Ah, the age-old question that’s plagued every eCommerce business in the market: how do we increase conversions? Do we optimise images, improve product copy and simplify checkout? 

Well, yes you do, but that’s old advice. It’s well known  that UX and UI are major factors in influencing consumer engagement and their decision-making process. However, new principles and research tools such as neuromarketing explain exactly how to create a layout, or how to market your brand and create campaigns that don’t only increase consumer engagement, but also improve conversion rates.

Neuromarketing is basically using neuroscience tools to conduct research on consumer preference and decision-making. Through the use of EEG machines, eye-tracking, and facial coding systems, brands are able to gather data on what makes a product click by assessing subconscious brain activity in their target market. This helps in indicating the behaviour patterns of their consumers, allowing brands to improve their strategy to appeal to their market.

Over the past decade, global brands and eCommerce websites have invested heavily in neuromarketing expertise. Why? Because neuromarketing is completely transforming the marketing landscape. Here’s why neuromarketing is critical in increasing eCommerce conversions.

Why is Neuromarketing Important?

For eCommerce websites, subscribers matter. Neuromarketing can use cognitive biases to help consumers choose your product over rival companies, increase conversions and decrease shopping cart abandonment.

If you want your eCommerce brand to prosper, you have to appeal to certain cognitive principles, emotions and behaviours within a buying context. These principles will then be associated with your brand or products by your consumer.

For example, Frito-Lay, which sells branded snack foods on a worldwide basis used the tools of neuromarketing to discover that the communication center in the female brain was more developed as compared to their male counterparts. This meant that women were better able to process complex advertisements. The emotional and memory center of the brain was also larger, so in an effort to encourage more women to consume their products, Frito-Lay tailored their products to women. They avoided pink packaging, included healthy-sounding ingredients, and saw an increase in revenue and sales.

The knowledge and understanding of consumer psychology helps eCommerce websites and businesses to tailor and channel their manufacturing and marketing efforts to produce the best possible results. Therefore, investing in neuromarketing for eCommerce companies can produce higher sales, higher conversion numbers, increase brand reach, create quality content and allow consumers to have positive associations with the business. 

How to Use Neuromarketing For Higher Sales?

Neuromarketing is all about crafting a strategy that uses the principles of psychology and marketing to boost conversions and attract and retain leads. Here are a few ways you can use neuromarketing for your eCommerce website to boost your sales.

Use the Principle of Reciprocity

Reciprocity means that you provide something valuable, like a gift or a service, without expecting anything in return. This means that the receiver feels compelled to return goodwill. When brands offer rewards or discounts, there are almost always strings attached—this makes consumers suspicious. However, with the principle of reciprocity in play, consumers feel more motivated to spend.

A study revealed that almost twice as many people willingly revealed personal information when provided with information first. Even though they were under no obligation to submit information, they did so due to the psychology of reciprocity. 

One example of reciprocity at play by big brands is Uber’s focus on women drivers. Having created a separate landing page for this initiative, the company reveals how Uber is empowering women by providing them with employment opportunities worldwide. This triggers an emotional response in the brain, motivating consumers to use Uber more often. Another example of reciprocity that increased profit is by Starbucks. Its “#TweetACoffee” campaign used the psychology of reciprocity to attract leads. By tweeting and sharing a particular hashtag, users were able to gift to their friends a free coffee without any strings attached. In a short space of time it generated around £140k ($180k) in pure sales and delivered huge long term benefits. 

As an eCommerce website, you can offer your consumers many things in return for their business.  Example offers include a free direct e-book download, a loyalty program with benefits, or even a free trial or a free demonstration of your product.

Use Social Proof

Using social proof such as testimonials is a great way to improve your website’s legitimacy and standing. eCommerce websites can use the principles of neuromarketing to determine where and how to place social proof and testimonials to appeal to their consumers. 84% of people trust online reviews just as much as they’d trust a testimonial from a friend, so make use of social proof.

Most eCommerce sites have different landing pages for testimonials. However, it's unlikely that most consumers are interested enough to click the page. Instead, integrate social proof into the entire website, so that your legitimacy is supported through valid reasoning. When your clients can view quotes or testimonials all across your site,  they are more likely to engage with it.

Author Bio

The author is a regular contributor to the Smile Reader blog. Having worked in neuroscience for the past two decades, the author enjoys sharing new insights into neuromarketing. Check out the blog at Smile Reader for more of their work!

Researchers, agencies and brands choose Smile Reader to deliver valuable insights that  increase brand equity and achieve high performance marketing campaigns. For more information on their emotion recognition services, click here.