A book by Sheena Iyengar, a Columbia Business School professor, says that humans process any information either through an automated system or a reflective system. As the name suggests, the automated response is subconscious and quick. It is the one responsible for all the impulsive decisions. Emotions are the main drivers for this type of response. The reflective response on the other hand is based on logical thinking and rationalization. When the automated as well as rational systems come up with the same decision, a person does not face any conflict and there is no dissonance in his or her decision making.
This information can help internet marketers come up with more effective strategies to promote their products. Once a visitor lands on your website, only a part of your work is done. Your website should be designed in such a manner that it sets the right ‘mood’ for the visitor to take an action in your favor. Your website design should ensure that the visitor comes up with a decision in your favor through both the automated as well as rational system.
Quite often, even after much logical reasoning, a visitor may not be motivated to take an action in your favor. In such a case, a strong emotional call for action can work to your advantage. Studies have shown that such emotional campaigns, more often than not, generate a positive response.
What you need to do is test and find out which type of campaigns, emotional or rational, work better on a particular group of target customers and come up with a winning formula. Based on the results, you may need to come up with different campaigns targeting different groups of customers.
Image Source: http://www.shelfreliance.com