The role of Persuasion in
Customer Engagement
Richard Sedley
Director
cScape Customer Engagement Unit

Overview
• Customer Engagement: why now?
• The role of Persuasion
• 10 tips for online Persuasion

The importance of
customer engagement
“Customer engagement is probably
the most important activity
any organisation will undertake
in the next 3 years.”

a
Q
a
Q

Green Red Blue

Blogs Wikis Emails PPC Ajax
Psycho- Customer
Mobile RIA graphic Podcasting managed
profiling relations
Social Behavioural Contextual Video
RSS
networks targeting targeting casting

What’s the significance
of CE?

How can you
differentiate yourself?
The science and practice of
persuasion

What is persuasion?
The goal of persuasion is to
change someone’s attitudes
or behaviour.

Why persuasion?
Persuasion is the grease
between acquisition,
conversion and retention

Four corners of persuasion
• Credibility
• Principles of motivation
• Persuasion Windows
• Persuasion as a dialogue

Credibility
• Presumed = General assumptions in the
mind of the perceiver
• Surface Simple inspection or initial first
=
hand experience
• Reputed Third party endorsements,
=
reports or referrals
• Earned First hand experience that
=
extends over time
Stanford University, Persuasive Technology Lab, 2003

The power of credibility
B
A
Marketing Experiments Journal, Feb 2007
Conversion rate = 3.03%
Conversion rate = 2.69%
% change = 12.64%
Projected monthly gain = $30,582.30

Principles of motivation
• Reciprocity
• Commitment and consistency
• Consensus
• Affinity (Liking)
• Authority
• Scarcity
Robert Cialdini, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, 1984

Persuasion windows
• When you are in a good mood
• When your world view no longer makes sense
• When you can take action immediately
• When you feel indebted because of a favour
• Immediately after you have made a mistake
• Immediately after you have denied a request
Stanford University, Persuasive Technology Lab, 2003

Web2.0: Persuasion as a dialogue
To influence a
person to change their
attitude or behaviour The process of persuasion
changes the persuader

Ten tips for
online Persuasion

Are your headlines failing?
1. Engage you audience
7% click through
2. Do you want to engage your audience?
11% click through
3. Are you failing to engage your best
customers?
14% click through

Do you have social proof?
“I think you’re great”
“I think you’re great”
“I think you’re great”
“I think you’re great”
“I think you’re great”
“I think you’re great”
“I think you’re great”
“I think you’re great”

Make them feel proud
The first,
the last,
the best
and the rarest?

Exploit a thank you?

Set their alarm clock
Provide reasons
to return (regularly)

Use your authority
Show off
your status

The power of the portrait

More than just buttons
Make sure you
save your changes

Loss is more powerful
than gain

Avoid trade-offs
• At a Persuasion Window:
• Choice = good
• Trade-offs = bad

Thanks
Richard Sedley
r.sedley@cscape.com
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