Quick ways to convert your users into buyers using Design Psychology

It’s the digital age and you’ve seen entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses everywhere setting up their online presence. Intrigued and hit with a strong sense of FOMO, you followed suit. A few months later- a successful website launch!

But is having a website enough to ensure that every visitor will turn into a customer?

With the number of sites vying for attention in every domain, the answer is a strong ‘NO’.

The objective of most sites is to attract users, to engage with them and then convert them into actual customers. Then, they want to ensure these customers are retained, and that they keep coming back. All of these are scary aims, but more dauntingly, even simple things, like the site loading speed, can have a massive impact upon your site traffic and conversions. Users don’t like waiting, and they don’t surf the web in search of a mental challenge.

Inevitably, many sites turn to manipulation to get their users where they want them to be by using Dark Patterns. These are deceptive UX/UI interactions which are specifically designed to trick users into taking certain actions, but they have many attached ethical questions. While they may work momentarily, this has negative implications for your brand and building customer loyalty. If there is one thing users dislike even more than a mental challenge, it is feeling foolish.

But then, how do you design so that when a user lands on your page, they stay long enough to buy your product? Many an ambitious site fails because it doesn’t take into account the importance of user psychology and designing functionally — so let’s talk about the basics.

First, Jacob’s Law: Users spend most of their time on other sites. This means that users are expecting your site to perform the same way. The human mind forms a mental model and then sticks by it strongly, so leveraging people’s existent expectations into your design and minimizing discordance as much as possible is far easier than creating your own pathways. Don’t copy, but do imitate in the most creative, inspired way. A site that FEELS familiar, will keep users interested for longer, and make it easier for them to navigate through your products and make a purchase.

Second, Your USP: As the creator of the product, you often overestimate exactly what people know about it. Remember that a first time visitor to your site probably knows nothing about you, or the technical language you employ. Going the extra mile to put a spotlight on your USP in friendly, simple terms, can help tremendously in converting and retaining users- because now they KNOW what your site and product are about. People avoid chaos and confusion, so showing the information they need in easy language and simple info-graphics will always be appreciated and will keep them hooked.

Third, Knowing the user’s mind: Neuroscientists and psychologists have made leaps and bounds over the past decade in understanding how the human mind works and processes information. What this means is that we now have scientific data that can be used to our advantage while designing a site. Knowing how your users think and work is crucial to improving your site’s metrics!

1. Classical conditioning: One factor that cannot be discounted is the role of classical conditioning in how a user sees your brand. If a user sees a happy person, or a reassuring, affirming phrase as soon as they land on your page, they will associate those emotions with your product — a decided advantage! The human brain works consistently to form emotional connections and bonds, which are very strong driving factors in their decisions. This is especially useful when deciding banner images, words and phrases that will appear in the first fold of your website, surrounding your primary Call to Action, and during their purchase decision.
2. The A to Z technique and Negativity bias: Every customer wants to get from point A to point Z as quickly as possible, with the least possible friction. In most cases, A is where they are, Z is their benefits from your product, and the pathway to it is where your conversions lie. This is especially important when you are trying to get users to sign up or pay on your site. Alternatively, if you can’t make A to Z simple, emphasize what they would miss out by NOT using your product. Fear and negativity can be strong motivators, because people will do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure.
3. Urgency and information: A tried and tested tool which we see in everyday use is instilling a sense of urgency in the viewer. Telling them that a product is about to run out, or an offer is going to end can be a strong way to push them into making a purchase. However, the sense of urgency must be backed by a strong call to action, or clear instructions for it to have any real impact. Remember, urgency can paralyze decision making, and people will drift away from your site if it makes them uncomfortable. To convert them into customers, give them the exact steps they must take, show them the ‘buy’ button regularly and make the flow easy to understand.
4. The bandwagon effect: Humans are social creatures, which means that they are constantly aware of the actions of others around them. Showing people that other people are engaging with and buying your product is a great way to get them interested and increase your conversion rates. A site that is designed to show off your customers, your associates and their testimonials convinces potential customers that they are in the right place. Positive product reviews and ratings from reputable and recognized figures can also help in gaining new customers.

Fourth, your Call to action: Irrespective of all the psychological effects you account for, the Call to Action will be the ultimate deciding factor for converting a user into a customer. Paying a little extra attention to your Primary CTA is a very important first step to enhancing your conversions. Let’s talk about a good CTA!

• Appropriately placed — make sure it is immediately and consistently noticeable, and in the user’s immediate line of sight whenever you think they might use it.
• Distinctly visible — The shape, size, colour and contrast of the CTA from its surrounding screen makes a huge impact on how quickly a user can see it.
• The Message — The message on the CTA is a make-or-break factor that needs close attention. Different messages work in different scenarios, but they must all be short, to the point, and must immediately tell the user what their purpose is. “Register’, ‘Login’ and ‘Subscribe’ are some of the usual examples, but some brands go the extra mile by saying ‘sign up for free’, or ‘become a member’. These simple phrasing changes can drastically improve a site’s conversion rates, by tapping into emotion centers in the brain.

• Subtext — If your CTA requires it, a sentence or phrase surrounding it can be a good additional push to get users thinking along the right direction. This could be as simple as reassuring them that there are no hidden payments, or telling them that you value your community. Users enjoy feeling valued and a sense of security, so these are good statements to include!
• Hick’s law — The law states that increasing the number of choices posed to a user will increase their decision time logarithmically. To avoid overloading your users, keep different CTAs far apart and distinct. Highlight things you want them to click on first so that their decision making process is faster, and remove any unnecessary clutter. Give them only relevant information, and ensure that the visual hierarchy of details is well-established.

• Fitts law — This law states that the longer the distance and smaller the target size, the longer users will take to navigate to it. Simply put, ensure that your CTA is well-positioned and big enough for users to click quickly, with minimal effort.

• Micro-interactions and Micro-animations — These are interesting animations and movements that can catch your user’s eye and draw their attention to your CTA. Use them sparingly, for they can also be a distraction. A single well-placed micro-animation can go a long way for a whole page.

A strong understanding of consumer psychology that translates to the design of your site is the first step towards ensuring that your product is reaching its target audience.

Ultimately, the quality of your product and services will decide how many of these users choose to stay on, but these pointers are a great first step towards converting users into actual buyers of your product!

Kustard.design is a top design company that helps organizations design digital products that will increase their conversion rates and their online success!

“It is much easier to double your business by doubling your conversion rate than by doubling your traffic.” — Jeff Eisenberg, Businessman