How to Make Psychology's Halo Effect Your Amazon Listing Ally

Your Amazon customer’s fingers clack across her keyboard. She presses enter, and her eyes rove the Amazon landing page. Something about your listing catches her attention, so she clicks and enters. Because of her human psychology, her perusal of your page is not without influences and biases. On her right shoulder sits the Halo Effect angel, a glowing figure that whispers good impressions in your customer’s ear. On her left shoulder sits the Horn Effect demon, a glowering figure who whispers bad impressions in your customer’s ear.

These psychological effects are ever present in your customer’s mind, invisible yet integral to decision-making. In the bloody battlefield of selling on Amazon, where brands compete for the #1 spot, you need psychology to work in your favor. You need to silence the Horn Effect Demon and let the Halo Effect angel sing. How do you achieve victory?

Discover how to optimize your Amazon listing to employ the Halo Effect over the Horn Effect and empower your Amazon conversion rate.

The Halo Effect and Horn Effect, Explained

So who is this angel on your customer’s right shoulder? The Halo Effect is a psychological theory stating that two things, actually unrelated, can and will color impressions of each other.  For example, if a person walks into a law firm and the receptionist is friendly, most people automatically assume that the entire firm must be welcoming and people-oriented. In the classroom, if a student is a star athlete, other students may naturally see this student as an academic leader and follow his or her example. Or if someone’s first meal at a restaurant is delicious, this person may leave the restaurant feeling he or she has found a new favorite eating place, even after tasting only a single dish.

As shown in these examples, the Halo Effect’s good graces make people like your Amazon customers feel seen and satisfied. Yet, beware—the angel has an evil twin, the demon on your customer’s left shoulder. The Horn Effect demon is, in essence, the exact opposite of your ally. Where the Halo Effect builds a single good impression into an assumption of overall quality, the Horn Effect takes a single bad impression and taints every other aspect with its foul stench. 

Let’s take a look at the above examples, but through the Horn Effect. If the person that walked into the law firm found the receptionist disengaged or cranky, this impression will make the rest of the firm seem similarly rude. The classroom’s poorest athlete may be pushed to the side or ignored by other students because of an assumption of overall incapability. Or if the first taste at a restaurant made a person gulp down his or her water to wash out the poor flavor or texture, that person may write the restaurant off as a “never again.”

The stark implications of these effects are scary, but we’re here to help you harness the Halo Effect angel and use its influence to your advantage. First, though, let’s take a look at what the Halo Effect can achieve, simply by making your listing’s first impression a positive one.

The Angel Of Amazon, Exemplified

The Halo Effect bolsters your Amazon conversion rate in multiple ways, relieving pressure because of carefully placed appeal. 

Firstly, the Halo Effect influences your brand’s across-the-board positive impression. If a customer likes one of your products, he or she is more likely to have a favorable impression of your entire brand and purchase from you again in the future. 

Secondly, the angel’s good graces makes customers more likely to ignore other customer’s negative comments or your own future stumbles. A customer may view these mishaps but not be influenced by them because the Halo Effect influenced him or her first.  

Lastly, the Halo Effect gives you room to breathe. To make slight mistakes. To get some cranky customer reviews. No brand is perfect, but the Halo Effect gives your brand a cushion of customer contentment and forgiveness

These are highly beneficial effects, but how do you attain them? Below are our tips for selling on Amazon and making the Halo Effect wrap your brand in its magnanimous light. 

Steps to Set the Halo Effect Angel Into Action in Your Amazon Listing:

1. Have High-Quality Photos and Copy

Since the Halo Effect builds off of first impressions, your product listings on Amazon need to exude clarity, informativeness, and attractiveness. Your listing’s photos and copy, from your title to your HTML description or EBC/A+ Content (or Premium A+ Content) can achieve these powerful descriptors.

Ensure your product and lifestyle photos are in focus and nicely lit. Since different sections of Amazon listings appear in different places according to what device a customer views them, write your entire listing’s copy with the same amount of care.

Aim for clarity and cleverness, without choppy keyword stuffing, keyword inaccuracies, or distracting grammatical errors. If you’re not certain your listing’s photos and copy are living up to their full potential, we’d be happy to take a look! 

2. Incorporate One Clear Call to Action

Online shoppers love ease and appreciate when you make their buying choices simple. Including one, clearly expressed and bolded call to action pleases customers by showing them to whom they should listen and what they should do. The answers your call to action can supply? Listen to the Halo Effect angel and add to cart!

3. Maintain Exemplary Customer Service

Many times, the Halo Effect angel gathers good impressions through human interactions. Since the e-commerce sphere lacks this face-to-face component, your Amazon brand must make up for this deficiency with friendly virtual interactions.

One way you may accomplish this is through responding to customer questions and concerns in the comments. Customers, when scanning your listing, will see your brand name peppered pleasingly through the question and answer section, and gain a positive impression of your brand because of its personal investment. If you’re not certain how to answer customer questions or what Amazon’s rules are on the matter, check out this helpful Amazon seller forum answer.

Another way to tap into the Halo Effect through customer service is by adding your own warranty or guarantee. The benefits of this addition are powerful and worth exploring. Just be sure that you're ready to stand behind whatever you offer!

Confused? Let Us Help!

Whether you seek a battle plan or a friendly hand, Marketing by Emma is here to help turn your products into Amazon best sellers. Feel free to contact us if you have questions about the Halo Effect, Amazon listing optimization best practices, and more. 

Discover the Amazon optimization service options that have introduced over 700 businesses to the Halo Effect angel!