How to Become Unforgettable & Make What You Want To, Stand Out

💡 Best Psychological Marketing Tricks - How To Become Unforgettable

Salience Bias is a psychological phenomenon that is used in marketing to subtly but significantly impact customer decisions. This cognitive bias highlights how certain elements that stand out in our environment are more likely to influence our actions.

For SaaS businesses, understanding and applying salience bias can transform user interfaces, marketing strategies, and even pricing models.

Let’s jump in!

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⭐️ What is Salience Bias In Marketing

Understanding Salience Bias & The Psychology Of Marketing

Salience bias occurs when visually prominent or emotionally striking information affects our perception and decisions.

For example, MrBeast’s YouTube thumbnails are designed to stand out with vivid, oversaturated colours.

Here’s a great article to learn more about salience bias.

Now I’m going to show you how to use:
1) Salience Bias in User Interface Design
2) Salience Bias in Email Marketing
3) Salience Bias in Pricing Strategies
4) Salience Bias in Product Development

Salience Bias in User Interface (UI) Design

Improve user interaction by making critical features or notifications more noticeable ie enhancing user interface (UI) design.

Visual elements that are distinctive in size, colour, or shape are more likely to attract attention.

UI designers use this principle to highlight important features, buttons, or actions they want users to take. For example, a brightly coloured "Sign Up" button on a predominantly monochrome website can draw user focus and increase conversions.

Design Techniques for Salience:

1) Contrast & Colour

High contrast between text and background improves readability and draws attention to key areas. Color adds visual interest and serves as a cue to indicate the importance or category of information. For instance, red might be used for alerts or warnings, suggesting urgency or caution. Green might indicate the successful completion of a task.

2) Typography

Different weights, styles, and sizes of typography can guide the user's eye to the most important information. Larger, bolder fonts are often used for headings or key features, making them stand out.

3) Spatial Positioning

Research shows that Western readers typically scan screens in an F-pattern. Readers pay most attention to what appears first on the top and left side of the screen.

4) Motion & Animation

Motion captures attention more effectively than static images. Animations draw attention to changes on a screen, guide users through a workflow, or highlight interactive elements. The key is to not overwhelm with too much movement.

5) Interactive Elements

‘Like’ buttons or sliders can be designed to become more prominent when hovered over or clicked. This indicates their functionality and makes them more likely to be used.

6) Cognitive Load

Cognitive load refers to the amount of mental processing power required to use the interface. Overloading a user with too many salient features at once can lead to decision fatigue and reduce overall user experience.

Salience Bias in Email Marketing

1) Subject Lines

The subject line is the first point of contact with your audience in email marketing. Making it salient is crucial to stand out in a crowded inbox:

• Personalization: Include the recipient's name or personalized details to make the email feel more relevant and eye-catching.

• Urgency and Scarcity: Phrases like "Limited time offer" or "Only a few left" create a sense of urgency and scarcity.

• Curiosity and Questions: Use intriguing questions or teasers to pique curiosity. This compels recipients to open the email to find out more.

2) Email Designs

The visual design of an email can significantly influence its effectiveness:

• Bold Colors and Contrast: Utilize bold colors and high contrast to draw attention to key areas like calls-to-action or special offers.

• Images and Graphics: Eye-catching images or graphics serve as focal points that attract viewers' attention to the most important message or offer in the email.

• Whitespace: Proper use of whitespace can help important elements stand out by reducing visual clutter.

3) Content Hierarchy

Organize content to reflect its importance so that the most critical messages are immediately noticeable:

• Headings and Subheadings: Use clear and concise headings that highlight the core message or benefits. This makes them more noticeable.

• Bullet Points: Present key benefits or features in bullet form to make them easily scannable and prominently visible.

4) Behavioural Triggers

Link content to behavioural triggers to increase the salience of the message:

• Behaviour-Based Personalization: Customize email content based on past behaviours, such as previously browsed products or services. This makes content highly relevant and salient to the individual.

• Social Proof: Include testimonials or user numbers to attract attention and lend credibility.

5) Strategic Placement of Calls to Action

The placement and design of calls to action (CTAs) are crucial for driving conversions:

• Colour and Size: CTAs should be in a colour that stands out from the rest of the email design, and large enough to be easily noticed.

