October 3, 2017
Persuasion is hot. Mostly because it offers such unprecedented returns, but also because it offers great insight into your own choices. Most persuasion techniques address how to use external influencers to convince prospects to choose your offer. Less well known are persuasion techniques that capitalize on internal influencers.
Just because these techniques are less well known does not mean they are less effective. In fact, in the long run, they are actually the most effective seduction techniques for becoming the rightful owner of your customers' money.
There is a valid and reliable theory about our inner needs and motivations (and I am not referring to Maslow's obsolete pyramid from the WWII era). Self-determination theory (SDT) is an empirically based theory for our innate needs and motivations, which focuses purely on our so-called ‘intrinsic needs and motivations‘. These are the motivations behind the choices we make and the behaviors we exhibit, without any outside influence. In other words, the behavior we exhibit because we find it inwardly interesting and satisfying.
The antithesis of intrinsic motivations are the ‘extrinsic motivations‘. These are influencers of choices and behavior that come precisely from a person's environment, for example, a financial reward or a deadline. SDT shows the extent to which a person's behavior is determined by the environment (extrinsic) or by inner needs and motivations (intrinsic). The outcome is simple: our behavior is largely determined by our internal (intrinsic) needs and motivations. The latter, by the way, does not imply that we are aware of these intrinsic needs and motivations.
Intrinsic seduction techniques receive relatively less attention, perhaps because of an essential difference in effect between intrinsic and extrinsic seduction techniques. After all, extrinsic seduction techniques (those that use an external goal, reward or punishment) tend to work both directly and powerfully. What more do you want? Yes, that they work for a long time, of course, but unfortunately they don't. In fact, they decrease in effectiveness as time goes on (habituation). On top of that, as soon as you get it into your head to remove the extrinsic motivation, the (buying) behavior also stops immediately.
Intrinsic seduction techniques, on the other hand, are less likely to work. After all, intrinsic motivations can't just be forced upon you. These techniques usually require a lengthy cultivation game, especially if it is actually an extrinsic motivation for (buying) behavior that you want to ‘internalize. In other words, transform it into an intrinsic motivation, something that someone really wants from within themselves.
So intrinsic seduction techniques take a lot of time, but the good news is: if you succeed, you'll be the bacon. That's because then your customer will keep buying on their own accord, without you having to put in the effort. Intrinsic seduction techniques are thus much more sustainable and ultimately more cost-effective, but you have to look just beyond your bonus horizon. You can get started very easily, see the five tips at the bottom of this article.
Self-determination theory: autonomy, competence, relatedness
So these three innate psychological needs form the basis for many intrinsic seduction techniques. Below, I discuss the first of these three needs and then provide 5 practical and sustainable conversion tips.
As humans, we have a preference for situations that we have control over: ‘autonomy’ is the innate universal need to be in charge of our own lives. Our perception of autonomy also influences our behavior: a high level of perceived autonomy gives us feelings of security and reduced stress. Autonomy thus increases our intrinsic motivation and thus the likelihood of (persistent) buying behavior.
The following enlightening anecdote was compiled by in 2005: suppose there are uninvited children playing in your garden. Despite their fun, this annoys you, because after all, it is your garden. Oddly enough, you decide to give them one dollar each if they promise to come play in your garden again the next day. The children, of course, gladly accept this dollar and come back to play the next one. But then you tell the children that you don't have enough money and can only give them 50 cents to come play in your garden next time. When they show up the day in question, however, you tell them that they will only get 5 cents. Then what happens? Well, the children are obviously not satisfied with 5 cents and make it clear to you that you can forget it. They won't come and play in your garden for so little!
What did you do? You took away the children's autonomous motivation (their intrinsic desire to play in your yard) by linking their behavior to an external motivator (a financial reward). In doing so, their behavior became extrinsically motivated and no longer autonomous. By then removing the extrinsic reward, their behavior stopped.
With a form, have you ever wondered whether or not the input fields should be required? Well, that is tested online. And you guessed it - by reinforcing the sense of autonomy and keeping all the requested information optional, in this test the enrollment increased by 31%!
Bonus Tip:
If you have a group of customers who always buy product A, but you want them to buy B, remove the intrinsic motivation by an extrinsic motivator. For example, introduce an external reward for product A (“now at a discount!”), and then transfer this reward to product B. Especially the latter you will have to ab- test well and for a long time.
Do you have experience or even provable A/B testing that demonstrates the enduring power of autonomy and/or intrinsic motivation? If so, I'd love to hear about it!
Nederlands Nederlands
English