20 Weird Cognitive Biases Influencing Your Buyer‘s Decision (And How to Use Them Ethically)

As a marketer or salesperson, understanding how your buyers think is key to influencing their decisions. But humans are complex, and we don‘t always make choices in a rational, straightforward way. In fact, decades of research in psychology and behavioral economics have found that people are prone to all sorts of cognitive biases—quirks and flaws in our thinking that lead us to act in sometimes irrational ways.

For businesses, cognitive biases represent both a challenge and an opportunity. On one hand, biases can lead potential customers to overlook the true value of your offerings, get stuck in indecision, or opt for a competitor for all the wrong reasons. But by understanding the biases that affect decision-making, you can craft your messaging, offers, and customer experience to work with your buyer‘s psychology instead of against it.

In this post, we‘ll explore 20 of the cognitive biases that have the biggest impact on buying decisions. For each one, we‘ll look at common examples, the underlying causes, and the implications and opportunities for marketers. We‘ll also consider the ethical challenges that can arise and offer guidance for applying behavioral insights responsibly to help your customers make the best decisions for themselves.

1. The Anchoring Bias

The anchoring bias refers to our tendency to rely heavily on the first piece of information we receive about a given subject. This initial "anchor" becomes a reference point that influences our perception of everything that follows.

In a famous study by researchers Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, participants were asked to estimate various quantities (like the percentage of U.N. countries that are in Africa). Before giving their answer, they were presented with an arbitrary number and asked whether their estimate was higher or lower.

The arbitrary number had a significant impact on responses. When it was 10, the median estimate was 25%. When the anchor was 65, the median estimate was 45%. The study showed that even irrelevant information can act as an anchor and skew our perception if we lack well-formed prior knowledge.

Implications for Marketers

The anchoring bias has major implications for pricing strategy. The first price a potential customer sees for a product tends to become a reference point, making everything that follows seem like a better or worse deal in comparison.

Some common anchoring tactics in marketing include:

• Placing an expensive "decoy" item next to your target product to make it seem more affordable
• Listing an inflated original or "list" price alongside your actual selling price
• Offering a temporary discount to make your regular price feel like a special deal

These practices can be misleading if the original price isn‘t genuine. But anchoring can also be applied more subtly and ethically. For instance, when launching a new product, you might start with a higher price point. Even after you drop the price to its regular level, that initial higher price will stick in buyers‘ minds, leading them to perceive the new normal price as a bargain.

2. The Framing Effect

The framing effect describes our tendency to draw different conclusions from the same information depending on how it is presented. Countless studies have shown that tweaking the way options are framed or worded, without changing the objective facts, can significantly shift people‘s opinions and choices.

Consider this well-known example from researchers Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman:

Imagine the U.S. is preparing for an outbreak of a disease expected to kill 600 people. You have to choose between two programs to combat the disease:

• Program A: "200 people will be saved."
• Program B: "There is a 1/3 probability that 600 people will be saved, and a 2/3 probability that no people will be saved."

In this scenario, 72% of participants chose Program A. But what if the same problem was framed differently?

• Program C: "400 people will die."
• Program D: "There is a 1/3 probability that nobody will die, and a 2/3 probability that 600 people will die."

In this case, 78% chose Program D, even though the numbers were exactly the same as the first scenario. The only difference was that the first problem was framed in terms of gains (lives saved) while the second was framed in terms of losses (people dying).

This tendency to avoid risks when considering gains but seek chances to avoid losses is a cognitive bias known as loss aversion (which we‘ll explore more later). The key point of the framing effect is that our choices often depend less on the facts themselves and more on the lens through which we view the situation.

Implications for Marketers

Framing is one of the most powerful tools marketers can use to influence audience perception and spur action. Most notably, positively framed messages tend to be more persuasive than negative ones. Some specific tactics to leverage the framing effect include:

• Describing your product in terms of what customers will gain instead of what they‘ll lose by not purchasing
• Highlighting how many customers are satisfied with your brand instead of unsatisfied
• Promoting a sale with a positive CTA like "Get an extra 20% off" rather than "Don‘t miss out on 20% off"
• Showing what percentage of people got a positive result using your product instead of what percent didn‘t

In the nonprofit world, a common framing tactic is to put a single human face on appeals for donations and support. Research by Deborah Small and colleagues found that people were more likely to donate when an appeal featured a story and photo of a single child in need versus when it used data and statistics to illustrate the scope of the problem.

Of course, the ethics of framing become murky if you only show the positive and not the negative, or make different offers and claims to different groups based on their biases. The key is to frame your value proposition honestly while putting your best foot forward. Help customers see all the potential positives they stand to gain from your product—not just the negatives they‘ll avoid.

