The Psychology behind the Product

Wherever you go, the Media follows. It’s everywhere. It’s the way mass communication is conveyed by:

• Television
• Newspapers
• Social Media
• Advertisements
• Radio
• Blogs

Businesses can combine Media and Psychology to attract Customers

What draws customers to a product?

84.7% of consumers cite colour as the primary reason they buy a particular product. Specific colours connote different emotions and feelings. For example; the colour red in general is used when showing a ‘Warning’, or ‘Stop’ or ‘Danger’. However, it can also imply love, sensuality and be quite festive.

How Companies Use the Colour Code

Why are colours so important when it comes to branding? And what exactly does it mean when companies use a big red SALE sign? Or a bright blue logo?

Here is a simple infographic that determines each colour and what they mean.

© Rae Boyling/Click4Assistance

Consumers have been categorised into these three classifications when buying certain products:

© Rae Boyling/Click4Assistance

Each colour can affect an individual’s mood. For instance, seeing a red SALE sign in a store using all capital letters, would make them feel much more obliged to have a look, than seeing a sign saying “sale” in small, black writing.

Take a look. What looks more appealing?

© Rae Boyling/Click4Assistance

The red is eye catching and demands the attention. Much like a red Warning sign is used to grab the attention to take action – to warn.

In store when people buy, 93% look at visual appearance.

• 1% judge by sound/smell
• The remaining 6% look at texture

Because they’re physically in store, one will most likely make the decision of buying that product on the spot, whereas buyers at home have more time to think about proceeding with the order online. They can think about it in their own time whether or not they want to go through the whole ‘processing the order’ stage.

However, in a store they might not have that much time to contemplate and are forced to make an impulsive decision.

Research says it takes up to 90 seconds of initial viewing for an individual to make a judgement of an environment or product. 62-90% is based on colour alone.

Adverts that are presented in colour are read up to 42% more often than those in black and white. Colour can also improve:

• Reading
• Comprehension
• Learning

Deciding with Emotion

Everything we do as humans is down to how we feel and emotions play a big role in deciding what to buy. Geoffrey James, a business author, said; “All buying decisions stem from the interplay of the following six emotions”:

• "If I make a decision now, I will be rewarded."
• "If I don't make a decision now, I'm toast."
• "If I make a decision now, I will help others."
• "If I don't make a decision now, my competition will win."
• "If I make a decision now, I will look smart."
• "If I don't make a decision now, I will look stupid." 

For a Limited Time Only!

Captions like this trigger an obligation to buy that product and can lead back to impulsive buying. ‘Limited time’ transmits the feeling: ‘this offer won’t be available this time next week, so I need to get it now’. Businesses are very clever when it comes to buzzwords, they know it sets off a sense of urgency in the perspective of the audience and use this technique around new products, especially around the Holiday seasons like Post Christmas sales or the start of the summer sales.

Following the Herd

Remember when Steve Jobs released the first iPod and everyone just had to have one? It spread like wildfire across the United States. One person got one, he told his friend, who then told his friend and so on. Brand awareness is infectious and once someone has hold of this new creation, everyone follows the herd. It’s beneficial to the business because their brand is gaining recognition.

We’ve spoken about organisations using colour, media and buzzwords in store, so what about online? The moment a customer visits a website, they’re greeted with colour and bold writing etc. Cancer Research for example:

The first thing the visitor is drawn to is the pink and purple, and the buzzword is ‘NOW’ which automatically triggers that immediacy of taking action.

Brand Design Attraction

Many businesses using a live chat for website solution can customise the chat button and windows within the software to compliment the rest of their website. For example, Cruise and Maritime Voyages have a red sticky button at the bottom of their website. It’s sticky because it literally ‘sticks’ to the page when a visitor scrolls up and down.

When clicked, a prechat form is presented within an embedded window. Having an embedded window ensures the visitor stays on the same page and isn’t directed into another tab when starting a chat.

Companies that have more than one domain, including Grove and Dean have a different set of customised windows and buttons for their sites: ‘Grove and Dean’ and ‘Grove and Dean Performance Direct’. One site includes an orange chat button and windows, and the other is green.

How would you decide to design a solution that really lures your website visitors in? Why not give us a call on 0845 123 5871 for more information about the customisation of Live Chat. Or email us at theteam@click4assistance.co.uk.