With the ‘principles of persuasion’, American Psychology professor Robert Cialdini has written a manual to convince consumers to take action. Vital reading material for e-marketers!
In our previous blog post we already discussed the first three strategies to convince your customers. Today we give you clear examples of how you can put in social confirmation, sympathy and authority to draw your customers in.
Social confirmation
People attach great value to the opinions of others. For that reason, websites that allow reviews perform very good. If you’re booking a hotel on websites such as Booking.com then you can probably catch yourself looking at the ratings first before further exploring the hotel.
That’s why it’s important to use interactive media like Faxebook and/or blogs. Here you can give your clients an unofficial way to get insight into the success of specific products or services. Do you have a large number of email contacts? Put some of those customers in the spotlight on your website or social media pages.
Sympathy
You’re probably not surprised that consumers are more inclined to buy from a brand they think is likeable and trustworthy. Use different channels to introduce yourself and your activities. Write blog posts that show some personality and opinion, make some videos about yourself, your products, your services and your company. Be active and helpful on social media channels like Twitter. Give your customers ample opportunities to get to know and trust you.
Authority
Popularity isn’t the only way of winning the trust of your audience. Knowledge and expertise can get you as far. If you don’t know a lot about your product or service, it will definitely show. But if you have a lot to talk about, you can substantiate your knowledge with clear examples and case studies. That way you don’t only win trust, but also the respect of your customers.
(Image: Booking.com)
