Can you recall a decision you made in the past? Was it a rational choice? Or did you tell yourself it was rational?
Let me share a personal example. This week, I bought two candy bars at the train station “because I thought I deserved it.” I had put so much effort into my two job interviews and now it was the time to treat myself.
But why couldn’t I choose for something healthier?
Well, the two candy bars were easy to spot. I walked right into them. They looked appealing, tasty and eating them makes me satisfied. I was on automatic pilot.
I didn’t even ask myself whether going for an unhealthy snack was the right choice (Well, I did, but after having eaten both of them. The answer was: no.)
So unconscious processes like stimuli and emotions trigger action. When we make decisions, we aren’t actively aware of these processes. Marketers should know that. Understand how your consumers behave by learning about their underlying emotions:
- What problems does your target audience experience and how does that make them feel?
- How would consumers feel when they buy your product?
- Which emotion is triggered when consumers read your ad copy?
If you want to know more about our irrational decision-making behavior, I recommend reading
Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Case R. Sunstein! Forbes also has a great article about
How emotions influence your decisions.
