Day 26: These claims create skeptical prospects
Published: Fri, 06/17/16
We’ve all been there before, especially in a retail setting …
You have questions about a product you’re interested in, so you seek out someone to get advice. At some point, however, your conversation turns from a helpful exchange to a horrible pitch.
Instead of gathering information, you feel like you’re being manipulated into buying -- and you turn skeptical.
So what causes this transformation? And how does your mind know when you’re “being sold to”?
Here’s one clue:
Recently, a couple of marketing and behavioral-science professors -- Kurt Carlson of Georgetown University and Suzanne Shu of the University of California, Los Angeles -- set out to test the validity of a common sales tactic …
… the idea that you should cram as many positive descriptors into a message as possible.
For instance, you’ve likely heard the benefits of having prospects or clients say “yes” (whether vocally or mentally) as often as possible in sales situations. The common belief is this approach ensures your conversation stays positive.
Right?
Well, Carlson and Shu found fault with this theory.
In fact, their study revealed that in ads, speeches and messages with persuasive intent, going beyond three claims triggers skepticism and reverses an initially positive impression.
They made this discovery after studying responses from several persuasive scenarios.
Hundreds of research subjects were asked to read descriptions on items such as packaging for a cereal brand, a billboard promoting a local restaurant or a shampoo ad for a magazine. Each message had as few as one or as many as six reasons to buy in.
The results led to what’s referred to as the “charm of three,” explained in this study excerpt:
“Having some claims can be seen as informative, but a large number of claims is easily perceived as a persuasion tactic. Consistent with the persuasion knowledge model, once a target perceives that a message that might otherwise have been seen as informative is actually a persuasion tactic, the meaning of the message is switched and coping begins.”
Now, of course, the “charm of three” probably isn’t applicable to all persuasive settings. It is, however, worth keeping in mind when writing your next marketing piece.
Talk soon,
Tom
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