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Why Every Marketer Should Read 'Influence: The Psychology Of Persuasion'

This article is more than 7 years old.

There are many principles behind marketing that are very separate from the field of marketing. Marketing science is an exact field, which relies heavily on actual scientific fields in order to succeed. While marketing science uses a lot of research and complies data to understand that research, marketing also depends heavily upon psychology. Those studying marketing would be wise to also give the broader field of psychology some attention. It is thought that to understand perfectly what the customer needs, you must first analyze what those needs are, and be able to predict those needs.

Understanding The Principles Within The Psychology Of Persuasion

While it's imperative that you actually read and study the book itself, sometimes it's helpful to gain understanding by also reading what others have taken from the book, and how it helps them become better marketers and run a successful business. The Psychology of Persuasion was written by Robert Cialdini, a world-renowned psychologist who has previously worked at many universities, including Stanford. His principles have stood well the test of time, and this book has topped the New York Times Bestseller List.

Reciprocity

One on the main principles that Dr. Cialdini touches on is that of reciprocity. While this principle does not always directly apply to business and bartering (why would you feel indebted to someone that you only do business with, for example?), its underlying themes can provide a lot to marketers.

The foundation of the book is simple – if someone does go out of their way for you, you are more likely to do so in return. Now, let's think of this from a business standpoint. Let's say you are a business that offers terrific incentives, programs, or sales. You also offer great customer service (a very liberal return policy, for example). What you get in return as reciprocity is customer loyalty, as well as word of mouth. Building a customer base is one of the most important parts of marketing, and in this instance, sometimes you have to give a little to get some in return. However, having a customer for life, who speaks well of you to their friends, is worth the price of a liberal return policy, or whatever method you choose.

Priming

There is an old psychological test of word matching, where one person says the word that immediately comes to mind after another person says a word. For example, if one person says black, the other person would say white. This correlation is also known as priming. This is one of those functions that works well in both a psychological and marketing arena. The reason is simple – you want to build your brand, and if you can get customers to correlate words associated with your brand, you have done a good job of priming. Who doesn't associate the color green with Mountain Dew, or a swoosh symbol with Nike?

Social Proof

Social proof is another area explored in the book that relates closely with reciprocity. The theory stands that a group of people will trust the opinion of a group of people that they trust. If a trusted mommy blog advocates a certain brand of diapers, most likely these diapers will sell. This goes along with building positive word of mouth.

Scarcity

Another theory mentioned in the book deals with scarcity. If you give the illusion that a product is scarce, people are often urged to jump on it while they have the chance. Who hasn't looked at a product on Amazon when there is only one item left in stock, and immediately bought it, thinking they didn't have time to contemplate the purchase decision? This illusion of scarcity gets people to buy. However, ensure that you are selling a quality product, otherwise, this tactic will only work once.

Decoy Effect

One of the tougher theories, it stands to reason that you can offer customers a "useless" option and they will take it. For example, "combo" meals at fast food restaurants really don't save money, but the combo option looks better, so that's what most people order. This can be a tough tactic to master, but worthwhile.

Final Word

For a deeper understanding of how these psychological tactics can work to help you in your business, the book must be read and studied thoroughly. However, the need for psychology in marketing is clear. Using this popular best seller as a textbook or study guide is a terrific idea for the marketer just starting out, or the pro that needs to upgrade their tactics.