Your power to persuade can be significantly increased using Dr. Robert Cialdini’s 6 principles of influence in all your marketing campaigns.
Dr. Cialdini spent many years in the field as a salesperson in numerous industries, allowing him to figure out what key elements resulted in higher levels of sales. The following are the 6 principles that he came up with, and have since become world-famous in the marketing community.
Dr. Robert Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Influence
- Reciprocity – People are wired to return favors, hence free offers in marketing
- Commitment and Consistency – If you can get people to raise their hand or take a small action toward something, they will be more likely to follow through.
- Social Proof – People tend to follow the herd and people that others are following.
- Liking – People buy more from those that they know, like, and trust.
- Authority – History has proven that people follow authorities. Sadly, sometimes even when they are violent dictators. That is how ingrained this principle is into human beings’ psyches.
- Scarcity – People are often afraid to miss out on a good deal.
Dr. Cialdini on Authority
Abraham’s willingness to plunge a dagger through the heart of his young son because God, without any explanation, ordered it. We learn in this story that the correctness of an action was not judged by such considerations as apparent senselessness, harmfulness, injustice, or usual moral standards, but by the mere command of a higher authority.”
Using the psychology of persuasion on your website
We suggest that these principles are used in every marketing campaign. Whether it be a brochure, a television ad or a landing page, it is best to utilize all of these deeply researched principles.
If you have ever watched an infomercial, you’ll instantly recognize some of these tactics. For example, they might say something like “if operators are busy when you call, stay on the line and we will be right with you!”
This initiates the principle of scarcity and makes people nervous that they might not even be able to get this offer because the phone lines may be jammed. Meanwhile back at the warehouse, there are probably far more operators than people calling, but the tactic still works.
The good news is, you don’t have to use these principles in a cheesy way, and Dr. Cialdini suggests that people who have authentically used the principles of influence will do far better than those that use them improperly.
Another example is celebrity endorsements. This initiates the principle of social proof. If Tiger Woods uses this golf club, then I should too. Well, Tiger may no longer be a perfect example but you know what I mean.
A few important things to consider adding to your website, if you want to increase conversions, are as follows.
Website and persuasion marketing suggestions can include:
Authority
- A clear, specific and unique value proposition of why you are different/better than other companies.
- A better design and user experience. (Also liking)
- Thought leadership by listing recent blog and social posts.
- Pics of real people / thought leaders at your firm.
- Deepen specificity, i.e., number of customers served, etc.
Social Proof
- Awards and affiliations.
- Customer and/or influencer testimonials.
- Large subscriber or follower base when appropriate. (Also authority)
Liking
- Overview or even a basic FAQ video when appropriate for body language and tone.
- Photos of key people.
- About Us pages that are more personal and about who you are, instead of mostly what you do
- Live Chat. (Also reciprocity)
- Address more than one persona. (Liking by showing affinity to certain groups)
Reciprocity
- A top of the funnel call to action such as an e-book for people that are not ready to hire you yet.
- Free “Samples” / Free content.
Scarcity
- Indications that you only accept certain clients or have a limited amount of products in stock.
Commitment and consistency
- Call To Action based on content such as downloading an e-book before pushing them to call you or fill out a contact form, to create inertia and trust.
Using the 6 principles of influence and some of the suggestions above can dramatically improve the amount of leads and sales you get from your website.
Examples of websites using the art of persuasion:
Suzy Orman – Finance Coach:
Mint Levin Law Firm:
Dan Schwabel – Personal Branding Expert (Partial section of his home page)
Can my SEO company, ad agency, or web designer handle this for me?
Web designers typically are not schooled in this type of marketing psychology. SEO companies can also be more focused on keywords than on conversions. Advertising agencies might use these principles but may not understand how they fit into your website.
Understanding this type of marketing is something that you can do easily on your own, compared to learning website development or technical SEO. Armed with these strategies you can then guide your marketing team and maybe even impress them a bit.
If you want advanced help with A/B testing, then hire a conversion rate optimization expert, because CRO at the deeper levels is extremely advanced and is the combination of art and science.
Prove your theories with A/B testing and customer feedback
Just make sure that you get user feedback using tools like UserTesting.com to ensure that whatever elements you come up with are having a positive effect on users. Tools like Unbounce.com (ok for beginners) and Optimizely can be used for A/B testing, to make sure your implementation is working properly.
At the end of the day, your customers and data from analytics are what will help define the best way to optimize your website. Your opinion and the opinions of your marketing agency can only go so far.
Conversion Optimization and Persuasive Marketing Resources
- influenceatwork.com (Dr. Cialdini’s site)
- meclabs.com
- bryaneisenberg.com
