The grocery store is a perfect lesson in marketing
A group of experts have studied your every move in the supermarket. Most of you already know that the fresh stuff is on the outside and the processed stuff is on the inside. You also know that the impulse items bombard us at the checkout. But it doesn't stop there. Floor plans, height of shelves, product placement, colours, temperature, music, signage and specials displays are ALL designed very carefully. To do what? Maximize buying. Nothing is left to chance.
It's not only grocery stores.
Malls are designed to make you stay. Casinos are notorious to keep you in - bells that excitedly signal winners, exits not apparent, mazes of machines with no straight throughway and the ability to basically put your bank card into a slot and deplete directly from your bank account.
If you think about your favourite grocery store, you may think that they just want to create a comfortable and pleasant shopping experience. And while psychologically that is key to attracting and retaining customers, you haven't even scratched the surface of how deeply they design and manipulate the environment to maximize purchases.
You are on auto-pilot.
In studying human behaviour, psychologists have discovered we have natural tendencies that are usually on auto-pilot. When hired by a company, they uncover and then exploit these natural tendencies of the clientele to craft conditions that help their bottom line. Your choices in-store are highly guided. Have you ever walked the wrong way somewhere - against the crowds? You feel a bit rogue, don't you. That's because you are working against the natural design. It can happen of course, we all can be more or less influenced at certain times, but the majority of the time, we go with the flow rather than against it. Path of least resistance and it helps us survive when so many things compete for our attention.
Highest paying brands occupy the shelves at eye level, and the outliers are relegated to the top or bottom where fewer people look. Many product brands now have to fight harder, as large grocery store chains have developed their own brand lines - and it's no accident that they've put their stuff at eye-level. Hallways are often blocked with displays - wanting you to run into them and ooh look, there is something I don't need but it's on sale for 75% off - gotta buy it! Pricing variations like per-pound or per-unit are found in small print or hidden under price tabs, to make it more likely that you'll choose a brand (or their brand) over a better priced no-name brand. Temperature in the store is regulated so you don't feel you have to rush out. Candy is placed lower on shelves to appeal to children who will then nag parents. Less fresh perishables are placed at the front of rows so that they can go first. Certain colours are used to translate into trust (you'll come back), happiness (you spend more time in-store), and even urgency (sale items). Even the size of lettering on signs has been carefully determined - really big to attract you, really small to deter you. Even the turnstiles are in place so you don't have time to contemplate where to go - there are people being funnelled in behind you so you have to move, and usually that will be the path they have laid out through the floor plan.
It's not as insidious as it sounds.
While it all sounds a wee bit evil villain, the lesson is not to leave things to chance - be an active participant in your booking process. On the outside, these practices aren't apparent and present themselves instead like irresistible and attractive choices. They're not walking you through the store at knife-point, insisting you buy their stuff and lots of it, but they are trying to appeal to the natural tendencies that govern you, to help you get to their finish line successfully.
What natural tendencies are you tapping into with your clients, to get them to your finish line?
- Website calls to action. There are buttons or links for people to learn more, or buy now. They can be a different colour than other text/buttons, bigger, can have a box around it or be bolded.
- No dead ends on web pages. Like the supermarket with displays at the end of a hallway, give choices for people when they reach the end of a page. They read through your About Page. Where do you want them to go next - your Portfolio? Your Contact page? Place it right into their way so that they click.
- Good communication. When they contact you, give them the information they request and tell them what happens next so they feel guided and will be more apt to follow your instructions. "When you decide to book, I'll send you an invoice for the retainer. Once that is paid, your date is secure on my calendar and we look forward to the session! I'll also send through a brief questionnaire, to get to know you and your family a little bit better - that will make for a more personal experience when we're shooting."
- Considered brand materials. Think about your choices of colours, fonts and images for your branded materials. Dark colours can seem uninviting, babyish or hard to read fonts can be off-putting, layouts confusing, images incongruent with one another or with the advertisement. Ask yourself if your colour scheme, page layout, language and font appeal and make people want to book, or if they may send the opposite message.
The final take-away is that every decision in your business matters. Be sure to put reflection and consideration into every element.
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