Larry Rondeau

Marketers often find themselves between a rock and a hard place. Clients require proof that every marketing activity they pay for increases sales. There are ever greater demands to produce tangible results. But consumers often look skeptically at advertising, assuming that marketers are “puffing their wares,” misleading them, invading their privacy or trapping them into paying for services they don’t really want. The actions of a few unethical advertisers have made life difficult for many.

Do they have to cheat to win?

This pressure to produce can make unethical practices seem like the only viable option. I worked for a short time after college at a company where lying was regarded as a magic bullet to increase sales.

Their sales manager said to me, “If you think you can make a living telling people the truth, you’re welcome to try. But I think you’re going to fall flat on your face.”

Was he right? Does success in business demand lying, cheating and tricking customers? Not at all. Within 3 months of starting that job I was one of the top salespeople in the office. I treated customers honestly and gave them a good deal. They, in turn, actively referred their friends and clients to me. Acting ethically made selling – and sleeping at night – easier, not harder.

The psychology of ethical marketing

As mentioned above, marketers face ever-growing pressure to produce results. As more and more advertisers flock to the web, ads are becoming more intrusive. Clutter makes it harder to get consumers’ attention. Some may feel a growing temptation to trick prospects with phantom offers or trap them into visiting websites they never intended to browse.

But as discussed in “Marketing Works. But Could an Ill-Conceived Campaign Hurt your Business?” tricking consumers irritates them, attaching their anger to the product advertised. This is self-defeating and could actually result in the loss of market share. Social networking, monitored by the national media, makes it easy for negative stories about double-dealing companies to spread like wildfire. Cheating is a risk few advertisers can afford, because negative publicity can decimate a brand.

In contrast, providing helpful information creates good feelings which then become associated in consumers’ minds with the advertised product. Giving customers and prospects something they value produces another helpful effect that makes them want to do business with you.

Reciprocity Rules

One well proven social psychology principle is regarded as a universal moral law. Influence expert Dr. Robert Cialdini calls it the Reciprocity Principle. Research finds that people around the world feel an obligation to help those who have helped them. This can be both an ethical and extremely useful tool for marketers. Cialdini writes:

One of the reasons reciprocation can be used so effectively as a device for gaining another’s compliance is its power. The rule possesses awesome strength, often producing a yes response to a request that, except for an existing feeling of indebtedness, would have surely been refused.

One classic experiment found that people who liked an acquaintance selling raffle tickets were more likely to purchase them from him.  That was no surprise. But those for whom he bought a Coke purchased even more – whether they liked him or not.

Thus, women and girls whose self-esteem has been raised by Dove’s Real Beauty campaign will feel gratitude, appreciation and a sense of indebtedness to the Dove brand. They will want to buy Dove soap to repay that debt. And if they like what this product does for their skin, they will probably remain customers for a long time.

A better way

Social psychologists have spent seventy years researching what attracts consumers, what repels them and what moves them to action. The ranks of scientists dedicated to the study of persuasion have included some of the most influential psychologists in history. The principles uncovered in their research have been tested in the same painstaking peer review process used for major discoveries in medicine.

A number of effective “tools of influence” that can help any product, service or cause succeed in the marketplace have been revealed. Basing marketing campaigns on the right established psychological principles can significantly increase response rates and have been proven to boost sales.

And, unlike underhanded tactics, well designed marketing campaigns using these principles strengthen brands and the companies they represent. Dove’s use of just one of them, Reciprocity, will help its line succeed into the foreseeable future. Finding the appropriate influence tool for a product and situation isn’t easy. But once found and properly used, it can bring the kind of ROI that makes clients and stockholders smile.

Behavioral marketing techniques have helped Larry Rondeau design marketing campaigns that have achieved ROI as high as 16.5 to 1.  Email him at larryrondeau@gmail.com.

Merchants have marketed their wares for millennia.  But their efforts took a giant leap in effectiveness when Dr. Kurt Lewin began the modern study of social psychology.  One of Lewin’s early research studies, done in 1943 for the USDA, was used effectively by Procter & Gamble just a few years ago.  The principle gleaned from Lewin’s study became the basis for the most successful new product launch in company history.

