How Are You Doing? It’s Relative.

Not too long ago I got a medical bill and was shocked by how large it was. As I thought about paying it I had the feeling many of you might have had in the past – it seems like I can never get ahead.

Sleeping on it didn’t help because it was top of mind when I went for my run early the next morning. Running is good for me because it allows me to clear my thoughts and gain perspective.  As I considered the medical bill the Oklahoma tornado tragedy came to mind. All of a sudden my “problem” paled in comparison to those who lost loved ones and the thousands who lost homes and possessions.

Please don’t get me wrong, I didn’t think of the Oklahoma tragedy to make myself feel better but the reality is this; no matter how good or bad we have it, someone else has it better or worse. How we’re doing depends almost entirely on what and who we compare ourselves to.

During the Principles of Persuasion workshop I talk about something called the contrast phenomenon which tells us how we experience something is directly related to what we compare it to. For example, saving $5 on a $10 item makes feel pretty good but saving $5 on a $100 item doesn’t have nearly the same effect. It’s the same $5 but how we view it is relative to something else.

Much of life is spent making comparisons:

• How much we make
• The house we live in
• The car we drive  

This can lead to a lot of problems and a good amount of discontent because there’s always someone who makes more, has a nicer home or car, a better looking spouse, smarter kids, etc.

My faith teaches that comparing ourselves to one another is foolish because we’re comparing to the wrong thing. If God is the standard then on one hand we’d all fall short no matter how “good” we are. Fortunately God doesn’t ask us to measure ourselves by His perfection but rather by His love. When it comes to that, He is clear – we can’t earn it and there’s nothing we’ll ever do that will make Him love us more or less.

Personally I find this freeing. No matter how productive I am today, or unproductive, no matter how well or poorly I do, nothing changes His standard. For me it means pursing whatever I do not for the accolades, money or some other external reason but rather for the enjoyment it brings me and the opportunity to help others.

So here’s my advice the next time you’re feeling blue; take a moment to explore why and ask yourself if perhaps the state you’re in has to do with comparing who you are or where you are in life to some arbitrary target. If that’s what you’re doing, then you can change the frame of reference just like I did during my morning run. The bill remains the same but I’m in a much better frame of mind and that’s priceless.

Brian, CMCT® 
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

When a Sale isn’t a Sale

Do you enjoy getting a good deal? I know I do and so do most consumers. The reality is, very seldom do we know if we’re getting a good deal because “the deal” is always relative. For example, a $300 smart phone is a good deal when you realize the normal price is $600. In other words, when you think you’re saving money you believe you’re getting a good deal and that’s extra enticement when it comes to the purchasing decision.

How would you feel if you were told you were saving 50% off of the original $300 price of luggage only to find out you saved nothing? I know I’d be upset because it’s very likely I would have factored in the “sale” price into my buying decision, consciously or unconsciously.

In a class action lawsuit, a California court recently said consumers have a right to sue retailers if the price advertised is fake. Kohl’s, the retailer involved in the suit, says its advertised price was truly a sale and besides that, “the lawsuit was originally dismissed because a judge ruled that the customer couldn't sue because he hadn't lost money by buying merchandise that wasn't as much of a bargain as he thought it was.”

So imagine you have the luggage and it works as well as you expected, would you still be upset that the “sale” price was just the price that you’d get anytime you visited the store? Would you feel manipulated to some degree?

It’s one thing to buy something and then realize you could have purchased it elsewhere for less – shame on you for not doing your homework. However, should you have to do your homework to know whether or not the store is telling you the truth about their "sale"?

In an article titled “Permission Marketing,” in Fast Company, William C. Taylor wrote, “This year, the average consumer will see or hear one million marketing messages – that's almost 3,000 per day.” Wow! Now here’s a scary thought – that quote is 15 years old! How much more do you think you’re exposed to with the explosion of the internet and social media? No one can possibly process it all and that’s why so much of our decision-making happens at the subconscious level. In fact, Martin Lindstrom, author of Buyology, contends that 85% of what we do on a daily basis comes from unconscious decisions.

One way we wade through the myriad of choices comes from decision triggers, or reliable bits of information, that guide us into what we believe are good choices. Seeing “sale” is one such trigger. Studies show that simply by advertising a “sale” or using some other feature like a yellow “Everyday Low Price” sticker can sometimes double sales even if the price hasn’t changed at all.

When I teach people about influence I stress ethics because I want students to feel good about how they apply their new knowledge. As people work in small groups to come up with some criteria about what constitutes an ethical request every group always mentions honesty and truthfulness. To a person they feel if someone is going to make an ethical attempt to persuade another individual they have to be telling the truth.

