you can get almost twice as much Coke!

Having anchored that a 20 oz Coke is worth $1.79, that 32 oz for $1.99 suddenly seems like an awesome deal. It doesnt matter that both are overpriced.

So, how can you apply the anchoring effect to how you price products or services for your business?

Here are a few options to consider

People do not make decisions in a vacuum.In order to build proper connections with customers and prospects, marketers must understand how people behave and what motivates them to make purchasing decisions. Use these principles to supercharge your marketing.

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Marketing Psychology: 5 Powerful Principles of Human Behavior