Author: Graham Jones

Psychological ownership comes from trying on clothes
Psychology

Creating a sense of psychological ownership will boost sales

Psychological ownership is a familiar concept of consumer behaviour. If people think they already own something, they are much more likely to buy it. So you can get potential purchasers of anything you sell to feel more willing to buy if they already feel they own the product or service. By creating a sense of ownership, people are more likely to buy from you.

Artificial intelligence and consumer behaviour will be used to study online shopping
Psychology

Artificial intelligence and consumer behaviour work well together

Artificial Intelligence and consumer behaviour go well together. Consumer behaviour is difficult to analyse as it varies a great deal. Often, you need in-depth studies to see what is going on. Artificial intelligence (AI) can cut through that and give you ideas on how to sell more.

Hashtag word in search box
Social

Are hashtags dead? The problems with using a #hashtag

Hashtags are highly popular yet most are, frankly, useless. Some appear to be able to garner huge support, such as #metoo, but others fade into obscurity. Hashtags also polarise and change behaviour. So they might not be as valuable as we think.

What now for social media?

< !doctype html> What now for social media? Facebook is in turmoil. Twitter is making significant changes. LinkedIn is losing popularity. It is time to review your social media strategy. Click here to view this email in your browser  |  Forward this email to a friend Dear Reader, This week I have

Facebook business dislike key
Social

What now for the business use of Facebook?

Facebook is under fire from all directions. Business investors are losing confidence. Governments are threatening legislation. Users are engaging less. We could be witnessing the beginning of the end of Facebook. Or we could be watching the emergence of a new style social network. Either way, there are huge implications.

Woman working outside on the beach
Psychology

Is it worth working outside?

Outside working could have significant benefits for your business. Research shows that we learn more and remember more when we are in the open air, than when we are inside a building. It seems that being indoors affects our attention.

Are we making the most of the real world?

Next week I am off to the NEC in Birmingham to the “Internet Retailing Expo” where there are over 300 exhibitors and more than 100 speakers. Around 5,000 people attend the two-day event meaning there are a lot of Internet folk interested in seeing things in the “real world”. You

Has social media killed off cold calling?

It’s another week of coincidence. On Sunday evening, I was sent an email from Australia asking if I was interested in a “Guest Post” on my website about “cold calling”. Then, on Monday I had a request from the UK on my “newsletter question” page asking me about the same

Road sign saying "Mindfulness"
Psychology

Will mindfulness help your online business?

Mindfulness is increasingly popular. But is it just a fad or can mindfulness help you improve your online business? This article looks at the ways in which mindfulness can help your online business or your website.

Is your email series likely to work?

This week I am dealing with an issue that was raised on my newsletter question page, where you can ask your questions too…! I thought that the question was from someone who was psychic…! That’s because I was being asked on how best to set up a series of emails that would

Sensory gratification marketing is easy with real products
Internet Marketing

How to make the most of sensory gratification marketing on your website

Sensory gratification marketing is easy to do in the real world. People can pick up and touch products, they can feel them, smell them, listen to them, even taste them. But online almost none of that is possible. So how can you use sensory gratification marketing on a web page? This article explains just how you can do that and gain the benefits of stimulating all the senses of your visitors.

Link Building 2018
Search

Link building 2018: Three reasons you should alter your focus

Links are useful because people click on them and get directed to your web pages. Many links, though, have been placed around the web for SEO (search engine optimisation) and that’s a waste of time. Indeed, Google says you don’t need to bother with this. The search engine can find mentions of your website, even if there is no link.

Email overload can be solved
Email

Five ways to deal with email overload

Email overload is a significant problem affecting every office worker. Half the working day is now spent on email thanks to the overload. Each of us having to cope with more than 300 emails per day. Here are five ways you can cope with email overload and avoid the associated stress and frustration. Using these five methods can significantly reduce the time it takes to handle email.

Do you press the send button too soon?

Yesterday I was involved in a fictitious exercise for a client where one of the company’s teams was being put through its paces in a realistic scenario. The idea was to stress-test their system and to see if their existing procedures were robust enough.  During the four-hour exercise, messages were

Are you selling quickly enough?

The perceived wisdom when trying to sell something is that you shouldn’t rush to get the deal. Indeed, these days the general advice is that customers have done so much online research they already know what they want to buy in advance. So, it’s a salesperson’s job to ensure they

Should you turn up the brightness?

The other day I had a message from an academic colleague shame-faced at her elementary mistake in typing an email to a student. She should have typed the words “you need a small shift in thinking”. However, she mistyped and missed out a vital letter. I leave it to you