Using Cognitive Dissonance To Increase Purchases

Posted by Andrew on September 8, 2007

There is nothing your brain hates more than cognitive dissonance. In fact, your brain hates it so much that it has build in mechanisms to avoid cognitive dissonance either by ignoring certain pieces of information or by changing your perception. Wikipedia defines cognitive dissonance well:

Cognitive dissonance is a psychological term describing the uncomfortable tension that may result from having two conflicting thoughts at the same time, or from engaging in behavior that conflicts with one’s beliefs, or from experiencing apparently conflicting phenomena.

In simple terms, it can be the filtering of information that conflicts with what you already believe, in an effort to ignore that information and reinforce your beliefs.

Our brains want nothing more to appear consistent, so in order to sell to someone, it helps if you can convince them to take simple easy steps in the direction of a sale. Commitment to your product in one way or another, affirming value on some level, will help them feel more comfortable with a purchase down the road.

This is why newsletters work so well as selling tools. Signing up is a way to show that the newsletter offers some value. Otherwise, why fill your inbox with it? Well, if the newsletter offers value, then doesn’t an ebook, video series, tutorial, or something similar that is even more in depth offer more value than the newsletter? It should, if ptople want to remain consistent in their beliefs and thoughts. And according to the theory of cognitive dissonance, they do.