Classic books for Market Research:
Influence, by Robert Cialdini
We’re thrilled to kickoff our new series on essential reads for everyone involved in market research, business and life!
Having been extensively used as a textbook for sales techniques, “Influence” is a tremendous psychology toolkit that can be successfully applied to any line of business where persuading people is key.
Initially released in 1993, the book still feels contemporary and perfectly applicable to present-day business challenges. You can still spot these techniques everywhere, from street markets all the way to political rallies.
As Cialdini explains, though we consider ourselves rational, human brains are much more similar to animal brains than we like to think.
To recognise their chicks, mother turkeys will rely exclusively on the sound they make. When hearing a Click sound they will automatically reply with a Whirr sound. They rely on fixed action patterns, and so do we.
As humans, continuously faced with thousands of decisions each day, we simplify and use shortcuts to make our lives easier.
Here are five well known persuasion techniques that work with those shortcuts, and Outman’s opinion on how they can be successfully applied to market research:
1) Reciprocation: The Good Old Give and Take.
It is scientifically proven that as humans we are inclined to reciprocate even the smallest favour. Salespeople know that if they give a prospect a gift, that prospect is much more likely to become a customer.
The classic example is receiving a free pen from a company or organisation that wants your money. We feel guilty about not reciprocating the gesture, and are more inclined to buy.
Market Research Application:
In our experience, when carrying out qualitative research, conversations with contacts are much more effective when we share our knowledge first.
e.g. “talking to your peers in this industry we know that this market showed strong double digit growth in Q1… what was the trend for your company?” or “I’d love to send you our interim report with all our numbers after this conversation is over.”
2) Consistency: This is what I stand for and I won’t change!
We’ve all fallen for this one.
We tend to have a higher regard for people who are consistent with their thoughts and habits. Once you’ve committed to a position, it is hard to undermine it.
Street sellers are masters of this. “Hi, do you like reading? Do you read at least 10 books per year? (Of course I do!) Well, in that case, you’ll definitely want to subscribe to our annual service. It helps you save money when you purchase over 10 books per year... ”
Or simply, “Hi, do you like animals? (Sure, I love animals!) Then you will want to contribute to saving the white tiger in….”
Politicians love it too. “Do you stand for law and order? Then vote for us!”
Market Research Application:
In market research this technique is, of course, more subtle, but it’s still based on the same principle of leveraging people’s own speech.
E.g. “I am sure that as an established company you give tremendous importance to market intelligence. Should you contribute to our study you will gain access to the final report which includes all the most up to date data…”
3) Social proof: Can’t anybody else smell smoke?
No matter how cool and original we think we are, we all adapt our behaviour based on what people around us are doing.
One of the reasons that fires are not stopped in time is that when we smell smoke we often think that if nobody else is doing anything about it then we shouldn’t either.
The same principle has been extensively applied in the TV industry with canned laughter. We automatically think a joke is funnier if we hear someone laughing, even if we know it’s a recording!
Market Research Application:
Again this technique is much more subtle but just as effective when conducting market research: “all your competitors are regularly exchanging information with us so I am sure you don’t want to miss out on this conversation!”
4) Liking: Let’s play ball
We are all still kids and we are much more likely to play ball with kids we relate to and like.
The most successful salespeople may know very little about what they’re selling, but they know a lot about who they’re selling to:
“I know you like cars - I drive a BMW too. Love the handling, but how are you finding the fuel efficiency?”
Market Research Application:
A successful researcher should try to adapt to whoever he/she is talking to. If you’re talking to a CEO, act like one: you’re short on time, you love quick facts, you look at the overall picture, no time for details!
5) Authority: Trust me I am a doctor!
Countless studies have demonstrated that we are much more likely to be persuaded if we are interacting with someone that has some form of authority. As illogical as it sounds, we are still more likely to buy a toothpaste brand if an actor wearing a doctor’s gown is recommending it on TV!
Market Research Application:
This can be as simple as “trust me, I am a market analyst!”
As a research outsourcing partner, Outman supports market intelligence and consultancy companies with international market research projects.
Our analysts integrate with our clients’ teams to increase bandwidth in qualitative and multilingual research projects.
Talk to us to find out how we can help you.