A Deep Dive: The Role of Heuristics in Modern Marketing

Ever wonder why some marketing messages just “click” instantly? The answer lies in the power of heuristics and guiding your customer through the process to make a sale. Savvy marketers are utilizing heuristics every day to turn conversations into conversions. So what is the role of heuristics and how can it help you in modern marketing as a business owner??

What Are Heuristics??

Heuristics are significant in guiding people through the decision making process and many marketers utilize this to help guide prospects into being customers in the marketing world. heuristics are used all throughout many aspects of business, marketing, and sales.?

Heur-istics-tics?

Mental shortcuts for solving problems in a quick way that delivers a result that is sufficient enough to be useful in given time constraints.?

Heuristics in Marketing

Heuristics are a great way to influence a customer to make a decision in your business’ favor. Marketers tend to leverage these shortcuts to craft messages, products, advertisements, and customer experiences in ways that will influence customer behavior.?

“The real power of heuristics lies in their ability to reduce complex decision making to simple, efficient shortcuts that we rely on unconsciously,” wrote Robert Caildini in his book titled The Psychology of Persuasion.?

Types of Heuristics?

There are multiple types of Heuristics and they can be used in may different ways. depending on your target audience, what you’re trying to achieve, and the type of marketing you do will help you decide which of these types will be beneficial for you.?

Anchoring Heuristic

With this, people rely more on the first piece of information they receive, which is called the “anchor.” Marketers can typically use this in pricing strategies, like placing the original price next to the discounted price, as this is an “anchor" and will make it seem like it’s at a great deal.?

Availability Heuristic?

Consumers rely on information that is readily available to them with this. Markets can typically use this by consistently telling the same key messages through their branding, reviews and testimonials, or even just frequent exposure to the brand from social media posts.?

Social Proof Heuristic

This relies heavily on testimonials from customers and often they look at the behavior of others to guide their decisions. Marketers can use testimonials or user generated content to showcase their services and influence another consumer to purchase.?

Scarcity Heuristic?

This focuses on making customers think that there is a limited quantity. The perception of limited availability increases the value and the desirability of the product, which can push a consumer to purchase sooner than later, with a fear that they may not be able to purchase at a later time.?

The Science behind Heuristics?

The science behind heuristics starts with cognitive psychology which is what studies how people think, perceive, remember, and ultimately make decisions. They utilize survival mechanisms to make decisions promptly even when presented with uncertainty or incomplete information. Here’s a more in depth look at the processes that take place when utilizing heuristics:

1. Cognitive Load Reduction?

Brains are wired to preserve energy and avoid overload. So processing every single detail can put your brain into overdrive and would be time consuming as well. heuristics reduce the amount of time it takes to process information and make decisions based on that information.?

1. Pattern Recognition?

The brain can recognize patterns and apply previous experiences to current experiences. The brain can recall successful decisions that were made in similar situations previously and apply these decisions to your current situation.?

1. Biases

Heuristics are very useful but they can impose cognitive biases. For example, someone might remember information that’s recent or memorable, but not necessarily the most important information to remember in a situation.?

1. Fast Decision Making?

Using heuristics help people reach decisions that are considered “good enough” without having to do a ton of extra deep thinking. It’s effective in real life scenarios and it is useful in marketing as well to help translate into people’s gut dealings or first impressions.?

Tactics To Marketing With Heuristics?

Marketers can leverage heuristics to drive customers to make a purchase or to take action. There are multiple tactics you can use to accomplish this and be successful in using heuristics.?

Leverage Anchoring Heuristics in Pricing?

Marketers can use an “anchor” in pricing to help push customers to make a purchase. Presenting an anchor that grabs the attention of the customer and makes it more appealing to take action is key here to getting a successful marketing approach.?

Example: Display a high original price next to a discounted price offer so that the discounted price makes the offer look much more attractive and can push someone to purchase because it’s a good deal.?

Enhance Trust with Testimonials?

Consumers can rely on others to help them decide what they will do or what they will purchase. This is true when we look at recommendations or referrals and how likely someone is to do something simply because someone else did it. This can be used in scenarios where you showcase testimonials or even if you have a “bestseller” tag on the item that shows it is a popular product, then most people might purchase this item above others.?

Example: Showcase your top testimonials or user generated content to let other customers know that your current customers love your product or service.?

Create Urgency with Scarcity?

Showcasing products that are “limited time” or running low on merchandise can help build up urgency. Making people feel like they have a limited time to purchase something will make them act fast and make a decision much quicker. This is also a great tactic to get people who have been eyeing products or services to actually take the plunge.?

Example: Placing an “Offer ends today” stamp next to an item that's on sale can prompt users to purchase right then and there, rather than waiting and potentially missing a good deal.?

Simplify Decision Making

Availability heuristics are a great way to get people to make decisions by just being around. Essentially this is promoting your business often to ensure that you are on the tip of everyone’s brain and when someone goes to purchase a service or product, they will choose your business because that’s what they know.?

Example: Showcasing the benefits of your service on a regular basis and staying on top of advertising can showcase your business to someone every day. When this person has a need for your particular product or service, they will reach out to you.?

Strategically Apply heuristics to Marketing?

Heuristics are a great addition to your marketing strategy and in most cases they get the job done. Following these different types of heuristics and playing around with different scenarios to spark an action is essential. Heuristics are a great way to turn content and advertising into results and sales.?