A Little Dose of Marketing Immunity

The Coaching Chronicles is an inspirational newsletter/blog designed to stir, empower, and motivate you.

Are you a patsy for marketers? A mark for salespeople? A sucker for infomercials? Do you have trouble saying “no” to fund-raisers?

If you’re like me, you are. I admit it; I’m a sucker for marketing. I am mesmerized by T.V. commercials (especially ads during the Super Bowl), I buy gum in the grocery store checkout line and it’s hard for me to resist the words “limited time offer.” And I’m not alone.

Robert Cialdini, a master in the art of persuasion and the author of the book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, is also a self-described patsy. He writes, “For as long as I can recall, I’ve been an easy mark for the pitches of peddlers, fund-raisers, and operators of one sort or another.” Based on this tendency, Cialdini dedicated his life to studying “compliance” or what he refers to as “the factors that cause one person to say yes to another person.”

Over the course of three years, Cialdini’s studies led him to discover six psychological principles that direct human behavior. Successful marketers incorporate these six principles, which Cialdini refers to as “weapons of influence,” into their requests for purchases, donations, concessions, votes and assent.

In Influence, Cialdini examines the ability of each of these principles “to produce a distinct, kind of automatic, mindless compliance from people, that is, a willingness to say yes without thinking first.” It is therefore very important for you to better understand these principles so that you can give yourself immunity against these kinds of unthinking, unconscious tendencies.

I will provide you with a quick description of all six of these principles, and then I want you to take your awareness of these principles with you into the world. I do not offer these techniques to you lightly. After all, you could use these “weapons” against me, or against other unsuspecting “marks.” In the event that you were to use these techniques to increase your business or otherwise gain my compliance, I would like to think that you would not have dishonorable motives.

So, I’m trusting you to use this information for good, ok? As they say in Star Wars, “Resist the dark side, young Padawan,” and read on to discover a quick description of each of principle. If you want to learn more, I suggest you read Influence for yourself.

Summary of Cialdini’s Weapons of Influence (source: Wikipedia)

1. Reciprocation – People tend to return a favor. Thus, the pervasiveness of free samples in marketing. Just because a marketer gives you a free sample of something, don’t feel compelled to buy their product or send them a donation. Ignore your desire to return the favor. Just smile, say thank you and walk away.

2. Consistency – If people commit, orally or in writing, to an idea or goal, they are more likely to honor that commitment. Even if you tell a fundraiser you’re doing great over the phone, you can still refuse to send them a donation. Don’t be afraid to be inconsistent in your behavior.

3. Social Proof – People will do things that they see other people are doing. For example, in one experiment Cialidini examined, one or more confederates would look up into the sky; bystanders would then look up into the sky to see what they were seeing. At one point this experiment aborted, as so many people were looking up that they stopped traffic.

4. Liking – People are easily persuaded by other people that they like. Cialdini cites the marketing of Tupperware in what might now be called viral marketing. People were more likely to buy if they liked the person selling it to them.

5. Authority – People will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts. Cialdini cites incidents, such as the Milgram experiments in the early 1960s and the My Lai massacre.

6. Scarcity – Perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a "limited time only" encourages sales.

Cialdini writes, “The evidence suggests that the ever-accelerating pace and informational crush of modern life will make this particular form of compliance more and more prevalent in the future.” Because our lives have gotten so busy, because we are so distracted by the tremendous amount of information, we are particularly susceptible to falling prey to these techniques. Awareness is half the battle. I am urging you to immunize yourself today.

It is actually not in my self-interest to share these techniques with you. I am a marketer after all, and someday I may want to sell you something using one of these techniques. But if I were to ever sell you something, I would rather have you be aware of these techniques and make a conscious decision to buy something from me, rather than unconsciously drawing you in using a marketing technique.

Key Takeaway
I am sharing Cialdini’s “Weapons of Influence” with you for the following reasons: I don’t want people to take advantage of you. I want you to stop spending money on things you don’t want or need just because you were unthinkingly drawn in by a savvy marketer. I want to give you marketing immunity so that you will be able to say “yes” consciously. When you have an awareness of the tactics marketers use to gain your compliance, you will be able to recognize when someone is using a technique on you, and you will be less susceptible to buying things you don’t want or need.

Comments? Questions? Need help? Contact me at coachlisa.bosley@gmail.com.

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