This document discusses principles of persuasion and customer engagement. It summarizes that credibility, motivation, and timing are key to persuasion. It describes techniques like storytelling, social proof, reciprocity, and using memory to engage customers. Overall, the document outlines psychological factors that influence decisions and ways to change attitudes or behaviors through an understanding of human motivation and decision-making.

1. Logan Tod
Wednesday 2 April 2008
Persuasion
Stone Roses, child nursery,
The Economist & bread makers,
Richard Sedley, cScape Customer Engagement Director
Key words:
marketing, persuasion, motivation, conversion
customer engagement, credibility, logan tod, cscape

3. A few things learnt…
• Credibility
• Influence
• Timing

4. A few things bouncing…
• The power of storytelling
• Semantic vs. episodic memory
• The role of relativity

6. The conversion triangle
Utility
Usability Persuasion

7. What is persuasion?
The goal of persuasion
is to change someone’s
attitudes or behaviour.
Make them comply with a request
using an understanding of human psychology.

9. How we make our decisions
Elaboration Likelihood Model
• High elaboration (central route)
Requires great deal of thought to make a
decision
• Low elaboration (peripheral route)
Requires little thought, reliant on decisional
heuristics
Petty & Cacioppo, 1981

10. The need for
decisional heuristics
500 milliseconds to 4 seconds to
determine credibility determine usefulness

11. • Credibility
• Motivation
• Timing

12. Four types of 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

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

14. • Credibility
• Influence
• Timing

15. Principles of influence
• Reciprocity
• Commitment and consistency
• Social proof
• Affinity (Liking)
• Authority
• Scarcity
Robert Cialdini, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, 1984

16. Incentives and reciprocity
A B
Sign-up Report
Report Sign-up
Conversion rate = 84% Conversion rate = 72%
44% 91%
completion accuracy completion accuracy
Embedded Persuasive Strategies to Obtain Visitors’ Data. Gamberini, Petrucci, Spoto, Spagnolli

17. Social proof (consensus)
Experiment: Milgrim, Bikman and Birkowitz

20. Good testimonials...
• are focused – talk about specific benefits or
personal situations
• overcome objections – target conversion
barriers
• are contextual – position where customer might
ask questions and need reassurance
• are plentiful – build a wall of testimonials
• are credible – lead with skeptics and problems
Why testimonials do (and don’t) work: Holly Buchanan, Future Now
Sean DeSouza: Pyschotactics
Marketing Experiments: Optimizing site design

22. • Credibility
• Motivation
• Timing

26. 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

27. • The power of storytelling
• Semantic vs. episodic memory
• The role of relativity

28. Copyright: Steve Double - www.double-whammy.com

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

30. Elements of a good story
• PASSION to make your customers care
• a HERO to drive the action
• an ANTAGONIST to challenge the hero
• a moment of AWARENESS where the hero
realises how to overcome his or her obstacles
• TRANSFORMATION wherein the hero
accomplishes his or her desired goals
The Elements of Persuasion: Use Storytelling to Pitch Better, Sell Faster
& Win More Business by Maxwell and Dickman

31. • The power of storytelling
• Semantic vs. episodic memory
• The role of relativity

32. The role of memory
in the customer odyssey
individua The mem
l features ory of ep
or the un hemeral
ique part details,
iculars of
an exper
ience.
The me
m
gist, the ory of meani
genera ng. Me
l signifi m
cance o ory that prese
f remem rv
bered e es only the
xperien
ces.

33. • The power of storytelling
• Semantic vs. episodic memory
• The role of relativity

34. 68%
32%

35. 16%
0%
84%

41. Thanks for listening
• Richard Sedley: r.sedley@cscape.com
• cScape newsletter: www.cscape.com
• Blog: loopstatic.com
• Ideas: richard-sedley.tumblr.com
• Snips: sedley.tumblr.com
• Twitter: twitter.com/richardsedley
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/richardsedley
• Facebook: profile.to/richard