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Belief bias

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We all have come across that ‘too good to be true’ thought when dealing with different situations of life. For example, assume that you have been introduced to this new skincare product at the supermarket claiming that it is 100% natural and it has the ability to clear your blemishes just in 14 days. What would your first thought be? If you are one of many other people, there’s a high chance that you consider the product as a non-authentic one even though it really is. What exactly is the reason for your conclusion? It’s the belief bias in action that triggered your conclusion.

Table of contents:
  1. How to use the Belief bias to the favor of your business towards CRO?
    1. Present the information that your customers already suspect to be true
    2. Let others speak on behalf of you
    3. Create content which appeal to the emotions of your people than trying to convince them via pure logic

Belief bias is a tendency in human psychology that discusses how we tend to reject the things that sound extreme or too good to believe. Belief bias can affect our decisions even when the logical facts and data are presented. As this effect can influence the buying behaviors of the consumers a great deal, many marketers are thoroughly concerned with how to avoid the bias acting adversely on them. It must be true that their products or services are absolutely awesome in many ways, but it will be too risky to be out there claiming so, due to the belief bias. Did you ever expect this to happen? But yes, you will have to hide your strengths sometimes to work better towards Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).

How to use the Belief bias to the favor of your business towards CRO?

Present the information that your customers already suspect to be true

To do this, you should have a clear understanding of your customers and their beliefs. Implementing this strategy without a proper consumer research can strongly affect you negatively. You can study the reviews and comments published by your target consumers on your competitors' website or social media channels to see what values are highly accepted by them in similar products. Then present your strengths aligning to such values so you can win their loyalty quite easily. Remember to deliver the value you promise in order to keep going with Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). Make your content sound more realistic than backing up your claims or arguments with more information Your content shouldn't have an exaggerated appeal. It should sound more realistic and smooth. Think about the skin care product example we discussed above. 'To get rid of all the blemishes just in two weeks' doesn't sound realistic, but 'to see a noticeable change in your skin in 2 weeks with regular application' does! Let's say that your claim is 100% accurate in practical usage and you try to reason it with logical arguments, still it won't do much good as the belief bias does its part other way around.

Let others speak on behalf of you

People tend to believe the voices of other people over a brand speak on behalf of themselves. You can embed customer testimonials into your landing page. A person sharing his/her own experience consuming your products or service appears to be more authentic and compelling. They appear to be more believable. You can include the review feature in your website enabling people to share their thoughts and experiences on your brand. Influencer endorsement is another ideal way to communicate your values to the target audience. An influencer is a person who is admired and loved by people. Their beliefs and opinions are highly accepted and believed by the followers. Either way, you can gain the loyalty of your target audience and it will help you a great deal towards Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).

Create content which appeal to the emotions of your people than trying to convince them via pure logic

Emotions work better than logics in many cases. Your logic may not be understood or visible with transparency to the customers. But every one of us feels emotions. Speaking to emotions is a shortcut to obtain loyalty quite easily and fast. Let's hop into the same skin care product scenario. 'Our formula works to get rid of all your blemishes just in two weeks due to the high end ingredients, right mixture etc.' won't be more appealing than ' We want you to keep you back in your place of beauty as soon as possible, so try us and feel the difference in two weeks.' Right emotions can definitely help your attempt towards the Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO). If you strategically approach the belief bias using the top tips briefed above, you can easily approach your target audience with authenticity. Let the success unfold!

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References

The references contain experiments and studies that prove this bias is there.

1. The belief-bias effect in the production and evaluation of logical conclusions
2. Belief Bias and Human decision making behavior

Books

Would you like to go more in-depth? Here are our recommendations:

The Biology of Belief: How Our Biology Biases Our Beliefs and Perceptions by Joseph Giovannoli Buy this book

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