What is marketing?
American Marketing Association defines marketing as ‘The activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and society at large’ (AMA, 2024). Marketing is one of the most important aspects when considering a successful business/brands.
EXAMPLES OF COGNITIVE BIASES AND THEIR ROLE IN MARKETING WORDS
•The Anchoring Effect: Words play a huge role in the first impressions on a business/brand; as it defines its identity and voice, showing consumers how your business/brand is perceived, this can instantly attract or repel your customers.
•The Bandwagon Effect: The popularity of a brand/business can influence the amount of consumption. The more evidence of consumption, the higher the overall custom. using phrases such as ‘Join 100,000 happy customers today!’, “ best-selling products of the year’ can increase customers’ choosing of your brand.
•The Self-Referencing Effect and Personalisation Bias: People are naturally self-focused, using words which evoke emotions and build connections with consumers can lead to business loyalty and consumer retention, for example, marketers may relate to real-world experiences and examples to create these connections. Marketers may also use the power of personalisation to build connections. Using words such as ‘you’ or ‘your’ can create personal and engaging content.
•The Authority Bias: Consumers also look for brands in which they can install trust within. The use of phrases such as ‘100% verified’, ‘Backed by science’, ‘Risk-free’ can instil the feeling of security.
•The Mere Exposure Effect: When consumers are faced with a brand multiple times, such as through an advertisement, they tend to develop preferences simply due to becoming familiar with the brand.
WORDS AND PHRASES TO AVOID
•Vague and weak words such as ‘nice’, ‘best’, ‘affordable’.
•Passive and unconfident words such as ‘try’, ‘might’, ‘could’.
•Over-complicating language.
Words which kill urgency, as there is no reasoning to make an investment or purchase, such as ‘no rush’. This can cause procrastination among consumers and lead to a loss of customers.
