A Whether we are aware of it or not, all around us, “persuaders” are at work. We have become used to a world where powerful images, catchy soundbites and pushy advertising bombard us every day. Supermarkets, chain stores, politicians, advertisers and salespeople know exactly how to manipulate us with their images, ideas or products. When it comes to persuading us, they employ skilled experts to use the best psychological tricks, meaning even the cautious among us may be influenced without realizing it.
B Supermarkets have always led the way in this type of persuasion. We now buy 75% of our food from supermarket chains, and most of us leave having purchased products we didn't intend to buy. 1In one early stroke of genius, Sainsbury introduced shopping baskets to its stores in the 1950s. This meant that shoppers would now browse and pick up items that they formerly would have ignored. Soon after came shopping trolleys, and the novelty attracted more shoppers. Professor Merlin Stone, IBM Professor of Relationship Marketing at Bristol Business School, says aisles are deliberately laid out to maximize profits. 8Stores are designed around our money-rich, time-poor lives, with high-turnover products commanding positions at the front, whereas low-turnover products such as clothes and electrical goods stocked at the back of the store.
C Ralph Stone, an associate professor at the University of Chicago, believes that stores use “stalling tactics” to keep us in the store longer, because the more time we spend, the more we will buy. They make great efforts to make the store environment pleasant, even playing pleasant music to induce a relaxed state of mind. Some stores take advantage of the air from the in-store bakery to tempt shoppers with the aroma. In the USA, fake aromas are sometimes used because studies have shown that smell is the most evocative and subliminal of our senses and even prompts us to spend more. 2In one experiment, a casino that perfumed half of its building saw profits rise significantly in the scent-filled areas. Another success story from the supermarkets' perspective is the loyalty card. Shoppers may feel that they are being rewarded for the royal patronage, but actually, they are also sharing information about their shopping habits and possibly paying more for the products than they would elsewhere.
D 3-13It doesn't matter how wise we think we are to their tactics - the advertising industry still manages to influence us. They focus on what product to buy or on how they make us feel, and researchers at the University of Florida recently concluded that our emotional responses to adverts dominate over cognition. 7Researcher Laurette Dube, in the Journal of Advertising Research, says that when attitudes are based on logical reasoning, advertisers use informative appeals. This works particularly well for products with little emotional appeal but high functionality, such as bleach. On the other hand, when attitudes are based on emotions, advertisements will aim to tap into our feelings.
E Advertisers play on a wide range of our emotions. Some advertisements aim to be aspirational in order to appeal to our self-esteem. 9Others focus on our need to feel safe, such as advertisements for insurance. Others, such as advertisements for fashion, make us desire to feel like we belong to a group. 6Celebrities are often used as a “shortcut” to appeal to these needs, because they are already seen as “successful” or “familiar and safe” people. One survey of 4000 advertising campaigns found that advertisements with celebrities were ten percent more effective than those without. Humour is also used with success in advertising，4-10because it stimulates a rapid emotional response - an article in the International Journal of Advertising by Hwiman Chung stated that amusing advertisements are remembered for longer than serious ones.
F Perhaps we could all tap into our “inner salesperson” for a product that we were truly passionate about, but professional salespeople are in a league of their own - they can sell a wide variety of products, and be flexible as to targeting customers at the right time for them. They use basic psychological techniques - after all, selling works by effectively increasing a shoppers perception of how much they need a product or service. Shoppers usually have preconceived requirements by which they judge the suitability of a product. 5Sellers attempt to find out what these requirements are and then explain their products in terms that will appeal to individual shoppers.
G In his book Be a Great Salesperson, Richard Hession says that it is human nature to prefer to speak rather than to listen, and good sales people are able to use this to their advantage, encouraging shoppers to speak about their needs and offering to help them fill their needs. 11This results in shoppers feeling that they are having a “consultation” rather than just being on the receiving end of a sales pitch. 12Dr. Rob Yeung, a senior consultant at Kiddy and Partner, a business consulting company, says that salespeople will also build up rapport with a shopper by asking questions about family, lifestyle and hobbies, making them seem likeable while also obtaining information about the shopper's wants and needs.
