Cognitive Biases as Sales Triggers

The habit of buying frequently and spontaneously didn’t arise by chance. It’s driven by cognitive biases—mental shortcuts that even the most logical people fall prey to when exposed to persuasive marketing.

In this article, we’ll explore the types of perceptual cognitive biases and how marketers use them as tools to drive sales.

What Is a Cognitive Bias?

Cognitive errors, or biases, are glitches in thinking and perception that make people see reality differently from how it actually is. As a result, decisions and conclusions are often based on distorted judgments.

At the same time, the effect of cognitive biases serves as a protective mechanism: it helps conserve the brain’s resources, since it has to process enormous amounts of information every day. It’s impossible to focus on everything at once, so some processes happen automatically. That’s where thinking errors arise, leading to prejudice, faulty conclusions, and spontaneous actions.

Biases can be triggered by various factors such as stress, fatigue, social influence, or emotions. Marketing techniques take these tendencies into account and often amplify cognitive errors through different communication channels to achieve their goals.

Types of Cognitive Biases

The list of cognitive biases is quite long, so let’s look at the main and most common ones.

The Halo Effect

This bias is about trust formed on the basis of an overall impression. For example, if we like a person, we might attribute to them other qualities they don’t actually have. This perception also extends to things and phenomena associated with that person. That’s why brands so often bring celebrities into their marketing communications. Companies also use attractive characters in advertising campaigns.

The same effect applies to a company’s image. If a brand has built a positive reputation, its products will be perceived as high-quality. But reputational scandals can also negatively affect how consumers perceive its products.

Beyoncé promoting Levi’s. Credits: levi.com

The Anchoring Effect

In this case, decisions are made based on the first piece of information received. All subsequent information is then interpreted in light of that initial signal—the “anchor.” That’s why it’s important to make an impression while the opportunity is there.

This is also why salespeople often present the most expensive option first, so that the mid-range and lower-priced alternatives appear more affordable and appealing by comparison.

Credits: portlandleathergoods.com

The Scarcity Effect

A limited quantity of a product is a well-known tactic that nearly every brand uses in its marketing campaigns at some point. What seems to be “running out soon” appears more valuable and motivates people to buy—even if, rationally, we understand it’s just advertising.

Credits: glenappin.com

The IKEA Effect

IKEA didn’t invent this tactic, but it makes active use of it. The idea is that people become more attached to a product when they have participated in creating it.

IKEA furniture is famous for requiring self-assembly. This creates the feeling that a person has invested their own effort into making it, which makes the product more valuable to them.

In online marketing, this effect is achieved through personalized recommendations and customer participation in product creation. It can also include customizing promotion conditions, choosing gifts with purchase, and similar interactive options.

Credits: nike.com

The Barnum Effect

This effect is based on a person’s belief in their own uniqueness and their tendency to apply general information to themselves. That’s how horoscopes work—people recognize their own traits in them. In marketing, this technique underpins personalized messaging.

The same “magic” is at play in ads that show exactly what you wanted—or what you were just talking about.

Credits: xtensio.com

Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)

FOMO is the fear of missing something important—whether it’s information, a product, or a special offer. The effect is amplified by time limits and often simply by the appearance of an attractive deal.

Marketers also use lead magnets framed as exclusive, valuable, or only relevant at a specific moment. Such offers often appear in website pop-ups. The FOMO effect drives people to download brochures, lessons, checklists, and other materials.

Credits: asos.com

Survivorship Bias

This is the effect where success is attributed solely to a product or service, without considering the context or other factors.

Many success stories are built on survivorship bias: only those who succeeded are showcased, while those who failed remain invisible.

Social Proof

This effect is based on the importance we place on the opinions of others. We are more likely to ask friends for advice than to make a choice at random. Marketers actively use this bias in their strategies.

Interestingly, in reality, the recommended products or services may not be of the highest quality. But social proof nudges people toward choosing them anyway.

The Framing Effect

This bias occurs when the perception of a product changes depending on context and wording. The same information can be presented in different ways in advertising, depending on the audience.

Different frames influence people differently, which is why it’s important to run A/B tests on messaging and find the most effective approach.

Credits: skincarepersonaltouch.com

The Zeigarnik Effect

Also known as the desire to complete an action. If you start doing something but don’t finish it, the brain stays tense. That’s why game mechanics with a clear starting point and a finish line work so well.

Emails or push notifications about an abandoned cart work the same way. The brain wants to complete the unfinished action in order to relax.

How Cognitive Biases Increase Advertising Effectiveness

The ability to work with cognitive biases helps marketers to:

• Capture audience attention and counter banner blindness.

• Strengthen brand loyalty through the right associations—for example, using public figures and social proof.

• Engage the audience in communication with the brand and build habits.

• Improve the effectiveness of ad campaigns by predicting user actions. Cognitive biases make people’s reactions more predictable.

• Amplify marketing messages, making offers easier for people to process.

• Personalize offers. Understanding psychological aspects enables an individualized approach—or at least the illusion of one.

• Boost revenue. Cognitive errors drive people toward spontaneous purchases, so applying this technique in marketing increases sales.

Is It Ethical to Use Cognitive Biases in Advertising?

Cognitive errors may seem like a silver bullet for marketing. But there are issues:

• User backlash. If people are manipulated too often, sooner or later they notice. As a result, trust in the brand declines and campaign effectiveness drops.
• Increased awareness. Users are becoming more attentive and start recognizing techniques based on cognitive biases. That’s why brands need to be more cautious in their campaigns.
• Ethical concerns. Using cognitive biases is a form of manipulation. It’s important not to cross the line where this approach begins to harm users.

How to Apply Cognitive Biases Ethically

• Collect customer data from different sources and store profiles with the most complete information.

• Send personalized campaigns via email, SMS, push notifications, and messengers based on user behavior and purchase data.

• Adjust the timing of campaigns to match customer activity.

Summary

Cognitive biases are “errors” in thinking that lead us to make false conclusions and irrational decisions. Marketers use these errors in their campaigns to influence customer behavior. Examples include the anchoring effect, the halo effect, scarcity, framing, FOMO, and the IKEA effect. Survivorship bias and social proof are also frequently applied.

Techniques based on cognitive biases increase engagement, loyalty, the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, and revenue. At the same time, they can have the opposite effect if manipulations provoke negative reactions. That’s why such methods should be applied ethically: by studying the audience and making communication as personalized as possible.