Introduction: The Marketing Psychology Playbook by Becky Davis
When I saw The Marketing Psychology Playbook by Becky Davis on offer for free, I was so excited because it's a short book – under 60 pages. But I was also interested in what the author had to say, and she got straight to the point including no fluff. The book provides a lot of examples and explains a lot of marketing principles and tactics. It’s very practical. I appreciate the psychology aspect of the book.
The book addresses marketing through informative, knowledgeable, psychological research, and it’s easy to learn and understand the techniques. I found it very useful because the author explains concepts so the reader can see what she’s saying. For instance, I’m turned off by gimmicks and a lot of hype in marketing copy, and Becky Davis shows you how to make sure you avoid that in your own marketing copy. And you learn how to connect with potential customers in a way that they’ll trust you.
I particularly loved the examples she used to show you where to place the price of products on a website and how to be transparent about your pricing.I get turned off when I cannot find the price of a product on a website. And the first thing that comes to me, “What are they hiding?”
Summary of The Marketing Psychology Playbook by Becky Davis
In The Marketing Psychology Playbook by Becky Davis, you’ll find a collection of marketing strategies and techniques that the author has successfully used. Each tactic included in this book was developed through psychological research and verified through real world testing. Some are well known, but some are ones she tested based on her training as a therapist.
Mirroring
This is a powerful psychological technique where a patient tells the therapist something and the therapist repeats back to the patient what was said. It could be verbatim or a paraphrase. If done incorrectly, the technique can backfire and comes across as artificial. If done correctly the person feels validated and trust is established.
When I studied computer science, one of the many things I learned is that when a customer tells you their requirements for a project, you repeat what you heard to make sure that you understand what the customer wants.
In digital marketing mirroring is easier to do than in a therapy session. The first step in mirroring is to discover where your audience is hanging out. What are they saying about you and your competitors, then, mirror back what you heard them saying.
Use the positive things they say about your product in your copy. And list the negative things they say about your competitors as key differentiators. Becky Davis gives a good example. For instance, if a complaint about the competitor is ‘steep learning curve,’ in your copy, write ‘no learning curve.’ To reinforce that, you could add a testimonial of a client talking about how easy it is to use your product.
A great place to find this kind of information is in Facebook groups, Reddit, forums, and reviews. When I read about the advice here, my initial thought is what do you do if your business is new.
In non-specific product forums, pay attention to how people talk about their problems then mirror that back in your copy. When you use images, use the ones of your customers achieving their goals using your product. If you can afford it, invest in custom photography.
Pictures are more impactful than words and in psychology they call that “picture superiority effect.” That's because images are easier to remember than words. Your subconscious mind can tell the difference between stock images and when you use your own photos.
People may view the stock images as inauthentic, and that’s not what you want. This made me think. I created a tips sheet and used a stock image, and now I see that stock image everywhere. My target audience is senior level executives, so now I have to change the image.
Appeal to a Person’s Identity
Understand how people perceive themselves. This can give you leverage to influence behavior in the future. Tie the person’s identity to the action you want them to take. Be careful using this strategy because it can backfire. Think about what you wrote when connecting identity to action, if you said that to someone, how would she respond? Read it out loud. That’s a good test to see if the identity statement you wrote is good or cringe-worthy.
Questions Can be Effective
Questions that stir up curiosity can influence behavior. The question has to be interesting and compelling though.
“If the information seems important or interesting though, you’ve got them hooked. You’ve created a ‘Curiosity Gap,’ an internal awareness of missing information and a desire to resolve it. When we are curious about something, the information is often valued far above the normal value fueled by loss aversion or economic gain.”
Using a question can be a powerful tool you can use in marketing copy. Make sure that the question gets answered. A question can trigger thoughts and memories.
Concrete Language
When you write a marketing copy, make sure that it’s clear. You need to know the buyer personas. But the personas you choose are the characters in the story of your brand. Always read your marketing copy aloud to hear how it sounds.
Which is better, stories or statistics? Memorable stories prompt action. Statistics when used correctly, can also prompt action. How you present the statistics is very important. People respond better to loss than they would to a gain.
Key to Selling Effectively Online
Benefits must be perceived as being much greater than costs.
“Feeling “cheap” versus the value they’re getting.
Price anchoring at a higher price point using a competitor’s price, average industry price, the ‘value’ of what is included in your offer, general knowledge.
Including add-ons can help make the prospect feel like they are getting added value for free.
Highlighting money saved. This is one the author uses frequently when companies tell me their product saves people time. We put a dollar amount on the time and then illustrate the saving for a prospective customer.
Highlighting pain removed, benefits realized. This is the most common, but also the most difficult to do well.
Conclusion: The Marketing Psychology Playbook by Becky Davis
To write effective marketing copy, make sure that you understand the psychology behind the strategy, so you know how to use it. The Marketing Psychology Playbook by Becky Davis teaches you how to connect with your potential customers without using hype and gimmicks. There are many examples in the book, so that you can see what the author means when she explains a concept.
Next Steps
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