How the Psychology of Liking Can Increase Sales
Understanding the principle of liking and knowing how to use it in your marketing and on your website can give you an unfair advantage over the competition.
Liking Principle
We are more likely to be persuaded by people we like and those we want to be like. The more you like someone the more inclined you are to say yes to them. This is the principle of liking.
Here’s everything you need to know about the principle of liking, plus all other important principles and theories that can supercharge your marketing and influence people to buy your products or services.
What is the principle of liking?
We like people who are similar to us, who pay us compliments, and who cooperate with us towards mutual goals. This is the psychological principle of liking.
We trust those who are like us
Who is your client, and how can they relate to you? Remove any walls that divide you, in order to improve their trust.
Consider Apple stores. It is no coincidence that this high-end, high-tech store is staffed with reps in jeans and a t-shirt instead of traditional suits and ties. This strategy says: I am like you. I am casual and approachable. My products are for you.
Research shows that successful reps are 10x more likely to use collaborative words like 'us,' 'we,' and 'our'. Why? Because people are drawn to a sense of belonging. Prove to your client that you are 'one of them' too, and you will gain their trust (and their business).
A strong 'About Us' page shows people you are like them
Create a powerful 'About Us page'. One way to achieve this on your business website is through your 'About' page. This is an excellent way to put a face on your business. Psychologically speaking, when we put a face to a name that person becomes more real, more likable. Clients are much more likely to say yes to someone they 'see'.
Let your clients 'meet' you and your team. Doing so brings a human aspect to the relationship — you are no longer connected by price tags and characters on a screen but by images and personal information.
Putting a face on customer support puts people at ease
Put a face on customer support. Reaching out to a company for support can be intimidating and infuriating at times. According to research by the Temkin Group, after having a positive experience with a company, 77% of customers would recommend it to a friend. So, consider putting a face to a name, some personal information on that name, and approachable language that assuages a client’s apprehension of reaching out.
Remember that your company’s brand identity includes everything visual about your company. Your support team is on the front lines of communicating with customers and prospects. Be sure you’ve done everything you can to help the customer relate to your team.
Complimenting and flattering customers and prospects creates loyalty
Compliment people. Flattery will get you everywhere. It is not surprising that we like people who like us. Especially if those people go out of their way to compliment us. This timeless idiom has some weight behind it. Personally, flattery can be heart-warming. Professionally it has the opportunity to turn into solid gold.
Flattery has many benefits. It can improve the mood of a person because compliments make us feel better. Complimenting clients and prospects, when done genuinely, can affect their willingness to buy a product, follow you on social media, or sign up for your e-mail list.
Flattery can also improve confidence. When customers feel confident, they’re more likely to follow through with purchases. When you time your flattery right, you can instill enough confidence in a client to follow through with their purchase. This can help a business struggling to convert visitors to customers, despite a large number of visitors to their site.
Finally, flattery creates persuasion by identity. Many clients exercise brand loyalty regularly, and consider it a marker of identity. Flattering a customer can further develop this loyalty, making the client more likely to be persuaded.
Can marketing psychology help create stronger brands?
Yes. Building a strong brand identity involves a combination of research, understanding, and important branding elements. These brand identity building blocks include typography, color palette, forms and shapes, and composition. Many principles of marketing psychology influence the choices you should make when building your brand identity.
Read our comprehensive Brand Identity guide 
What are the core principles of marketing psychology?
There are many important principles, theories, and concepts used in marketing psychology. These include:
- the principle of reciprocity
- information-gap theory
- scarcity
- social proof theory
- and loss aversion marketing
You can research each of these principles, plus dozens of other key principles of marketing psychology, via the links below.
Marketing Psychology Principles and Theories
- Action Paralysis Principle
- Anchoring Effect Principle
- Calls to Action
- Color Psychology
- Commitment and Consistency Principle
- Decoy Effect
- Emotional Marketing
Need a custom business name or logo?
Tell us what you need
Choose from 30+ categories, complete a project brief, and pick a package that fits your budget.
Creatives submit designs
Collaborate with dozens of creatives, give feedback and score, and get revised custom designs.
Choose your favorite
Work with the winner to finalize your favorite design and get print/web-ready files and full IP rights.
Not into crowds?
Pick a creative and work 1-on-1
Frequently Asked Questions About Marketing Psychology
by JCarlos
Loved by over 60,000 businesses and agencies around the world
crowdspring is rated 4.9/5 from 3,260 customer reviews.
"I had over 100 entries that were creative, unique, and specific to my design ideas. I would absolutely recommend crowdspring to any professional who doesn't have an in-office creative team."
"This was my first time using crowdspring and it was a fantastic experience."
"I felt I was leaping into the unknown, since there are a few crowd-sourcing options out there, but I was pleasantly surprised by the engagement of the creative community and the quality of the designs. The crowdspring experience was very positive, and I would certainly use the service again."
"Crowdspring's army of creatives generated thousands of ideas for naming our company. Now, Zello is the most popular walkie-talkie app with more than 100 million registered users."
"I've had great success with crowdspring, using the website to both redesign an existing website and to create a website from scratch. Both projects produced a large number of high quality design options."
"This is our second time using crowdspring and would use it again and will continue to recommend it to people."
"I love everything about crowdspring. The network of creatives is vast and provides great diversity in the results."
"I started with a small budget and some boring content, and within a short time, I had some amazing designs to choose from. The hardest part was choosing one."
Popular Articles About Marketing Psychology
Marketing
Use Reciprocity to Grow Your Business
Reciprocity is a powerful psychological principle that can help you to grow your business faster.
Marketing
Level The Playing Field With Scarcity Marketing
Here’s how you can level the playing field and get an advantage for your business, using scarcity marketing techniques.
Marketing
How Commitment and Consistency Can Increase Sales
The best way to earn the loyalty of customers and prospects is to make them commit to something.
Marketingy
Scientifically Proven Ways to Increase Sales
What makes emotional marketing powerful and how you can use emotional marketing to increase sales.
Marketing
10 Loss Aversion Marketing Tactics
Here’s what you need to know about loss aversion and 10 proven loss aversion marketing tactics that can help amplify your marketing efforts.
Marketing
How the Anchoring Affect Can Grow Your Business
The anchoring effect can work for you or against you. It’s one of the most important effects in cognitive psychology.
Brand Identity
The Psychology of Logo Design
How fonts, shapes, lines, colors, and composition can affect how a logo can influence purchasing decisions.
Design
How Psychology Influences Great Product Design
By understanding the emotions, human behaviors, and people’s motivations, you can significantly impact the success of the products you design and sell.
Marketing
Neuroscience Marketing Secrets
Neuroscience can help you to make better marketing decisions and can help you to improve your marketing strategy.
Design
How Psychology Influences Great Packaging Design
Knowing how to get people to respond favorably to your packaging design will help you sell more products.
Marketing
Fundamentals of Marketing Psychology
7 fundamentals of marketing psychology that you can implement today to help your business succeed.
Real people, real support.
A team you can rely on.
Our award-winning dedicated customer support team has a 99% satisfaction rating, and can help by phone, mail and chat.
Questions? Just ask.
Need help deciding?
We're happy only when you are.
Our support team is always ready to help you with a free, no obligation design consultation.
by lolalovesyou