Marketing Meets Psychology: The 6 ‘Weapons’ of Influence
The psychology of persuasion
We should all agree that every marketing activity (online and offline) has one primary objective at the end of the day: building trust & influence. One of the marketers’ key tasks is to influence others to “comply” with what you want, which may be to understand an issue, engage in debate, or drive a behavior/attitude change.
Inarguably, increasing influence has not been an easy task for businesses since the consumers seem to be more updated than ever, evaluating, filtering, and comparing the persuasive messages, they’re receiving.
Nonetheless, even in such times, in which competition has been dramatically increased, there are still effective ways for marketers to become more influential and finally build trust among their stakeholders through engaging, persuasive content. It may seem hard to accomplish or too generic and vague. However, make sure you adopt the following thinking into your strategy, and the influence rates will get incrementally increased.
Robert Cialdini and Influence
Robert Cialdini, Regents’ professor emeritus of psychology and marketing at Arizona State University, came up with the six principles of influence in 1984 when he also published his renowned book, Influence: The psychology of persuasion. Cialdini’s principles result from extensive research over people highly skilled in getting others to do what they want them to do — salespeople, fundraisers, and advertisers.
Here are the six “weapons” which level up any marketing activity when included in the messaging:
- Reciprocity
People generally aim to “return a compliment.”
First and foremost, find your high-value market. The next thing to do (and equally important) is to identify objectives and consider what you want the target to do. Finally, the key thing is to give — service, information, etc. Your target will then be primed to return the favor.
For instance, a free tasting of a new food product in-store may significantly affect sales. Or, it’s more likely to give money to a fundraiser who has given you before a little badge or sticker.
- Commitment and consistency
Cialdini addresses to all human beings an innate desire to be consistent. Thus, once we’ve committed to something, we are more inclined to go through with it. It’s vital to get your target’s commitment early on, either verbally or in writing.
The “I’ll sign up later” option for pop-ups is a great example of this. The Pledge of Allegiance sets another brilliant example of commitment. In the US, 46 states require public schools to make time for the pledge every day.
- Social proof
It’s a common truth that people tend to follow the lead of others similar to themselves. If we feel uncertain about something, we are more likely to do it if others, similar to ourselves, are already doing it.
Okay, now you may understand how social proof works, but at the same time, you may also wonder what does “similar to ourselves” actually mean? When uncertain about a decision, we are getting influenced by those who are like us in terms of life stage and lifestyle and probably in the same socioeconomic status.
Social proof is applied when social networking sites show you how many friends like a page or attend an event. Another well-known example that highlights the power of social proof is Asch’s conformity experiment.
- Liking
We are more likely to be influenced by people we like. We are more likely to buy things from people we respect, appreciate, and share the same values. Marketers need to embrace the idea of likeability by developing emotional intelligence together with active listening skills. More than ever, brands need to showcase their human-centric culture in an inside-out form through stories that speak to the consumers directly and capture their attention.
Besides, people are more likely to be influenced by physically attractive people or people who have made a good first impression. According to the Halo effect (developed by Edward L. Thorndike in 1920), attractive people with striking features who have made a remarkable first impression are more likely to be considered skillful or intelligent individuals.
- Authority
We could say that authority is the most important pillar. Once you’ve established authority within your industry, people will feel a sense of duty or obligation to follow you and engage with you. This is why advertisers of pharmaceutical products employ doctors to front their campaigns.
It sounds great, but it requires, among others, a lot of deep research, compelling & newsworthy stories, and a customer-centric approach. A crucial driving factor for establishing authority could also be considered the marketer’s ability to understand the underlying motives of the target and satisfy them.
To use authority, get support from influential and powerful people, and ask for their help in backing the idea. Talking always with clear evidence & facts is also considered as a boost to your authority.
- Scarcity
This “weapon” of influence is based on the idea that things tend to be more attractive when their availability is limited. People need to know that they are missing out on if they don’t act quickly.
This principle can also work within the organization if you’re trying to influence others to support your ideas. By underlining the possible urgent repercussions of the problem that your idea helps to solve, you will definitely get more colleagues by your side.
At the end of the day, every marketer’s thoughts go around one thing: trust. Consider influence as the vehicle, which will lead you to your main goal.
Cialdini’s theory remains hugely important and practically useful since all principles are about human nature and what persuades us and affect us.