3. The Availability Heuristic

The availability heuristic says that we tend to heavily weigh our judgments toward more recent information, making new opinions biased toward the latest news. You can think of availability as the tendency to focus on whatever comes most easily to mind when evaluating a topic or making a decision.

For example, research shows that people tend to overestimate their risk of dying from sensational and highly publicized causes like tornadoes or terrorism compared to more common but less attention-grabbing causes like asthma or heart disease. Media coverage and memorable events make certain risks easier to imagine and recall.

Implications for Marketers

The availability heuristic contributes to the outsize impact of customer reviews, testimonials, and case studies in the buying process. A single vivid story of a customer‘s experience tends to stick in our minds and influence our impression of a brand more than any general statistic or claim.

To tap into the availability bias, focus on telling memorable stories that illustrate your value proposition. Use photos and descriptive details to paint a mental picture. And know that recency matters—you need a steady drumbeat of fresh success stories, PR, and social proof to stay top of mind and tip the scales when buyers are considering their options.

4. The Confirmation Bias

Confirmation bias is our tendency to pay attention to evidence that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore contradictory information that might change our minds. In other words, we see what we want to see.

Psychologists theorize that confirmation bias serves a protective function. Admitting we were wrong is uncomfortable and can threaten our self-image, so we look for ways to justify our existing opinions. Of course, in many cases, our beliefs do turn out to be correct, so seeking confirmation isn‘t always a bad thing. The danger lies in becoming too closed-minded.

Implications for Marketers

For marketers, confirmation bias can work for you or against you. Once buyers form a positive impression of your brand, they‘re more likely to focus on the information that supports their choice and discount anything negative. Cultivating a strong brand reputation gives you the benefit of the doubt and helps retain customers when you make mistakes.

On the flip side, confirmation bias creates an uphill battle when you‘re trying to change stubborn misconceptions about your product or win back customers who‘ve had a bad experience.

Successful marketers aim to trigger confirmation bias in their favor. To give your claims more credibility and prevent buyer‘s remorse, you might:

• Use brand names and packaging that align your products with your target audience‘s existing values and aspirations
• Seed positive reviews and social media comments from customers who are similar to your ideal buyer persona
• Offer an onboarding experience that confirms your product‘s value and encourages users to invest in its ongoing use
• Provide extensive customer support to help buyers troubleshoot issues and prevent them from seeking negative information

5. The Curse of Knowledge

The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that occurs when an individual, communicating with other individuals, unknowingly assumes that the others have the background to understand.

For instance, a marketer or sales rep who is an expert in their product may struggle to recognize knowledge gaps among their audience. This can lead to messaging and sales conversations that gloss over key concepts, leaving potential buyers confused and unable to grasp the true value of the solution.

Implications for Marketers

The most important step to avoiding the curse of knowledge is to know your audience. When you understand where prospects are starting from, you can meet them on their level with the right information to guide them forward.

Some tips for mitigating the curse of knowledge in your marketing include:

• Interviewing new customers to understand their baseline of knowledge and common points of confusion
• Running your marketing copy by someone outside your industry and asking them to point out terms they don‘t recognize
• Creating an accessible glossary of industry terms and key concepts related to your product
• Using analogies and examples to connect abstract ideas to familiar experiences
• Sharing customer success stories to illustrate how your product works and what outcomes buyers can expect

Most of all, remember that confusion is the enemy of conversion. Whenever you find yourself assuming that a prospect already understands something, challenge that assumption. Take the time to explain, clarify, and check for understanding. Your buyers will thank you for it.

Bringing It All Together

Understanding how cognitive biases influence buying decisions is an essential tool for refining your marketing strategy and sales process. By accounting for the quirks of human psychology, you can make it easier for prospects to recognize your value, feel confident in their decision, and take action.

But as powerful as these behavioral insights are, they also come with risks. It‘s all too easy to venture into manipulation, even with the best intentions.

As you explore ways to apply cognitive biases, keep these guidelines in mind:

1. Prioritize helping buyers make the best decision for themselves over making the sale at all costs.
2. Present the facts honestly, even if you frame them from a positive angle. Don‘t hide important details that might change the decision.
3. Use behavioral tactics to remove friction and anxiety from the buyer‘s journey, not to trick anyone into a purchase they‘ll regret.
4. Provide an exceptional customer experience that delivers on your marketing promises and continuously reaffirms the buyer‘s choice.

Ultimately, the goal should be to become such a genuinely valuable partner to your customers that you hardly need to rely on cognitive biases at all. Use them to grease the wheels, but know that truly great products and relationships are what keep buyers coming back.