Psychology and Web Design (Part 2)

Previously, I discussed about the different types of buyers. Now, I will continue talking about psychology and web design. I will expound on the topic of the importance of setting parameters, and grouping your customers. The effective way of converting web visitors isn’t just merely creating a visually appealing website, but you also need to study the consumer behavior.  Let us begin discussing some important findings below.

• Set parameters.

  • Dr. Robert Cialdini, a best-selling author and an esteemed professor at the Arizona State University, studied the product descriptions of the American Cancer Society website. He used two similar sentences in asking for monetary donations.
    • The first sentence: “Would you be willing to help by giving a donation?”
    • The second sentence: “Would you be willing to help by giving a donation? Every penny will help.”
  • There’s not much difference. Only four words were added to the second sentence. However, the sentence “Every penny will help.”  made a drastic change to the site’s activity.
  • It was clear that people gave generous donations when the second sentence was used. Only 28% were convinced to donate on the first sentence. There was huge leap from 28% to 50%!
  • What can we take from this study? People will lend a hand if parameters are set. The sentence “Every penny will help.” was the parameter, and it was able to emphasize that no money is too small. You can donate .50 cents, $1, $20, or any amount would do.
  • Start small because people will most likely voluntarily take action because it’s easy to do. They will be willing to take action because a parameter was set. It was apparent that any monetary donation is acceptable even if it’s only a dollar or so.

Related: Psychological Tricks to Apply on Your Website

• Labels are essential.

  • No, I am not talking about brand labels here. What I mean is that you should be labeling your customers.
  • According to research, people like labels. Generally, if they are part of the group, they will be honored to be part included in a list.
  • There was this study that questioned 133 voters. The researchers said that they were included on the study because they were perceived as “politically active.” The truth is that no of it was true. The participants were just randomly selected, and they were made to believe that they were part of the “politically active” group.
  • The labeled group had a higher voter turnout. There was 15% difference over the unlabeled group of voters. We, humans, are more welcoming and approachable when we know we belong to a group. Being the outcast is never a happy feeling.
  • Thus, when you have a loyalty program, group your customers. Being a premium card holder is a prestigious distinction. “VIP” customers will, most likely, shop more because they know that they are highly regarded than “ordinary” customers.
  • At the end of the day, whatever the status, they are all your customers. From a business perspective, there’s no difference. However, from the consumers’ point of view, they feel elated to be part of the “first-class” customers.