How and why to use the influence and persuasion principles of Cialdini

The other day I had the honor of attending a webinar by well-known marketing professor Robert Cialdini. I have used his book on the seven principles of persuasion and influence so many times since 2016 that the cover has faded. It is one of the few books from my communication bookcase that I moved with me from the Netherlands to the United States. So why is this book so great? And then who is Cialdini?

So you may know Robert Cialdini from his books "Influence" and "Pre-Suasion. In his career, he has done a lot of research on the psychology of influencing people. He eventually translated this into the seven principles of persuasion and influence. Incredibly helpful principles to use in the communication from your company, ethically. Because "with great power, comes great responsibility”. More about this later.

What am I going to tell you about these principles in this blog?

1. Why are Cialdini's 7 principles of influence valuable?

2. How do you apply the principles to different audiences?

3. What are the principles and how do you apply them in practice?

4. How do you handle this ethically?

Did you know that every day 95% of our decisions are made on autopilot, without really thinking about it? This is because these 95% of automatic decisions are made by the reptilian and mammalian brains. In fact, we humans have three types of brains:

1. The reptilian brain is the oldest part of the brain. This part helps us survive with instincts and reflexes (such as the fight, flight, or freeze mode). This brain wants to waste as little energy as possible, it doesn't think much and is purely focused on survival.

2. The mammalian brain, or limbic brain, regulates things like emotions, social behavior, and motivation.

3. The human brain, or neocortex, is the smartest part of the brain. With it, you do complex calculations, learn languages, and can make rational decisions.

As I mentioned, the majority of your daily decisions are made by the reptilian and mammalian brains. We prefer to make these decisions with these parts of our brain, based on emotion, because it takes the least amount of energy. It is often the case that the rational brain (neocortex) mostly approves the decisions we have made based on our emotions.

So what does this have to do with Cialdini? Cialdini's principles are so valuable because the reptilian and mammalian brains respond incredibly well to them. Because rational decisions take more energy, Cialdini's principles help us make quick decisions based on our unconscious emotions.

It is important to know how your target audience responds to certain communications. A well-known and often used model for this is the behavioral preference model DISC. This also ties in very seamlessly with the principles.

DISC consists of four different behavioral preferences:

• Competitive/Dominant (green): this person is results-oriented and rational. Decides quickly based on facts, is goal-oriented, and thus wants to know what something will achieve.

• Spontaneous/Influential (red): this person is extroverted and quick. Everything must happen quickly, also this person likes to be in a good atmosphere, because feeling and emotion are important to this person.

• Humanistic/Steady (blue): this person is very people-oriented and emotional. They value personal contact and a good atmosphere. This person is also a slow decision-maker, deciding based on emotion.

• Methodical/Compliant (yellow): very introverted and slow person. Decides very slowly and constantly looks for new information and facts. Does not like to be wrong and therefore wants to know all the details.

It is helpful to know which behavioral preference is predominant in your target audience to determine which of the seven influencing principles is most effective. Do you have a broad target audience? Then make sure you address every behavioral preference. Below I will discuss Cialdini's principles and how to apply them to different behavioral preferences. I will briefly explain each principle.

Below I go through the seven principles of Cialdini one by one using examples. Keep in mind that Cialdini himself is an advocate of 'small bigs'. Small changes or applications that can have a big impact. It is also important to know that these principles work best together, find a combination that works well for you and your goal.

1. Reciprocity

2. Commitment & Consistency

3. Social Proof

4. Liking

5. Authority

6. Scarcity

7. Unity

1. Reciprocity

In short, this principle means: if you do something for me, I will do something for youin return. This phenomenon is taught to us from an early age: if someone gives you something for your birthday, you give them a present too. If John invites me to his birthday party, I invite John to my birthday party. The principle is so strong that it almost feels like an obligation.

An example: When you go to the supermarket or Costco, you've probably tasted a cube of cheese or been offered a nice snack. Salespeople use this to subconsciously influence you. People buy more and faster when they get to taste or test something first. So you could apply this by giving something away for free. The more you give, the more you (often) get back.

This can also be very relevant regarding your employees. When you are good to your employees, they are good to you, so it turns out that a pleasant and enjoyable workplace makes it more likely that your employees will go the extra mile, have less absenteeism, or take more initiative.

This principle is particularly applicable in marketing communications aimed at people with red and blue behavioral preferences. They value what you do or give; this is meaningful to them.

2. Commitment and Consistency

People tend to finish what they start. I myself bought an Apple phone when I was 14 and since then I have had several other Apple models, a Macbook, AND Apple earbuds. I don't see myself switching to another brand for personal use in the near future. After all, I chose Apple once, so I will keep choosing it.

