Cialdini’s 6 principles of persuasion

How to persuade anyone to buy anything

As marketers, our role is to persuade.

To encourage people to make that almighty leap of faith from awareness to purchase – regardless of whether they’re buying for themselves or on behalf of a business.

You might think there’s an art to persuasion. But the truth is, it’s a science based on deep-rooted psychological principles.

If you’re yet to discover the work of American psychologist Robert B. Cialdini, allow us to take you through his 6 principles of why humans buy things…

1 | Reciprocity

This principle is where a brand says “I’ve scratched your back, now it’s your turn to scratch mine”.

That’s why free samples work so well – the brand has given us something, now we feel a compulsion to give them something back in the form of a purchase.

2 | Scarcity

Human beings are hard-wired to want what we can’t have.

Yes, FOMO is a real thing but Cialdini has also shown that scarcity makes our brains think something in short supply is also more valuable.

Just look at the recent scramble for Oasis tickets if you want proof of this in action. Or look at the “Only 2 rooms left at this price” tactics employed by websites like booking.com.

Limited time offers are also good here – but crucially, if you’re leaning on them in your comms you must also say why the offer is time-limited.

Otherwise your buyers will be suspicious, like when sofa brands say “Sale ends Boxing Day” but you know the January sale is only days away.

3 | Authority

You can be the ultimate expert on any topic, but to have authority you must be seen as being an expert.

It’s why we trust doctors in white coats or pilots in uniform – they’d still be an expert if they were wearing shorts and a hoodie, but there’s no way we would trust them as much without these symbols of authority.

On top of this, brands can build authority through transparency, by showing their expertise in action and using social proof from trusted third parties.

4 | Consistency

This principle is about following through on our decisions.

Our brain is wired to help us stick to any choices we make, so when it comes to persuasion the key is encouraging your buyer to make a small choice first that can then be built upon.

Once a relatively easy small purchase decision is made, the buyer is committed to the brand.

Buoyed by that commitment, you can then move on up to a bigger purchase. It’s why insurers show the base price first, then they upsell the add-ons and extras.

5 | Liking

This principle is about so much more than just being nice (although that’s one of our core values here at G&T).

It’s about finding common ground, giving genuine compliments and also having a sense of humour that your target audience can relate to.

6 | Consensus

The sixth principle is arguably the most important of all: Consensus, or social proof.

Humans rarely want to be an outlier – we are much more persuadable if we know someone else has trodden the path before us.

This principle goes all the way back to our days of living as tribes.

It’s why we read reviews before booking a table at a new restaurant, why we respond to messages like “23 other people are looking at this page right now” and why “8 out of 10 guests reuse towels” is so much more powerful than “Please reuse your towels”.

Want to dig deeper?

These principles are expanded upon in loads more depth in Cialdini’s book “Influence“, but if you just want to chat through the topics covered here why not drop us an email.

7 out of 10 people who read our posts do…