What are some psychological tricks that businesses often use on customers?
The survival of any business depends on the customers. Whoever does business, tries his best to get and keep as many customers as possible. Among those efforts is analyzing the behavior of the customer and present things or products accordingly.

If we start discussing more on psychology right now, this answer might get very long. For now, let us see how businesses make use of this. After understanding the psychology of a sample group of customers, businesses make strategies for marketing. The sooner any business gets a sense for that and starts reflecting it in its strategies to build the customer base, the greater chance that sales will steadily rise. The marketing, pricing, advertising, branding, packaging, etc. for a product are all the results of the study on consumers.
Let’s see some psychological tricks that businesses use on customers:
1) Showing Social Proof: It is human nature to get easily influenced by others. Businesses make use of this very well. Social proof is anything that suggests the approval of other people like testimonials from happy customers, a high number of positive reviews on platforms such as Google Business, Amazon, etc.
2) Forming an Emotional Connection: Usually, that takes place in the form of advertisements or a video, that connects people through emotions and make their drive towards any product faster. For example, any business advertising for its eyewear products might show a video in which a toddler hands over the spectacles to his grandfather. Then, there could be a shower of emotions in the video. (I hope you can imagine that). The intent of such an ad, video, or a story is to get an emotional connection in whatever way it can with a customer.
3) Offering Free Gifts: A common, but a suitable trick. People always look forward to freebies. I will not be hesitant to say that even I do. That’s a tried and tested trick over the years. For example, a business might offer two or more products at the price of one. Most of the people would see that they are getting more, even if the price of that single product is almost equal to the total value of the package or maybe even more than that. It’s worth mentioning here that people, especially the customers, are now getting smarter and do thorough research, even if to buy a common product like a toothbrush. Free gifts need to actually offer something of value, for free.
4) Limiting the Number of Choices: Earlier businesses used to offer a wide range of similar products, which often left the decision making difficult for the customers, but now most companies have limited products in a particular segment. I see people complain about the old days, and how there aren’t as many options. But on the business side, it reduces the chances of the average customer getting diverted.
5) Posing as an Expert: Most of the customers seek an expert’s advice while they are making any purchase. Businesses understand this and pose as an expert. They tell stories that make a customer believe that a particular product is the only solution to their problems in the world. Well, those are the skills of the salesperson and deserve a hats-off, provided it’s ethically used.
I feel like discussing more tricks, but that’s a kind of secret treasure too for the businesses. Anyways, that was on a lighter note from me. You can leave me a reply relating to your niche so that I can be more specific. I will be pleased to discuss this with you more.
After seeing the above tricks, let’s extend this discussion to another angle. Here’s something that you might have experienced: If you’ve ever done door-to-door or cold-call sales, you know that people on average are more ready to say “no” to buying something, joining a group, or doing whatever it is you want than “yes.” It’s not even close.
That’s yet another aspect of customer psychology. From my experience, I have come to understand that there are five common, universal objections or doubts people will have to your offer, whether that’s buying your product, accepting your gift in exchange for their email, or even clicking your pay-per-click ad.
If anyone as business improves over these, then it could make sales better. I have discussed all of these and the solutions to them in my post: 5 Deep-Seated Customer Doubts That Kill Your Sales (And How to Erase Them). The discussion in that post can add more value to this answer.
In the end, I would say that in present times, when businesses are more into reading the psychology of the customers, a prosperous business, in the long run, works to build a strong long term relationship with the customers, but also gives legitimate value to others, not just playing with their minds.
Please feel free to share your point of view too on any of the points discussed above.
Thanks,
Cleo