Persuasive Advertising - J. Scott Armstrong [125]
Evidence on the effects of clear and specific action steps
In a field experiment, customers were given a handbill when entering a store. When given an ad with a general action step, “Please don’t litter,” 9 percent disposed of the paper properly. When given an ad with a specific step, “Please don’t litter. Dispose for recycling in the green trash can located in aisle one,” 30 percent complied (Geller, Witmer, and Tuso 1977).
A meta-analysis provided evidence for this principle. Specific overall conclusions, such as how and when to get a flu shot, were more persuasive than general action steps such as “get a flu shot” in 15 of 18 experimental comparisons (O’Keefe 1997).
6.17.2. Use a gentle call for action for high-involvement products
He who agrees against his will is of the same opinion still.
Samuel Butler, late 1800s
A quiet, reasonable voice will receive greater respect than a shouting voice, as the following example from a print ad illustrated: “If you smoke, please try Carlton.”
Avoid a demanding call for action when a consumer is thinking about the offer because such a request might seem pushy. A demanding call might also lead to regret, such that a customer might cancel the sale later. When customers are expected to be resistant to the call for action, a demanding call might raise their defenses. However, when people are receptive, the call for action can be more direct.
Customers should believe that they are acting on their own free will, as noted in Scott’s (1912) book on advertising, “We are perfectly willing to obey as long as we are unconscious of the fact.”
One way to make an action step less demanding is to involve the customers in the details of the order. They become more committed to it—and thus less likely to believe that they were pushed into a sale. Amway Corporation found that cancellations were reduced when people filled out an order form, rather than when a salesperson completed it by asking the customer for information (Cialdini 2009). The Internet is well suited for such involvement. Dell Computer followed this principle when it allowed customers to design computers that meet their own specifications.
The hard sell approach is seldom used by reputable advertisers. For example, Stewart and Furse (1986) found that only 3 percent of the TV commercials from leading advertisers used the hard sell.
Evidence on the effects of a gentle call for action
In a field experiment, 83 messages were sent to secretaries at the City University of New York. The secretaries knew the senders. In some cases a demand was made (e.g., “This paper is to be returned immediately to Room 238 through interoffice mail”), whereas in others there was a request (“I would appreciate it if you would return this paper immediately to Room 238 through interoffice mail”). Requests led to 80 percent compliance, while demands led to only 55 percent (Langer, Blank, and Chanowitz 1988).
In a small-scale unpublished study, subjects rated several crystal glassware patterns. A “hard sell” was then used to convince the subject to chose a brand other than the one originally selected: “This shows good taste; it is truly a classic design, not at all like Pattern X.” In the soft sell, the subject was told, “This particular style has a charm all its own.” Fifteen subjects were used in each condition. Only two of 15 subjects who were given the hard sell changed their selection to the “pushed” pattern. In contrast, 11 of 15 of the soft-sell subjects changed their choice (described in Clee and Wicklund 1980).
In a field experiment, as a car was leaving a parking space, another car—driven by one of the experimental team members—was waiting for the space. When the waiting car honked (as it did on 240 randomly assigned trials), the cars took 39 percent longer to leave the space than when the waiting car did not honk (Ruback and Juieng 1997).
6.17.3. When using an explicit action step, make it immediate,