In this article, I would like to focus a little on positivity. Not long ago, I was at an event where a compliments lady was walking around. She walked around a bit, made small talk with the attendees and wrote cards with compliments based on the conversations she had. I too was one of the lucky ones to receive a compliment card. And there you are with a card in your hand and a smile on your face.

The effect of a compliment

In purely physiological terms, quite a lot happens in the brain when we experience happiness. Upon receiving a compliment, the ‘pleasure center’ of your brain is activated releasing dopamine and norepinephrine. These neurotransmitters cause us to experience a compliment as a positive event (Strack, Argyle & Schwarz, 1991).

In addition to the physiological change, a positive experience (compliment) increases the level of satisfaction, hope, optimism and happiness. You also reduce the risk of depressive episodes in your life and positive experiences even make you live longer (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). These are fairly extreme promises as far as I am concerned, but I am fully convinced that positivity works wonders when it comes to happiness.

Different types of compliments

In most cases, compliments come in the form of an affirmation: ‘how nice you look today’ (confirmation of your outfit choice), or a colleague saying you did a job well (an affirmation of your experience and ability).

Compliments can be very direct, such as a compliment about your appearance, but in daily life and online, compliments are more common indirectly. For example, when your choice of a particular dish is confirmed in a restaurant. The waitress who says, ‘Ah, the steak with salsa verde is my favorite dish! Or a saleswoman in a store who tells you at checkout that she would like to buy that blouse herself.

What is going on in your head?

A visitor on your site has found an incredibly nice sofa. Still, there are some doubts that keep the visitor from actually buying the sofa. Because the visitor has to order the sofa online, she finds it difficult to assess the quality of the fabric and whether the sofa will match the rest of the interior. On top of that, a sofa is a big purchase and the current sofa might last a little longer.

She consults with her partner who confirms her choice with the following sentence: “Sure you should buy this couch! You've been looking for a bigger couch for a long time.” And boom there the dopamine and norepinephrine are released. Neutral feelings make room for feelings of happiness that make the visitor more likely to buy the sofa.

Implicit or explicit affirmation?

Since we are at Online Dialogue optimize interactions that take place in the digital domain, we unfortunately cannot always wait for a chance influence from a relevant partner. Nevertheless, we can also confirm the visitor's choice online in several ways. For example, you could help the customer with her previously made choice using a simple phrase like “good choice!”.

But in addition to explicitly confirming a choice, you can also work very well online with implicit confirmation. Think for example of a summary of the advantages of the bank with green checkmarks in front of it on the ‘data page’. Or by again emphasizing the sustainable way in which the bank is produced on the thank you page. By doing so, in the later steps of the purchase process, you all give reasons why her first choice of that bank is the right one.

Optimize your compliments

Be careful, though, because too many compliments can actually create the opposite effect. It is up to you to find the right balance in this. Using A/B testing, you can find out if, where, when and to what extent your website visitors need confirmation of their choices. Never underestimate the power of a compliment in time. Online and offline 😉

Literature:
Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive Psychology: an introduction. American Psychologist (1), 5-14.
Strack, F., Argyle, M., & Schwarz, N. (1991). Subjective well-being: an interdisciplinary perspective. Pergamon Press.