Social psychology research was also behind a successful Bose campaign in the previous decade.Sales of the Wave Radio had gone flat.  Bose hired influence expert Dr. Robert Cialdini to recommend improvements to Wave Radio advertising based on psychology research. He advised changing ad headlines to read, “Hear What You’ve Been Missing.” During that period’s strong economy, many wanted to do just that, and shoppers flocked to Bose stores. Wave Radio sales increased by an astounding 45%. Bose is again using this successful headline in its current campaign.

Clearly, marketers and account planners can benefit from the work of social scientists. Like other scientific research, the studies they perform must survive the painstaking and sometimes painful peer-review process. Those that survive are often the subject of new research by other psychologists. Their studies must pass through the same scrutiny as the original research. Eventually a pattern emerges as important results are replicated again and again. The principles that finally achieve scientific consensus often form a highly reliable basis for marketing and campaign strategies. This is the first in a series of blog posts that will examine some key findings and their application.

Research-based keys to successful campaigns

Research demonstrates that the most successful campaigns accomplish four main goals.  First, they create a favorable climate for influence to occur. Eminent social psychologist Dr. Elliot Aronson calls this pre-persuasion. This frames how issues are viewed by the public. It allows advertisers to prepare the soil in which their brands will grow. Without it, marketing campaigns, no matter how worthwhile, can wither.

Consider – after the 1973 Oil Embargo by Middle Eastern OPEC nations, a large percentage of Americans favored finding alternative fuels and green energy. But that talk quickly died out when the embargo ended and gasoline returned to prices less than 40¢ a gallon. No effective communication campaigns had enlightened US citizens to the dangers of relying on foreign oil – or dependence of fossil fuels that harm the environment. Decades of valuable time were lost and Americans are still chained to gasoline that is now racing towards $4 a gallon.

Second, according to Aronson and his coauthor is the need to establish source credibility. The communicator
must be viewed favorably by the audience. This can be done by demonstrating knowledge and expertise so consumers view the advertiser as an authority. Or, efforts can be made to encourage people to like the brand. Research clearly shows that people are more easily persuaded by someone they like.

Like Pavlov’s dogs, we associate positive emotions generated by “feel good” or entertaining commercials with the brands they advertise. In addition, consumers are more likely to listen to organizations they view as trustworthy. So, efforts to support brand authority, liking or trustworthiness can increase the likelihood that consumers will buy the product.
Third, marketers must build and deliver messaging that effectively appeals to prospects, focusing their minds on things that will achieve the advertiser’s goals. Research finds that this may be accomplished by highlighting the brand’s strengths and competitors’ weaknesses in ways that make those traits the features consumers view as most critical. Or advertisements may shine the spotlight on a powerful image that makes their point, like
Apple’s classic “1984” Super Bowl commercial that linked the Macintosh with freedom and avoiding political repression. Studies show that powerful images consistently beat facts and figures.

A different tactic involves marketers impressing a few key thoughts on consumers’ minds by embedding them in ads that are so entertaining that viewers won’t tire of or counter-argue against them. Or account planners can find ways to encourage consumers to sell themselves.

Fourth, advertisers must arouse and connect with their target audience’s emotions. Studies find that stirring strong feelings and then providing viewers a way to satisfy their sentiments – by supporting the advertiser’s goal – can be a highly effective way to encourage them to take the desired action.

Research by social psychologists, headed by Elliot Aronson and Robert Cialdini, illuminates the path to more effective marketing communications. I have personally applied principles based on social psychology studies in campaign planning and obtained excellent results – in 3 cases getting ROI in excess of 14 to 1.

Technology and social trends change, but people largely stay the same. Understanding how substantial segments of the population will react in certain situations can give advertisers an enormous advantage. Smart account planners and marketers will not miss the opportunity to use the right social psychology research in their campaigns.

Pre-persuasion can be a powerful tool for advertisers. What techniques can prepare an audience to more quickly accept a marketing message? We’ll consider some in “Research Reveals the Best Marketing Strategies – Part Two.”

Larry Rondeau, BS – Marketing Psychology, is seeking opportunities in marketing, writing or content management. He can be reached by email or through LinkedIn.