• Action-Oriented Text: Use action-oriented text that creates a sense of benefit or urgency, such as "Get your free trial now!" or "Join 20,000+ subscribers."

Salience Bias in Pricing Strategies

1) Anchor High-Value Options

Position a high-priced option next to cheaper alternatives. This creates a perception of enhanced value for the middle-priced option, which might appear more reasonable in comparison.
This is known as the "anchor" effect. The highest price sets the standard and makes the next best option seem more affordable.

2) Decoy Pricing

A decoy is used to make certain price points more attractive. Introduce a third, less attractive option that is similar but inferior to one of the other available choices. You can steer customers towards the more profitable option.
This target option will stand out as the better deal in comparison to the decoy. For example, you might price one subscription tier at a slightly higher rate than another, with only minimal additional benefits. This makes the cheaper option appear more valuable.

3) Visual Emphasis on Best Sellers

Highlight best sellers or most popular items using visual cues such as badges, different colours, or larger fonts. This draws attention to these products or services and utilizes social proof. Visually emphasizing these options helps them stand out and nudges customers towards these selections.

4) Time-Limited Offers

Create urgency through time-limited offers. This can make a deal appear more valuable. By using countdown timers or displaying a limited stock level, you tap into the customer’s fear of missing out (FOMO). These tactics make the offer more salient and pushes customers to make quicker decisions.

5) Clear Savings Display

When you offer discounts, clearly display the savings customers will gain by choosing the discounted option. Show the original price crossed out next to the discounted price, or indicate the percentage saved.

This tactic makes the savings more salient and influences the perceived value and effectiveness of the purchase.

6) Bundling Products

Bundling products together at a reduced combined price also uses salience bias. Make the bundle appear as a special deal and highlight how much is saved when items are purchased together rather than separately. Customers are more likely to see the bundle as a standout offer and are thus more inclined to choose it over purchasing items individually.

7) Easy Comparisons

Facilitate easy price comparison between different products or service tiers. Align them side by side with clearly marked benefits and prices.
This arrangement helps customers quickly discern which option offers the best value for their needs. The contrast between different offerings can make the preferred pricing strategy more salient.

Salience Bias in Product Development

1) Feature Highlighting and Differentiation

Highlight key features that differentiate a product from its competitors. This can make these features more salient to consumers. This involves:

• Visual Differentiation: Use distinctive design elements (color, shape, size) to make important features stand out visually.

• Functional Differentiation: Emphasize unique functionalities or benefits that are not offered by competitors.

2) Use of Prototypes and MVPs

Introduce Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) or prototypes early in the development process. Gather user feedback on the most salient features:

• Feedback Collection: Use prototypes to identify which features catch users’ attention and are perceived as most valuable.

• Iterative Design: Based on feedback, refine the product to enhance the visibility and effectiveness of key features. Make sure they align with user needs and preferences.

3) Strategic Product Descriptions

Craft product descriptions that not only inform but emphasize the unique selling points of your product:

• Emotional Appeal: Use language that evokes emotions or creates a vivid picture of the benefits. Make these elements more memorable and impactful.

• Highlight Benefits: Clearly articulate how the product can solve problems or improve the user’s life. Focus on the benefits that are most likely to capture attention and drive purchasing decisions.

4) Integrating User Feedback

Actively involve users in the development process to ensure the product features are aligned with their expectations and needs:

• User Testing: Regularly test the product with real users to understand how they interact with it and what stands out to them.

• Feedback Loops: Establish mechanisms to collect and analyze user feedback systematically. Use this information to make the product's key features more user-centric and salient.

5) Leveraging Marketing Insights

Use insights from marketing research to determine which features are most likely to be valued by your target market:

• Market Analysis: Conduct market research to understand trends, preferences, and behaviours that can influence product design.

• Competitive Analysis: Evaluate competitors’ products to identify features that are either underserved or overemphasized in the market. Adjust your product features to fill gaps or capitalize on new opportunities.

6) Cross-Functional Collaboration

Encourage collaboration between design, marketing, and engineering teams to ensure that salience is considered from multiple perspectives:

• Integrated Development Process: Facilitate regular meetings and workshops where cross-functional teams can brainstorm and evaluate the salience of different features.

• Unified Product Vision: Align all departments on the importance of making key features prominent and appealing. This ensures consistent messaging and presentation across all customer touchpoints.