"Neuro Web Design, What makes them click?" by Susan M. Weinschenk, Ph.D. is a look at how we behave on the internet and why. I found it to be really enlightening, with plenty of "aaahhhaaa!!" moments where I realised where the tactics she explains are used or have been used on me. In summary, the book seems to offer a set of guiding principles that anyone can employ on their web service, whether it is an e-commerce store, a service or a community.

She describes the brain as the old brain (the part that handles automatic functions, like breathing), the mid brain (the part that handles emotions, amongst other things) and the new brain (the conscious brain that connects our senses to the other parts of the brain).

I get the point that the whole thing is a lot more complex than can be conveyed in a book that takes 2 hours to read, but the simple lessons were great.

The take-aways for me were:

• Web sites need to "speak" to all three parts of brain to be effective'
• A call to action must be connected to information about how others have experienced the result. We are drawn to belong.
• Giving a gift triggers indebtedness and increases the likelihood that others will reciprocate
• Rejection then retreat is a sweet negotiating tactic. Make a bold offer, accept the "No way, Jose" answer then go in with the offer you really wanted
• Perceived scarcity drives desirability and motivates us to act
• Choice creates interest but too much choice stops people buying
• If you want someone to buy a product, put it first in the list
• Getting something instantly is a strong motivator to compel someone to act now
• Use "You" and "yours" in your web site copy a lot
• Build commitment in small steps. Get your customers to write (or type) something - it will multiply the commitment level
• Be consistent with your requests for commitment - we all want to (or think we want to) act consistently
• We buy from those that seem attractive or similar to us - so use images carefully
• Subtract options for your offer - do not add them - we are more likely to want to keep things than gain them
• Use stories and emotion to boost the ability of the customer to remember you
• Figure out a way to make your offer social. We are social animals and are persuaded by social validation.

While some of these are pretty obvious, I think the devil is in the detail. Many of these techniques work subtly together to create a much bigger effect and great web sites use them brilliantly. I could not help but think, "Bloody hell, thats what Amazon does!" over and over again. Clearly they read this research a long time ago - or were just clever enough to work it out for themselves.

Now my task is to look at our web service and find out how we can use these to greater effect. Perhaps you should too!