Selling is an art, and like any art it requires the application of some tricks. Sometimes it is thought that sales only depend on a high quality product, or on how much fun the marketing strategy is. And although the above elements are important, they are not the only ones that count.
In reality, behind every purchase there is a need and a psychological impulse that leads customers to make a purchase. We call this psychological pricing and it is one of the most useful tools in the sales process because we can influence customers’ decisions so that they buy more than they actually wanted.
Now, as we mentioned before, sales is a real art that requires pricing tools and useful tips that will help you get more sales. But… Do you know how to do it? If not, don’t worry, because here we will tell you everything you need to know about sales psychology.
What is psychological pricing?
Psychological pricing is nothing more than a type of sales strategy that determines the way we price the products we sell. What it does is to take advantage of psychology to generate a sense of need and savings in customers, making them buy more.
For example, rounding off prices is not a smart psychological pricing strategy. What is, however, is to slightly reduce the price of a product to make it appear much cheaper. Such is the case with sale prices that don’t mark $100, but rather their selling price is $99.99.
And although reducing the final purchase price by a penny may not seem like a bargain at first glance, on a psychological level it generates a different feeling in users. In this way, it no longer seems that the product costs $100, but that it costs less than $100, which makes it cheaper.
Why is psychological pricing an effective strategy?
Psychological pricing is a very effective pricing tool and has been scientifically proven in the past. For years, studies have been carried out to ensure that people are much more willing to buy a product that has been psychologically priced. And here are some of the reasons why.
Left-to-right reading effect
People, at least on this side of the world, are used to reading from left to right. What this means is that we first process the numbers on the left and then we process the numbers on the right.
So, if we see a product that costs $1,000, and we see another that costs $999, we are likely to be more attracted to the second option. And this is because, although the amount of difference is minimal, our brain interprets it as a much smaller amount and that is the one we prefer to pay.
Perception of value
The value placed on a product can make or break its sales. And we don’t mean making the selling price 50% cheaper to make sales higher.
In reality, what we mean is that the price is perceived in different ways depending on which one is chosen. For example, prices ending in 9 are considered cheaper than those ending in another number. Thus, a price of 299 is cheaper than a price of 300.
How to use anchoring to guide the customer’s perception?
In psychological pricing, one of the most efficient pricing tools is anchoring. This is a psychological technique that serves to present information that serves as an anchor. Its use will serve to attract the customer so that his purchase decision is altered.
There are different ways to achieve this, and some of the most common are:
Anchor price
Imagine you want to sell a product, but you want the customer to be much more interested than usual. To achieve this you can show him an anchor product that is the same, but with a higher price that seems exorbitant. At that point the customer will have a choice about buying and will probably think it is too expensive.
With the first expensive product you have already created the anchor, and then you will show him the product you really wanted to sell. Thus, the second cheaper product will be a better offer, because by comparing the two, he will decide to buy.
Creates visual comparisons
Comparison is key in psychological pricing. To achieve this, put one product next to another. The first one will be the one you want to sell, but to make it more attractive you will put it next to another one of lower quality, but with almost the same price. Thus, the customer will prefer the one with better features, but with a minimally high price.
Offers
Offers always work, but they have to be used wisely. Imagine you want to sell a product and apply a 30% discount. In the first instance, it will seem interesting to buy, but you can increase interest by specifying what the previous price was.
In this way, the customer will see how much he had to pay before, and will see how much he will pay now, and thus the offer will be unanswerable.
How does clustering influence customer decision making?
Bundling is another of the most efficient pricing psychology tools because it provides information to customers in a clear and grouped way so they can compare and make quicker decisions. Some ways to do this are as follows:
Minimizes information
Not all customers are willing to read too much information, so you need to reduce it. You can do this by grouping some products or services that are complementary so that they are purchased together, and not separately. This way you reduce the amount of data, but increase the chances of sales.
Easier to remember
The more information there is, the greater the chances of it being forgotten. Imagine that a customer wants to buy a product, but the information is isolated, and the details are not clear. But now think of a customer who wants to contract several services that are grouped together, so that he does not have to consult them separately.
Price perception
What is sold in packages or groups seems cheaper than if sold separately. Most customers don’t stop to do the math and adding up. So, if instead of selling 5 products or services separately, you sell them in a complete package, it will be easier to process.
