persuasion

While some users of Twitter might be well served by adding a filter between their thoughts and tweets, researchers at the University of Wisconsin – Madison have demonstrated that one can tweet just by thinking – no keyboard, no touchscreen, just thoughts:
The interface consists, essentially, of a keyboard displayed on a computer screen. “The way [...]

But, a little sugar goes a long way
Diet soft drinks are huge sellers in the U.S. as many consumers use them as a substitute for their calorie-laden sugary bretheren. The good news is that the flavor of these products have improved over time. Of late, Coke Zero ads have focused on humorous “taste [...]

Imagine two restaurants, one of which sold only french fries as a side dish and another that sold both french fries and salads. Which would sell more fries? While logic might suggest that the salad would poach some of the side dish business, new research shows that adding a salad to the menu [...]

Today, it’s common to hear about marketers, politicians, and cult leaders manipulating and cooercing people with commericials and slogans. Back in 1957, it was non-existent. Vance Packard’s book, The Hidden Persuaders was the first attempt at documenting and describing advertiser’s use of psychological ‘motiviation research’ to influence consumers.

The book lacks the academic front normally associated with these types of industry descriptions. It’s both good and bad. The prose lends itself to great (and sometimes grandiose) explanations, but it lacks the references of footnotes to properly provide authority. Readers who don’t mind the lack of footnotes are in good company with this book.

From a practioners viewpoint, I appreciated the examples and demonstrations in the book. More interesting for me was the use of anitquated examples (but were perfectly acceptable in 1957) to illustrate the principles.

One such passage describes the practice of ’selling emotional security’ to influence the purchase of home freezers. This technique is well-known, but to see the description in the context of 1957 products was awkward.

The book provides good information and I suggest anyone serious interested in persuasion (or advertising) pick up a copy.

A heuristic is a mental shortcut we – all humans – use in our decision making process. We develop heuristics because the costs associated with considering and evaluating EVERY decision would cripple our mental processing. We would constantly overheat our brains trying to make the simplest of decisions.

For example, if you are in a busy building and you are leaving, you don’t stop and carefully calculate which exit is the most efficient route to save you time. You also don’t stop and evaluate the relative safety of the door opening and the frame around the door. You also don’t stop to consider the possibility that you will become lodged in the door never to escape. There are a million other things you don’t evaluate.

What happens in your brain is something like this-

You: I want to leave the building.

Brain: Follow the other people leaving the building.

And, just like that, we’re outside.

A heuristic is not inherently good or bad, it just is. However, social psychologists and behavior specialists are coming to realize that there are some heuristics that can lead us down faulty decision making paths.

And that’s where the fun begins.

Why should you spend time studying influence? It takes lots of time and reading the research reports certainly isn’t the best use of your time. Right?

There are three big reasons you should be paying attention to influence, persuasion, and human behavior.

1. It helps you in your business. By understanding the nature and idiosyncrasies of buying behavior, you learn to improve your marketing, messaging, and product in order to make more sales.

2. It helps you recognize your own behavior. When you understand influence and persuasion, you can instantly see the techniques being used on you. This gives you a chance to put more thought into your decision. You may decide that you want to the buy the item, but at least you are making a conscious decision.

3. It provides a foundation for discussion and eliminates hand-waving. More times than not, a business owner will adamantly insist on a particular campaign or the wording of a phrase. Alternatively, they will summarily dismiss some ideas that are put on the table. In both situations, the owner believes that they have ‘insider’ knowledge of their industry and they know better than anyone else. By studying influence, you can discuss the specific techniques and research behind your campaign ideas.

And, for me, there is a fourth reason. I find this stuff insanely interesting. I’ve always been interested in learning how things work. Learning how the brain works is a natural extension to this curiosity.

What could be the biggest conference to date on the topic of neuromarketing, Neuro Connections, has been scheduled for February 5-7, 2009. The conference website is www.neuroconnections.eu . The conference lineup includes Gary Singer of Buyology; Grahm Page of Millward Brown; Tim Ambler of the London School of Economics, and a variety of [...]

One effect of the publication of Martin Lindstrom’s Buyology book has been a significant uptick in media coverage of neuromarketing. Lindstrom has scored a few high-visibility TV interviews (e.g., Today Show and Australian TV), and plenty of print and online media coverage.
My perception is that neuromarketing news coverage is at an all-time high. [...]

A few weeks ago I created a new category here, “Neuromanagement,” which fits a couple of posts I’ve got simmering on the back burner. While those are geared toward the positive use of neuro-techniques in managing and hiring, there’s a breaking news story about the dangerous physiological effects of bad management. Bloomberg writer [...]

Altruism in humans is difficult to explain with traditional models of behavior, which have focused on competition between individuals for mates, scarce resources, etc. It’s undeniable, though, that being willing to help unrelated individuals is a common (though not universal) trait. In past Neuromarketing posts Taxes Aren’t Painful and The Joy of Giving [...]