Category: Solo Episodes

Can I persuade you to listen to all of our episodes?

Part 3 is here! So we’ve figured out your target market, now how do we get them to buy your product? Let’s talk about a couple methods you can use!

This month I am plugging the St. Louis chapter of the AMA. To become a member, you can visit https://amasaintlouis.org/.

SOURCES  

Adapted from this list: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/basic-marketing-questions

The Marketing Gateway is a weekly podcast hosted by Sean in St. Louis (Sean J. Jordan, President of https://www.researchplan.com/) and featuring guests from the St. Louis area and beyond.

Every week, Sean shares insights about the world of marketing and speaks to people who are working in various marketing roles – creative agencies, brand managers, MarCom professionals, PR pros, business owners, academics, entrepreneurs, researchers and more!

The goal of The Marketing Gateway is simple – we want to build a connection between all of our marketing mentors in the Midwest and learn from one another! And the best way to learn is to listen.

And the next best way is to share!

For more episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMarketingGateway

Copyright 2025, The Research & Planning Group, Inc.

TRANSCRIPT:

Today, we’re going to continue a series of 10 episodes exploring some of the fundamental topics in marketing today, based on a list I found on Indeed with the 10 most common questions people ask about marketing.

Yesterday, we talked about how to reach a target market, so if you need a refresher on that, give it a listen.

Because in this episode, we’re going to tackle an issue that a lot of people struggle with – convincing people to actually buy that product or service they’ve got to offer. It sounds easy, but it’s really not, and today I’m going to walk you through the tried and true techniques for boosting sales as well as the research behind persuasive messaging.

I’m Sean in St. Louis, and this is the Marketing Gateway.

So, look, here’s a disclaimer before we get started – I’m not naïve enough to think that I can equip you with all the secrets to persuading people to do what you want, because the truth is, that’s impossible to predict what individual people will do in any given situation because they have agency – the ability to say, “nope, nuh-uh, I’m not going to do that!” Sometimes, they have really good reasons for it, and sometimes, they just don’t want to do what you want.

Here’s an example. Years ago, I worked at a store called Meijer and there was this guy who’d come in and insist we run his transaction on the old by hand kerchunk machine using carbon paper and taking an imprint of his credit card. If we didn’t do that, he’d rant and rave that he was legally allowed to do that and that using our point of sale system to run his card meant thieves could get access to his account and he didn’t trust the electronic system.

Now, to me, security through obscurity seems like a far smarter tactic, and aggravating store employees and having them make a physical impression of your card seems like a great way to put a target on your back to have your card details stolen. But any of us who had any sense did what he wanted and got him out of there because he was not persuadable that his point of view was probably wrong and that none of our thousands of customers who came through the store each day ever had their credit cards stolen from our point of sale system.

The research goes even deeper. Decades ago, the CIA was involved in a truly terrifying program called MK-ULTRA where they were trying to devise all sorts of ways to brainwash and control people with drugs, hypnosis, hidden suggestions and programming. None of it worked, and what they tended to do was shatter peoples’ psyches or put them into very volatile states rather than to gain any sort of mind control over them. Everything you’ve ever seen in movies or on TV about the topic is pure fiction. Short of drugging people, coercing them through threats or manipulating them through deceptive practices – all of which are illegal, and rightly so – there is just no way to get people to do what they don’t want to do unless they allow themselves to be persuaded.

And so let’s focus on that key word – persuaded. Because marketing is often about persuading people that they are going to give you something in order to get something. Often it’s money, but maybe it’s attention. Maybe it’s clicks or shares or engagement. Maybe it’s just a referral to someone who might be interested. But whatever the case may be, persuasion is at the heart of marketing messaging.

I generally like to begin with the psychologist Dr. Robert Cialdini, who wrote a book called Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion in 1984 that’s still widely used today. In this book, Cialdini proposes that there are six factors that influence persuasion, and in 2016, he added a seventh. They are:

Authority, which means having unquestioned knowledge or expertise about a topic, like being a medical doctor or a highly sought-after expert

Commitment and consistency, which means tying a request to something already is committed to or which is consistent with their normal behaviors, like giving to a fundraising campaign because they have already given before

Liking, which means ensuring the requester and the request itself are likeable enough that the person being asked will feel an affinity for what’s being asked

Reciprocity, which means feeling that someone asking something of you is giving you something of value in return.

