🧠 Mind Games

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Hey there, it’s Kent again.

Everything in marketing boils down to understanding human psychology.

Ad creative, messaging, branding, conversion rate optimization—heck, even email open rates. The technical side matters, but the foundation is all psych.

When we started RV SnapPad in 2015, we didn’t have money for consultants or agencies. What we did have was my psychology degree and a willingness to figure out why people buy.

This issue breaks down the key psychological triggers that drive conversions and how to use them effectively in your store.

Let’s make a system out of it

Rather than applying these psychological triggers randomly, they work best in a sequence.

1️⃣ Awareness → Getting you in their heads.
2️⃣ Trust & Influence → Making your products feel like the right choice.
3️⃣ Conversion Optimization → Make Prices More Attractive

Each stage includes an explanation, examples, and steps you can take today.

But before we start, a few tools you’ll find useful, courtesy of Semrush.

BUYER PSYCHOLOGY

1️⃣ Awareness: Get in Their Heads

The Availability Heuristic: Make Your Brand Top of Mind

People judge the likelihood or frequency of events by how easily examples come to mind. 

In marketing jargon, this means being "top of mind" - the brand that a shopper thinks of first when they are in market for a product or service. 

This can be accomplished a number of ways - like unique positioning, highly emotional content, or even humor. Think: Liquid Death, “Buy the World a Coke” ad, or “Where’s the Beef?”

How we use it: Of course, we don’t have the budget of a mega-brand like those examples. So we went about it another way. 

Instead of chasing expensive mega-influencers, SnapPad aggressively seeded products to dozens of micro-influencers in the RV space. 

Our goal was to seem to be everywhere RVers looked online. Now we have hundreds of organic reviews and social posts that make us appear ubiquitous in our niche, despite being smaller than most of our competitors. 

As we have moved into retail, we frequently are told by wholesale partners that they love how “present” SnapPad is on social channels. 

How to implement it today:

• Create highly memorable content (unusual, emotional, or humorous)

• Find the right influencers for you based on actual performance with this tool.

• Maintain consistent presence across multiple channels where your customers spend time

• Focus on quality frequency rather than occasional big splashes

💡 Pro tip: Being memorable is more important than being universally liked. Liquid Death sells canned water with death metal branding—polarizing, but unforgettable.

2️⃣ Trust & Influence: Make Your Product Feel Like the Right Choice

The Halo Effect: Borrow Positive Associations

When we like one aspect of something, that positive feeling spills over to everything else associated with it. 

Think of how Apple's reputation for design excellence creates positive assumptions about their product quality and user experience. 

This is the essence of having a great brand. Trust, esteem, or acclaim are infused into whatever you do. 

How we use it: At SnapPad, we deliberately cultivated several "halos" around our brand:

• Green halo: Our products are made from recycled truck tires. We've recycled millions of pounds to date, and that number increases with every purchase.

• Made in USA halo: All manufacturing happens domestically, appealing to those who prioritize American-made products.

• Family business halo: Our origin story of three brothers and their dad starting in a garage resonates with customers who prefer supporting small businesses over faceless corporations.

While we focus on value props, features and benefits as keys in our messaging, we also add our brand halos in certain areas of our website, packaging, social media presence, and retention campaigns. 

How to implement it today:

• Find ways to be more than “just your product”. Charitable missions, pro-social values, etc. 

• Add halo badges to your product pages, packaging, checkout and other key parts of the customer journey

• Leverage founder content and brand narratives to humanize the brand and make it about more than just selling stuff. 

💡 Pro tip: Even small sustainability initiatives can enhance customer perception.

The Bandwagon Effect: Everyone’s Doing It

Humans are social creatures hardwired to follow the crowd. When we see others doing something, we assume it's the right choice - especially when uncertain.

How we use it: This is the power of social proof. We made sure to gather as many reviews as possible out of the gate, and then made sure to feature the best stuff in ads and all over the site. 

How to get reviews:

• Include post-purchase emails that request a review within 7 days of delivery.

• Offer a small incentive (e.g., 10% off next order) for leaving a review.

• Make it effortless—one-click reviews where possible.

• Reach out to repeat customers personally, thanking them and asking for feedback.

How to use them for maximum impact:

• Prominently display review counts and ratings ("Join 10,000+ happy customers")

• Show real-time purchase notifications ("Sarah from California just bought...")

• Feature user-generated content showing diverse customers using your products

💡 Pro tip: Specific numbers outperform vague claims. “5,362 five-star reviews” is stronger than “thousands of happy customers.”

⚡Few things make you look as trustworthy as appearing organically at the top of searches. This ECommerce SEO Checklist should help you get there. 

3️⃣ Conversion Optimization: Make Prices More Attractive

The Anchoring Effect: Set The Price Perception

Remember the last time you looked at a restaurant wine list? The $300 bottle probably made the $60 option seem quite reasonable by comparison.

That's anchoring in action - a significant piece of information, like a premium price point,  becomes the reference point for everything that follows.

How to use it: Consider your shipping options. One that is cheap is slow ($10), one that is faster but a bit more pricey ($22), and one that air freights the package overnight for $100. Having the one-day air option might seem silly, but it makes the regular options look better. 

How to implement it today:

• Add a premium version of your product that's 2-3x more expensive than your standard offering

• Show the "full price" before displaying the discounted price (for some reason, putting the discounted price on the right works better, e.g. Was: $80 - NOW $60)

• Create a deluxe bundle showcasing the value of your individual products

• And, hey, try the shipping hack above

💡Pro Tip: Find your top competitors with this and check their pricing tactics, it might give you some ideas. 

Choice Overload: Less Is More

Too many choices lead to decision fatigue, which kills conversions.

How we use it:
SnapPad has over 50 SKUs, but we focus on matching visitors with the right package through search tools, filtering, and quizzes.

How to implement today:

• Limit visible choices to three or less when possible.

• 👉 Go to Shopify → Products → Collections → Create Collection → Name it based on your segment (e.g., "Best for Beginners") → Add best-selling or highest-reviewed products → Feature it on homepage & navigation.

• Use filtering tools to help customers find the right fit.

• Highlight a “recommended” option to guide decision-making.

• Leverage zero party data and lead gen tools like quizzes to personalize the experience

💡 Pro tip: For subscriptions and upsells, stick to “Good, Better, Best” options.

Tools to Implement These Principles

🛒 FOMO (free plan available)

• Creates real-time social proof notifications

• Shows recent purchases to leverage the Bandwagon Effect

• Customizable to match your store's design

• Increases conversion by 7-15% on average

💰 Bold Upsell ($9.99/month)

• Perfect for creating anchoring effect with tiered pricing

• Easy product bundling to increase average order value

• Post-purchase upsells to capture impulse buys

• A/B testing to optimize your offers

🔍 Boost AI Search & Filter ($29/month)

• Combats choice overload by simplifying product discovery

• Advanced filtering options based on customer preferences

• Personalized product recommendations

• Reduces decision fatigue that leads to abandoned carts

It’s Not Optional

The most powerful marketing doesn't try to convince people logically. It aligns with how their brains naturally work.

Your customers:

• Use mental shortcuts to make decisions

• Are influenced by both context and content

• Want to follow others' leads

• Prefer fewer, curated choices that are “right for them”

• Like you more when they help you

Understanding these principles isn't manipulative—it's meeting customers where they already are. The best brands are already using these psychological triggers. 

So you should too.

With ❤️,

Kent Wilson

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