The Psychology Influence of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini, 1993
We have exploiters who mimic trigger features for our own brand of automatic responding. Although they vary in their force, some of these principles possess a tremendous ability to direct human action. We have been subjected to them from such an early point in our lives, and they have moved us about so pervasively since then, that you and I rarely perceive their power. In the eyes of others, though, each such principle is a detectable and ready weapon – a weapon of automatic influence.
There is a group of people who know very well where the weapons of automatic influence lie and who employ them regularly and expertly to get what they want. They go from social encounter to social encounter requesting others to comply with their wishes; their frequency of success is dazzling. The secret of their effectiveness lies in the way they structure their requests, the way they arm themselves with one or another of the weapons of influence that exist within the social environment. To do this may take no more than one correctly chosen word that engages a strong psychological principle and sets an automatic behavior tape rolling within us. And trust the human exploiters to learn quickly exactly how to profit from our tendency to respond mechanically according to these principles.
It’s not that the weapons, like a heavy set of clubs, provide a conspicuous arsenal to be used by one person to bludgeon another into submission. The process is much more sophisticated and subtle. With proper execution, the exploiters need hardly strain a muscle to get their way. All that is required is to trigger the great stores of influence that already exist in the situation and direct them toward the intended target.
The (Sponsored) Word on the Street
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6478889.stm
Mar 26, 2007
The average Briton is bombarded with more than 3,000 adverts a day. From
It's relentless and we are starting to turn off and tune out. Only 14% of regular campaigns now have any effect, according to Marketing Week. To put it simply, we've grown tired and cynical of traditional advertising tactics.
But what we do trust is a personal recommendation. Positive word-of-mouth has always been the advertisers' Holy Grail. On a credibility scale it comes top and traditional commercials come bottom, says advertising author Tom Himpe.
Now, word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing, already established in the
WOM is when unpaid volunteers are sent new products and, as they go about their everyday lives, are encouraged to tell their family and friends - even strangers - what they think of them. The products can be anything from mobile phones to sausages.
WOM marketing companies are at pains to insist it isn't viral or buzz marketing because the volunteers - known as agents, advocates, ambassadors or transmitters - must state they are part of a marketing campaign. It is about harnessing "honest word of mouth", say companies.
It's flourishing in the
One of the leading
