Marketing tricks that work

Consumers are emotionally prepared to overindulge during periods of celebration, while retailers have a variety of techniques in place to boost sales before and during these times. Occasionally there are post-sale promotions.

It doesn’t matter whether the celebration is religious, cultural, musical, or any other type of festivity; retailers pull out of their sleeve ad campaigns, discount offers, and promotions that are all tailored to the occasion and shopping behaviour.

Psychology helps us understand customers! People are not motivated to act by reason alone, mainly when it comes to spending money on a special celebration; therefore, retailers’ marketing strategies are packed with emotional power. Cognitive psychology is commonly used in communication, in addition to visual merchandising clues inside stores that work as road signs directing shoppers to look for the best bargain. Because of the emotional response it prompts, one buys what he relates to.

One of the most widely used marketing methods is the frequency illusion effect. It involves selective attention and social proof (the recommendations of other consumers). Remarketing and retargeting are strategies also used in the frequency illusion to ensure that brands, products, or services are not forgotten. Messages offering discounts and other ‘opportunities’ pop up on our phones several times per day.

The festive season is a booster for the economy as consumers show a willingness to spend. From electronics to cars to home furnishings and services - free car insurance for a limited period, Ramadhan specials, Internet providers offering discounts on Iftar buffets in certain coffee shops and restaurants - the list is endless.

Persuasion in a techno-colonized world in which advertising rules every aspect of life, from junk food to exotic holidays, property acquisition to education to beauty treatments, and even medical treatment. Coercion, brainwashing, and peer pressure are all engineered to assure that the populace wants comfort and the latest products. The world of real estate is packed with illusions. Luxury is the peg to attract potential buyers.

By focusing on desire, comfort, and reassurance, brands and retailers use illusion to attract and persuade clients by highlighting specific features while downplaying other less appealing parts of their product or service. This marketing strategy exploits people’s ways of thinking and decision-making, fulfilling customers’ own set of beliefs and experiences.

So, I have decided to venture out for on-site and off-site laboratory trips to supermarkets, shopping malls, car sales showrooms, beauty spas, and eco-adventure providers. The objective was to pay attention to the visual and non-visual marketing strategies for celebration and holidays. I was stunned by the intensive and sometimes pushy display of flyers, signs, and pricing exhibited, as well as some stations selling ordinary products using charity as an emotional plea.

Everything is up for sale. Customers seem to be in a rush to fill up their trolleys and sign up for Internet service offers, while retailers bombard them with attractive sales not just on-site but also via social media. I have managed to restrain myself from shopping – except for a pair of dancing shoes! Not that I needed a new one, but as I have mentioned above, you buy what you can relate to because of the emotional response it creates in you.

New media platforms and cutting-edge marketing strategies are major drivers of online business performance, especially before and during the festive season. Compared to traditional marketing models, new media marketing attracts young people with higher purchase power. They are prepared to splurge.

We live in a world where marketing has become unleashed. We have created a nefarious marketing culture in which illusions are sold. Greed, hyper-materialism, and maniacal competitiveness reign. Companies use a range of psychological tricks to prey on consumers’ dreams and desires to encourage them to buy. But hold on; offers aren’t always the best bargains.