Robert Cialdini’s 6 Laws of Influence
In 1984, Robert Cialdini published his book, Influence: the Psychology of Persuasion, identifying specific factors that contribute to people’s purchasing decisions. His six key principles: Reciprocity, Scarcity, Authority, Commitment and Consistency, Liking, and Consensus continue, to this day, to be concepts that marketers apply to strategies that are designed to persuade consumers to purchase products or services. Having read this book previously and implemented some of his laws in my own life, I will attempt to break down each one in laymen’s terms.
Reciprocity has to do with the equitable exchange of favors, which is most often implied rather than directly expressed, and forms the basis of most networking endeavors. Scarcity simply states that when people perceive that a product is difficult to obtain, they tend to want it more. Generally speaking, people tend to trust others who project authority, especially those seen as experts, and will follow their examples when it comes to making purchases. Commitment and consistency is a principle that refers to the fact that people are more likely to follow through on agreements once they have committed to them, even in an indirect manner. The concept of liking is as basic as it sounds; people are overwhelmingly more apt to be influenced by those they like, which is why word-of-mouth endorsements work so effectively. And finally, consensus, or social proof, speaks to the tendency people have to conform to social norms, which encourages consumers to engage in purchasing practices when they see others doing the same.
According to blogger Samuel Hum, “These principles are powerful because they bypass our rational minds, appealing to our subconscious instincts. They elicit what Dr. Cialdini terms the ‘click, whirr’ automatic response in all of us.” He goes on to caution, “All marketing efforts…will only work when they’re supporting a product that brings true value to customers.” (ReferralCandy.com)
Implementing Persuasion Principles
In the summer of 2012, David Fallarme decided to perform a case study with his marketing team, using Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Persuasion to implement a Facebook campaign. (GrowthHero.com) His goal was to receive one million Facebook likes for the Electronic Arts game, SimCity Social. As straightforward as it may sound, most posts only get this many likes if they go viral, which is a rare occurrence, considering the amount of content regularly shared on Facebook. He allowed 45 days to garner the likes, as well as to get his team, and the entire EA company, on board.
Applying the Principles of Persuasion, he used an endorsement from the VP of the company for support as an authority figure, which eliminated some of the resistance from outside teams. Since a number of people on his team had relationships with others in the company, the goodwill that had already been established helped him to spread the word, making use of the reciprocity factor. Fallarme then held people to their commitment to his plan, publicly celebrating their support of the company, thus aligning with the principle of consistency. By researching the other teams within EA, he was able to match their communication styles when requesting support. He managed to make his team stand out, ensuring that his presentations were visually attractive. This created a memorable and likable response from the rest of the company who were asked to assist in his endeavor. Using the scarcity tactic, Fallarme made sure to use closed-ended communication, and to focus on obtaining the likes right away. He offered limited-time promotions, including commitments to return favors by assisting in future projects of other departments. Finally, he employed the method of social proof to drop names of people who were influential within the company. The more people he reached, the more endorsements he received; the more endorsements he received, the more assistance he got in reaching his goal.
As the 45-day time limit approached, he came very close to receiving the one million likes. In the end, however, it took an additional two weeks to reach that number. Fallarme concluded that if he had implemented Cialdini’s Principles of Persuasion sooner, rather than slowly “funneling people into the game to verify that it was stable,” his goal would have been reached by the initial deadline. This case study demonstrates that the art of influence works, and that by implementing the 6 Principles of Persuasion into a marketing strategy, one can effectively reach any goal, no matter how lofty it may at first appear.
Why Does Persuasion Matter?
The ability to persuade potential consumers cannot be overestimated. Since it can be said to be the primary objective of any promotional campaign, the ultimate success of marketing professionals is determined in large part by their persuasive skills. And these skills must be honed and developed in subtle ways. No one responds positively to sales pressuring or to being told what to do. Successful marketers are those who have figured out ways to affect and alter people’s mindsets in order to better direct their decision-making. This often entails the ability to directly influence people’s attitudes, without them even being aware that it is happening. Such strategies can be deemed effective only when consumers truly feel that they are acting on their own volition.
The whole idea of persuasion in marketing has serious ethical considerations attached to it that need to be addressed. The following graph displays the amount of email phishing elements that use the laws of persuasion in their marketing campaigns. (Authority-AUTH; Social Proof-SP; Liking, Similarity and Deception-LSC; Commitment, Reciprocity and Consistency-CRC). This illustrates how these principles of persuasion can be used not only for good, but with negative intentions as well.
The World of Work Project podcast has observed, “Ultimately, like all skills of this nature, persuasion and influence are simply tools to get others to do things that you want them to do. This power can be used for good, to genuinely help others achieve outcomes that are in their own best interest. It can also be used to take advantage of others.” (WorldOfWork.io)
About the Author:
Otis Kopp
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