Social proof, which means demonstrating that a request is in line with accepted social norms or that a request will provide a social benefit like gaining the admiration of others or providing a stronger sense of community

Scarcity, which means communicating that those who agree to a request will be part of a rare group who can have something that is limited in availability or which will make them part of an elite group

And Unity of principle, which means establishing that a request fits the values of the person being asked, perhaps providing a sense of social benefit or authenticity, like buying a Made in the USA product or supporting an organization that donates some of its proceeds to a favored charity

Persuasive messaging doesn’t necessarily need to have all of these characteristics, but it needs to tap at least some of them pretty strongly in order to resonate with the person receiving the message.

And I want you to note how subjective this all is.

Scarcity, for example, is only effective if someone really cares about being part of a group that is participating in preserving something that’s limited.

To some people, buying pack after pack of Pokémon trading cards is hugely important because they’re looking for cards that are rare or which have special characteristics like being shiny or being produced on foil.

But to most of us, we wouldn’t know how to identify a rare card or what to do with it if we even had it, and so we’re not going to be persuaded we need to buy Pokémon trading cards. Scarcity is not itself a persuasive attribute when it’s not paired with other attributes such as liking, consistency, social proof and reciprocity.

Speaking of which, I also want to talk about reciprocity for a moment, because it’s tremendously important in a sales context. Reciprocity means exchanging value. It’s transactional and really sits at the heart of any sort of marketing interaction. I don’t want to say it’s the most important, because sometimes it isn’t. But it’s the foundation of what the exchange is about. When in doubt, reciprocity’s the starting point for a marketing exchange.

So now that we’ve uncovered the elements of persuasive messaging, let’s take a moment to explore how they fit together.

If we want to persuade people that they need something they don’t presently have, like a new product or new service, we’re generally going to  focus on reciprocity, which establishes the value of the exchange, and maybe attempt to bolster that argument with arguments invoking authority, social proof and liking.

If we’re trying to get a customer to switch from an existing product or service to ours, we’re going to focus on liking to get them to warm up to our new option, reciprocity to get them to see the value of switching and commitment and consistency to try to appeal to the idea that changing their behavior a little bit isn’t out of line with their norms. We might also use supporting arguments invoking authority, social proof or unity of principle if they are relevant.

If we’re trying to keep a customer or grow them, we’ll probably focus on commitment and consistency and perhaps offer some social proof like free branded items to show they’re valued or attempt to build further reciprocity if they invest in more of our products and services.

All of these situations require a careful understanding of what the customer wants and needs from an interaction with us and what barriers we need to overcome to ensure they are willing to go along with us on a transaction or request.

Probably the most common argument you see in marketing is an appeal to insecurity – “you aren’t as happy now as you will be if you use our product or service!” And this can be taken in a lot of different directions, whether it’s obtaining peace of mind, feeling more accepted by others, feeling less frustrated by current options or simply feeling like you’re getting good value for your money.

Sometimes, marketers will reference Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to determine what sort of need a product or service is fulfilling and attempt to fit the persuasive argument within those boundaries.

Consumable products like food or drinks and self-care products like cold remedies tend to fit within the realm of physiological needs – the most basic.

Insurance products and financial services tend to fit within the realm of safety and security.

Many consumer products centered around lifestyles, home goods and activities such as cooking and cleaning are focused on love and belonging, often because they’re rising above a basic need and offering something that may be appreciated by others.

Expensive purchases that still fulfill an everyday need like cars and electronics and designer clothing tend to fit within the realm of self-esteem.

And appeals for charity or supporting causes or improving oneself through education tend to focus on self-actualization.

