Every entrepreneur desires to build and cement their brand in the customer’s mind. What are the ways in which you can decipher customer psychology and really engage them?

Here are some factors that influence customer behaviour.

1. Making the Customer feel Special
   Successful brands build an emotional connection with their customers, going beyond the transactions, and extending to relationships. Think of techniques to make customers feel like they are part of the brand, such as people voting their favourite product or uploading pictures in a gallery.
   
   When you win your customers’ heart, you can win their loyalty for life.  The word “you” in marketing is very powerful and shows that you put the customer first. This helps the brand build an emotional connection with the customer.
   
   
   
2. Regular Contact
   Regular contact keeps the brand fresh in the customer’s memory and powers sales. The key is not to be annoying and respect boundaries. For instance flooding a customer’s inbox with emails can be extremely off-putting for the customer and can completely backfire as an engagement strategy. Look at natural touch points between the customer and the brand such as eye-catching emails, contests, or campaigns on Facebook.
   
   
   
3. Personal Gain
   Customers identify with products and services that add value to their lives. Customers are driven by the sentiment “what’s in it for me?” You must present your product in a way that the benefits are clearly apparent to the customer.
   
   
   
4. Social Influence
   What others say about your brand matters more to customers than what you say about your brand. Seek to get endorsements from friends, authorities that are universally trusted and people who have social influence. Customers trust the perspectives of their friends and family. TripAdvisor is a great example of how customer reviews have such a strong impact on driving hotel bookings. It proves that customers are more likely to act on recommendations by fellow travellers  than start searches from scratch.
   
   
   
5. Customer Delight
   If something makes us feel good and appeals to our senses, we are more likely to buy it. If the customer has experienced a negative experience in the purchase cycle, they are likely to ditch the purchase and never return. Life is fast-paced and stressful for most people, so customer delight can ensure that he/she is hooked. Ensure that all the customer touch points such as the website & mobile experience are intuitive, interactive and engaging. In face-to-face customer interactions, remember that ‘service with a smile never goes out of style’.
   
   
   
6. Price Psychology
   Psychological pricing uses the customer's emotional response to encourage sales. By pricing products strategically, a company may increase sales without significantly reducing prices. In some cases, a higher price is actually more likely to increase sales.

Smart marketers leverage knowledge of customer psychology and innovative engagement tactics to expand their customer base. In the words of Steve Ferrante, “If you want to know how to sell more, then you better know why customers buy.”