Obsessive motivators such as: “There are only 3 pieces left” or “Less than an hour before the end of the discount” have confirmed their own effectiveness, but significantly increase the percentage of product returns. According to research, the growth of this undesirable indicator can reach 69%, which has an extremely negative impact on the work process of the entire business as a whole.
If you don’t want to incur certain reputational losses associated with processing bulk refunds, use milder motivators such as: “this product is perfect for you“.
Any marketer knows that customers who visit the pages of your project are usually unsure whether they want to perform useful actions or postpone them and may never return.
To exert pressure and push the audience to buy, standard tools are most often used, such as simulating a shortage or limited supply in time. Any of the options will work, because he is obsessive and aggressive, but he can leave unpleasant impressions. Instead of putting pressure on your own clients, wouldn’t it be better to use soft motivation methods that are devoid of negative consequences?
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- Encouraging recommendations are better than pressure
- Advantages of unobtrusive motivators
- It is important to remember
- Who uses it
- How to apply it in practice
Encouraging recommendations are better than pressure
Modify the approach to forming the structure of the sales funnel through more unobtrusive nudges of the audience to buy:
- Reassure customers by paying attention to their previous purchases. It could be something like, “this fits your style.”
- Clearly describe the appearance and parameters of the product. Use high-quality interactive images.
- Additionally, remind us what parameters were selected during the checkout process. It’s about the size, color, or shape of the product.
If we look at the short term, the pressure is more effective, because it leads to a significant increase in demand for the product. The only problem is that such motivators can lead to unpredictable negative consequences. For example, all purchases made under this pressure may well be returned over time, considering them undesirable.
Advantages of unobtrusive motivators
It is even surprising how effective unobtrusive nudges of an audience can be today, which too often began to encounter aggressive marketing tools. Research within the framework of a large Asian online store, with a base of more than six thousand customers, led to the following conclusions:
- Lack of time – the number of sales increased by almost 200%. The yield also increases from 0.5% to 2.2%.
- Social pressure – more than a twofold increase in the number of sales and an increase in profitability from 0.5% to 1.3%.
- Soothing motivators – a significant increase in the number of sales and profitability of the product without increasing the volumerefunds.
Obsessive motivators have a much stronger effect in the process of purchases made from mobile devices. Especially when it comes to applications.
Why do Unobtrusive Motivators work:
- Pressure leads to higher impulsivity in the shopping process. It leads to subsequent repentance and returns.
- Encouraging soft nudges affect buying confidence. They answer various questions that may arise during the selection and subsequent operation of the product.
- High confidence in the need for a product affects not only the chances of making a purchase, but also the probability of a return.
It is important to remember
The conducted research covered only specific exclusive products. The effect on more common and household products may differ from that described in the study. Fashionable goods are characterized by a high percentage of returns, which is why the negative effect of aggressive motivators affects them more strongly.
The simultaneous use of mild and aggressive motivators in the same advertising campaign has not been studied. Perhaps combining the tools will lead to even more impressive results.
Another blind spot in the study was the impact of aggressive marketing tools on products of unknown brands that do not have a high level of trust by default.
Do not forget about the fact of local research. Only one marketplace with specific page designs, product cards, and descriptions was affected.
Who uses it
Large trading platforms such as Amazon and Asos are increasingly leaning towards soft motivators. There is no longer such a dominance of aggressive promotion that could have been observed there a few years ago. In turn, AliExpress and Temu still rely only on aggressive marketing, without paying due attention to other promotion strategies.
How to apply it in practice
Try to gently push the target audience to make an informed decision about buying a product. Focus on its characteristics and distinctive features that set it apart from competitors’ offers. As soothing soft motivators in practice, you can use:
- Links to examples of the target audience. For example, “Wouldn’t some kid like this gift?».
- Recommendations based on an individual range of interests.
- Tips that can affect the likelihood of making the right choice. Regarding the size, color and design.
- Practical recommendations for the operation of the product.
- Any other options for visual demonstration of the product’s compliance with the user’s interests.
You should not play with the different feelings and associations of the audience. Motivators should be calming, not causing anxiety or uncertainty. Therefore, if possible, avoid formulations such as: “Are you sure that’s what you want?».
This type of marketing tools should fully manifest itself in practice. Experiment with different approaches and look for your own ideal option in each case. Depending on the specifics of the product, the design and structure of the trading platform and other characteristic factors, the most effective strategy may differ significantly.