Prime Your Shoppers Below Awareness

When we’re primed for an experience or action, we’re better prepared for it and therefore more receptive to it. Nag me about getting apples as I leave to buy the groceries, and I’m more likely to remember the apples. If I decide to place a special order at your store, start me out by going over the basics of how it’s done, and I’m more comfortable with the whole process.

      When consumer psychologists talk about priming a shopper, there’s an extra element: We’re usually referring to planting an idea in such a way that the customer doesn’t recognize you’re doing it. This is important because research says that delivering the prompt below the level of awareness makes the prompt more influential over a shopper’s behavior. When a shopper is aware of the priming, they’re more likely to feel manipulated and fight back. Subconscious primes result in fewer counterarguments.

      Prefer visual prompts over verbal prompts. Newspaper ads and in-store signage are better avenues for priming than presentations by salespeople. Television works better than radio. This is because it’s easier for the consumer to spot a prompt when the prompt is said to you than when you sense it out of the corner of your eye. For instance, research findings from University of Florida-Gainesville indicate that a consumer entering a store will become more likely to buy a product if an image of the product or package is displayed to the side of the entrance aisle.

      Other research suggests delivering the prompt in advance of the shopper entering the store. A subconscious influence is a seed inside the brain, and seeds take at least a little time to sprout.

      Also keep in mind that priming nudges the consumer toward what they’d like doing anyway. Primes won’t wrestle the consumer into completely changing.