Of course, Maslow’s Hierarchy isn’t a set of rules about how people prefer to be talked to; it’s simply a guideline for understanding their psychological state based on the needs they have that are waiting to be fulfilled. And there’s always the chance people just want to buy something for the novelty of it and they’re not meeting a specific need per se.

But if you take the time to understand how your product or service fills specific needs and then pair that understanding with a messaging strategy built around the elements of persuasion, you can have a powerful ability to convince people to make purchases.

Let’s consider one of the most frivolous products I can think of: greeting cards! These paper cards cost several dollars apiece and contain messages that often don’t feel very personal or meaningful. At best, they give you a quick burst of emotion like laughter or a feeling of being appreciated, but they’re not items people tend to hold onto. I know I tend to only keep the ones that have meaningful handwritten notes inside and throw the rest in the trash. And I know a lot of people just open them to see if there’s any money inside.

But the people who produce greeting cards know that a lot of people don’t feel that the product itself is that important but the sentiment – well, that matters a lot! Wishing someone a happy birthday or happy anniversary without a card feels crass, like you forgot something. The need of love and belonging is met by showing that you cared enough to include a card, and it also gives you credit for giving the gift. And if you’re celebrating someone’s milestone or good news, it may also contribute to their self-esteem.

So you can bet that greeting cards are positioned to be near gift items, have displays reminding people about important gift-giving holidays and are colored appropriately for the occasion. Mother’s Day displays and cards are pinks and purples and yellows, like flowers. Dads and Grads displays and cards tend to be grays and blues and greens and golds. Birthday card displays are bursting with color and balloons; Christmas and Halloween cards are restricted to their holiday colors and associated imagery.

Consumers are persuaded to buy them not just for the need to express a sentiment of love and belonging, but also because the greeting cards are also designed to fit the occasion properly. And that’s far better than disappointing someone, isn’t it?

Let’s think about another very frivolous purchase – single serving candy bars, which tend to be offered only around the point of sale. Some stores even have candy available elsewhere in the store – often in multipacks where you get a lot more for your money – but that’s not why the single serving candy bars are offered at the point of sale.

They’re what you call an “impulse item,” serving the need of adding a small treat onto a shopping experience to restore energy and happiness after the transaction is completed.

Placing them anywhere else but at the point of sale wouldn’t result in very strong sales – they work best when customers are standing in line, waiting to check out, and questioning if they forgot anything or need a little indulgence for themselves.

Likewise, gift cards, batteries, eyeglass repair kits, entertainment news magazines, small toys, junky gadgets and other low-priced items that people would only look at while they’re waiting in line make a lot of sense at the point of sale because they are designed to meet those lower needs and feed into the insecurity of “did you forget anything?” by offering some reciprocity – for a low price – but not too low! – you can get some value out of grabbing stuff impulsively off the rack before you check out.

Of course, that’s retail sales. What if you’re offering something that’s a little more sophisticated like a subscription service or an insurance policy? Believe it or not, the same basic frameworks apply. The first step is to understand what needs are being addressed and then to match an appropriate mixture of persuasion strategies to those needs. But more sophisticated needs may not always follow Maslow’s hierarchy. They may be guided by other motivations and factors such as institutional buying, supplier sourcing, risk management or even legal compliance.

In these situations, persuasion is often less about identifying a psychological need and instead understanding how a product or service can be positioned to best fit into the key drivers behind the purchase. Much of the time, this means matching what’s being offered to key criteria and establishing a feeling of goodness of fit. Many products and services aren’t a perfect solution and thus service contracts or customizations are required to make them fit. Persuasion then comes from establishing reciprocity and unity of principle more than any of the other attributes.

I hope this quick guide to persuasion has helped you think a little differently about how to get customers to buy your products. But remember, when in doubt, start with reciprocity and talk to your customers to find out more about what needs you’re fulfilling and how you can position your product or service to better fill them. Chances are good the reason they’ll buy is not because you have the best product or service, but because you’re working the hardest to ensure it gives them a great fit and real value.

I’m Sean in St. Louis, and this has been The Marketing Gateway. See ya next time!