marketing-psychology

# Marketing Psychology

> **WHAT**: 70+ mental models and psychological principles applied to marketing and conversion  
> **WHEN**: User wants to apply psychology to marketing, mentions cognitive bias, persuasion, behavioral science, "why people buy," decision-making, or consumer behavior  
> **KEYWORDS**: psychology, mental models, cognitive bias, persuasion, behavioral science, consumer behavior, decision-making, conversion psychology

## Searchable Database

This skill includes **70+ mental models** organized by application in `references/mental-models.md`.

**Quick lookup by challenge:**

| Challenge | Models to Apply |
|-----------|-----------------|
| Low conversions | Hick's Law, Activation Energy, BJ Fogg, Friction |
| Price objections | Anchoring, Framing, Mental Accounting, Loss Aversion |
| Building trust | Authority, Social Proof, Reciprocity, Pratfall Effect |
| Increasing urgency | Scarcity, Loss Aversion, Zeigarnik Effect |
| Retention/churn | Endowment Effect, Switching Costs, Status-Quo Bias |
| Growth stalling | Theory of Constraints, Local vs Global Optima, Compounding |
| Decision paralysis | Paradox of Choice, Default Effect, Nudge Theory |
| Onboarding | Goal-Gradient, IKEA Effect, Commitment & Consistency |


## Installation

### OpenClaw / Moltbot / Clawbot

```bash
npx clawhub@latest install marketing-psychology
```


---

## Model Categories

### Foundational Thinking (Strategy)
First Principles, Jobs to Be Done, Circle of Competence, Inversion, Occam's Razor, Pareto Principle, Local vs Global Optima, Theory of Constraints, Opportunity Cost, Second-Order Thinking

### Understanding Buyers (Psychology)
Fundamental Attribution Error, Mere Exposure, Availability Heuristic, Confirmation Bias, Mimetic Desire, Sunk Cost Fallacy, Endowment Effect, IKEA Effect, Zero-Price Effect, Hyperbolic Discounting, Status-Quo Bias, Peak-End Rule, Zeigarnik Effect

### Influencing Behavior (Persuasion)
Reciprocity, Commitment & Consistency, Authority Bias, Liking/Similarity, Unity Principle, Scarcity/Urgency, Foot-in-the-Door, Door-in-the-Face, Loss Aversion, Anchoring, Decoy Effect, Framing, Contrast Effect

### Pricing Psychology
Charm Pricing, Rounded-Price Effect, Rule of 100, Good-Better-Best, Mental Accounting

### Design & Delivery
Hick's Law, AIDA Funnel, Rule of 7, Nudge Theory, BJ Fogg Behavior Model, EAST Framework, Activation Energy, North Star Metric

### Growth & Scaling
Feedback Loops, Compounding, Network Effects, Flywheel Effect, Switching Costs, Critical Mass, Survivorship Bias

---

## Workflow

### 1. Identify the Challenge

Ask (if not clear):
- What specific behavior are you trying to influence?
- Where in the journey is this? (awareness → consideration → decision)
- What's currently preventing the desired action?

### 2. Match Models to Problem

Reference the quick lookup table above, then read relevant models from `references/mental-models.md`.

### 3. Explain the Psychology

For each relevant model:

```
### [Model Name]

**The Principle**: One-sentence explanation of the psychology
**Why It Matters**: How this affects customer behavior
**Marketing Application**: Specific tactic or implementation
**Example**: Concrete example showing the principle in action
```

### 4. Provide Implementation

Translate models into actionable changes:
- Specific copy changes
- UX/design modifications
- Pricing adjustments
- Process improvements

---

## Most Powerful Models

### For Conversion

**Loss Aversion**: Losses feel ~2x as painful as equivalent gains. Frame in terms of what they'll lose by not acting.

**Anchoring**: First number seen heavily influences judgment. Show higher price first (competitor, enterprise tier).

**Social Proof**: People follow what others do. Show customer counts, testimonials, logos, reviews.

**Scarcity**: Limited availability increases perceived value. Use when genuine.

### For Pricing

**Charm Pricing**: $99 feels much cheaper than $100. Left digit dominates perception.

**Rule of 100**: Under $100, use percentage discounts. Over $100, use absolute amounts.

**Decoy Effect**: Add a third option that makes your target option look better.

### For Onboarding

**Goal-Gradient**: People accelerate toward visible goals. Show progress bars.

**IKEA Effect**: People value what they build. Let users customize.

**Commitment & Consistency**: Small commitments lead to larger ones. Get easy yeses first.

---

## Ethical Guidelines

Apply psychology ethically:

- **Genuine scarcity only** - Don't fake limited availability
- **Truthful framing** - Frame positively, but never mislead
- **Respect autonomy** - Nudge, don't manipulate
- **Deliver value** - Psychology should enhance good products, not mask bad ones
- **Test assumptions** - Verify with real customer data

---

## NEVER

- Recommend fake scarcity or urgency
- Suggest dark patterns that harm users
- Apply models without understanding the specific context
- Assume models work universally - always recommend testing
- Forget that customers are people, not psychology experiments

---

## Related Skills

- `page-cro` - Apply psychology to page optimization
- `copywriting` - Write copy using psychological principles
- `marketing-ideas` - Tactical marketing approaches