The Psychology of Persuasion
By Anthony Schneider
Weapons of Influence:
In his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert Cialdini describes what he calls "weapons of influence" —the factors that persuade.
We think Cialdini's influence factors are relevant to all marketers, especially marketers seeking to build referral marketing networks or grow word-of-mouth programs. Cialdini describes six factors:
1. Reciprocity:
People tend to return a favor. Everyone feels the obligation to reciprocate when they are given something for free.
2. Consistency:
We tend to stick to decisions, ideas and goals. Once we have made a decision and that decision is validated by public affirmation, we rarely change our opinion.
3. Social Validation:
We often make a decision to purchase something if others validate our choice. Or, put differently, we're all copycats to a certain extent. In one experiment Cialdini cites, one or more people would look up into the sky; bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. (At least once, the experiment had to be stopped because so many people were looking up that they stopped traffic.)
4. Linking:
We are persuaded by people we like. We tend to say yes to people we know, like and trust, especially if they cooperate with us.
5. Authority:
People listen to authority figures because they think authorities know more than they do about certain things.
6. Scarcity:
Perceived scarcity generates demand. People frequently assign a higher value to scarce items and limited-time offers.
You don't need all six factors to persuade, but the more weapons of influence you wield, the better your chances of building referrals.
