Can you see yourself doing this?

We make decisions by imagining the outcome of those decisions, and then we confuse the vividness of the picture we create in our minds for desire. Just creating the image of the product being used in your customers mind, (‘imagine yourself doing this’), increases their likelihood to buy (Gregory, Cialdini and Carpenter, Journal of personality and social psychology, 1982). 

So on your website, don’t simply show your product in its packaging, however delightful that packaging is. Show images of your target audience using your product in context; for example, if it’s a cocktail drink, show it at a party. 

In doing so, you increase the availability of the image in your customers’ minds of them doing that same thing, and ultimately, increase sales. Try this thought experiment:

1. A photo of the cocktail in a can, on a white background
2. A photo of the cocktail poured into a beautiful cocktail glass with a garnish, and the can next to it on a white background
3. A photo of the cocktail poured into a beautiful cocktail glass, with a garnish, and the can next to it on a white background
4. A photo of the cocktail poured into a beautiful cocktail glass, with a garnish, and the can next to it with a glamorous party going on in the background, and someone drinking from another glass of the same drink?

If we can show the ‘end state’ of our product—in this case our cocktail party—our customers can then more easily imagine themselves at a party drinking our wonderful cocktail with their equally glamorous friends, and as that image feels pleasurable and positive they will then be more likely to buy our product (even if the reality is that they’ll drink it whilst watching a film on the sofa). 

Increase conversions by helping your customer imagine themselves using the product.

Your conversion rate will go up, and you’ll sell more