If you consider what I just shared about decision triggers and how retail sales increase based on using the word “sale,” do you think it’s deceptive of a store to advertise sale prices when in fact they’re not any different that the regular prices you can get every day at the store? In other words, if you shopped at Kohl’s every week and saw the 50% off luggage, wouldn’t you come to realize the price is just $150 because it was never sold for $300?

Like it or not, when we see a sale being advertised it gets us into stores far more than if there was no sale. Once we’re in the store we buy more so wouldn’t it be nice to know we’re truly getting the good deal that’s advertised?

Brian, CMCT® 
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.

5 Reasons Why Starbucks is so Persuasive

What better place to write this post than sitting in Starbucks on a beautiful spring day. The smooth jazz is playing as the barista and others hustle behind the counter helping a diverse group of people who pop in and out for their daily fix. Of course, there’s also the smell of roasted coffee beans in the air. All the senses are engaged when you visit a Starbucks.

Coffee has gone from the Maxwell House and Folgers morning drink to something we enjoy 24 hours a day. That shift is due in large part to Starbucks. It’s amazing when you think about it because you don’t see Starbucks commercials on television and you don’t hear them on the radio. You won’t see them on billboards or magazines either. So how does a company do what Starbucks has done with no advertising? Here are my thoughts on why Starbucks is so persuasive.

Reason #1 - They create an experience when you walk into a store. Reread my opening paragraph and you’ll see what I mean. There’s no mistaking it; you know when you’re in a Starbucks. Oh sure, you can get good coffee at Panera, Cup ‘O Joe, McDonalds (or so they say) and other places but none of them feels cool like Starbucks. It’s enjoyable to sit and take it all in as you enjoy your favorite caffeinated drink. This differentiation is the principle of scarcity at work. You can’t get this feeling anywhere else.

Not only is the service great inside, it's excellent at the drive-through as my friend and LinkedIn guru Bob McIntosh points out his post Want Great Customer Service, Go to Starbucks.

Reason #2 - The baristas and others who work here really seem to enjoy their jobs and I don’t think it’s because they’re hyped up on caffeine. I’m not familiar with Starbucks’ hiring process but the company knows what it wants in an employee and does a great job hiring the right people. That’s a huge part of the Starbucks brand. When you walk in you’re greeted by multiple people asking how your day is going. They engage you in a way that makes you like them and as we all know, people like to do business with people they like. That’s the principle of liking and it makes you want to come back again and again.

Reason #3 – Something that stands out about Starbucks is how easily recognizable its cups are. It’s amazing how many times you see them when you’re out and about. It doesn’t matter if you’re in the airport, at the mall, out for a walk in the park or anyplace else. That’s Starbucks’ advertising – me, you and everyone else walking around with a Starbucks in hand! The more we see people with their Starbucks, the more it signals to us that it’s a great product. The principle of consensus tells us people look to others to get a sense of what’s appropriate behavior. Which would you assume is the better restaurant, the one with lots of empty tables or the one with a wait? Most people would assume the latter and so it is with Starbucks.

Reason #4 - Have you tried the Starbucks app? I think it’s one of the best apps available for your smart phone. You can put in your favorite drink so when you visit you hold the app up to the scanner and the barista knows exactly what you want. It has a store locator, which is great if you travel a lot like I do. You even get free songs from iTunes almost weekly, which is cool because it exposes me to music I probably wouldn’t go look for, or want to buy. This giving engages the principle of reciprocity, making us more likely to return the favor, so to speak, by purchasing coffee.

Reason #5 - But the smartest move Starbucks made with their app is the ability to load it with cash so you can pay by phone. It works just like having a gift card except you don’t need the gift card because you pay with the phone. The brilliance is once you’ve loaded the app you don’t feel like you’re actually spending money when you buy your coffee! After all, if I have $25 or $50 on my app I’ll go out of my way to use it versus perhaps stopping by some other coffee shop where I have to “pay.”

And think about this; it’s much easier for consumers to make a few, larger purchases by reloading the app occasionally as opposed to constantly pulling $5 or $10 out to pay each time you stop by a store. In other words, Starbucks has removed the pain of paying.

Is Starbucks for everyone? Of course not, but there’s no denying the company is an incredible success and that’s not by accident. Starbucks is very intentional in its attempts to persuade us to get our fix at one of its local establishments and I’d say it’s doing an amazing job.

Brian, CMCT® 
influencepeople 
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.