For your business, you can use this with a 'small big'. Think of your contact form, for example. If a customer places an order and has to fill in their details, a long form often will put them off. A smaller first step with for example only your name and e-mail address is an excellent solution. The phone number will come later. After all, you have already started, and thus you want to finish. A case of who says A must say B.

Focus especially on this principle in marketing communications aimed at people with a yellow or blue behavioral preference.

3. Social proof

'But Jane said it was good.' Or ‘John always comes there, and that's a really top-notch butcher’. In short: it must be good. Other people have a lot of influence on your choices. When renovating, wouldn't you rather choose someone recommended by an acquaintance than the first hit on Google? This principle is very easy to implement by adding reviews to your website. Amazon, for example, has been doing this for years.

Other examples are:

• Google reviews

• Top 5 products

• This product has been sold 100 times

• Already 3000 entrepreneurs receive our newsletter

You can apply this principle to all behavioral preferences.

4. Liking

You are more likely to say "yes" to someone you like than to someone you dislike. A grumpy salesperson is not likely to sell something because you don't feel sympathy for him or her. Sympathy is hard to pinpoint and elusive, but it has a big impact on the decisions we make every day. A few examples of how to create sympathy:

• Give compliments: people appreciate sincere compliments and feel flattered.

• Contact and cooperation: the better you know someone, the more you understand them (often), and this leads to more sympathy.

• Similarities: people who are similar to us we find sympathetic.

Example: Everyone knows Jake from Statefarm, your neighbor who is always there for you. By always using the same actor, people get a sense of sympathy toward him. That way Statefarm sticks with you and everyone knows they are an insurance company.

This principle is best applied to people with blue or red behavioral preferences.

5. Authority

By nature, we trust people with authority. After all, experts are people who know what they are doing. This process starts from an early age, we are taught that people with authority (such as the doctor, your teacher, and parents) are always right. This can be very subtle. For example, people in uniform (such as a pilot, doctors, or astronauts) often have authority. These people exude a certain authority. From these people, therefore, you more easily accept things.

Examples of this in practice are:

• Using well-known people (as ambassadors of a charity)

• Labels (like Fairtrade)

• Titles (Robert Cialdini himself is a former psychology professor, people with PhDs/ experts)

These examples of Cialdini's authority affect us imperceptibly making us accept things faster.

For example, as a business, you can blog a lot to build authority. You can also start a knowledge database to show that you have knowledge and expertise on a subject. You can also show in advertisements, for example, that an authority figure has a positive opinion about your company.

This principle works best in marketing communications aimed at people with green and yellow behavioral preferences.

6. Scarcity

People give more attention to things that are hard to obtain. This principle is often used to get people to take a certain action. Consider tactics such as "limited number of items available" or a time limit. It is a way to make people think that the offer is limited or short-lived. FOMO (fear of missing out) is also a factor in this. This is the feeling that you are "missing out" on something if you don't attend or get the most out of it.

A practical example of how you can apply this in practice is by, for example, adding a closing date to job postings or registrations for an event. This indicates that soon it will not be available anymore.

Be careful to only apply this principle when it is actually the case, otherwise, it can come at the expense of your credibility (and thus authority).

This principle works best in marketing communications aimed at people with red or green behavioral preferences.

7. Unity

In Cialdini's latest book, he adds unity to his list as the 7th principle of influence. This principle takes advantage of people's sense of group. It assumes that the more you feel part of a group, the more you are influenced by this group. Thus, unity is about the group feeling that is created.

A common example is loyalty programs and ‘belonging to a club’. Especially online groups such as on Facebook, centered around a brand create a sense of unity. It also helps to talk from a 'we' perspective. 'We are ...' and 'we feel ...', when promoting your product or company.

What is the difference between unity and liking? Cialdini himself explained this with an example during the webinar I had the opportunity to attend: "You have a colleague who likes the same music and food, you are very similar. You also have a brother who does not like the same things as you. You are out on a boat together, both of them fall in, and you only have one life vest. You give it to your brother because you belong together. You are a unity with him. It's not just about liking the same things in unity, it's about being the same."

The principle of unity particularly affects people with red and blue behavioral preferences.

I myself am very fascinated by these principles and what influence they can have on people. I do believe that you have to act with integrity when it comes to influencing people. It is important to use Cialdini's behavioral principles (conscious and unconscious) in marketing in a responsible way. Cialdini himself also thinks this is incredibly important.

So how do you do that? Three criteria of your practices are very important here:

1. The influencing is not only good for you but also for the person you are influencing.

2. You only use communication truthfully, you do not say anything that is not true and you do not leave out important details.

3. You use psychology in a natural and correct way that fits the situation, you don't force something unnatural.

I hope you learned more about the influencing principles, learned to love them just as much as me, and how best to apply them!