Engineering Persuasion, Emotion & Trust

The Strategy of Persuasive Design

Robert Gillham

19th April 2011

Why Consumer Experience (as opposed to ‘usability’) is Important

79% of consumers will commit to a deeper brand

relationship – through product or service adoption – after a

satisfying online experience

2

59% of customers will stop doing business with the brand

after just one bad experience in any channel

IBM customer study

Initial relationship-building is increasingly in the hands of the customer

Online &

3

Salesman StoreOnline &

Self-serve

Is a “rational” person a cool, unemotional user of logic?

4

Persuasion, Emotion & Trust?

Persuasion

• Communication intended to induce belief or action

• Process of guiding someone toward

Emotion

• Defined loosely as a physiological state of arousal

• Triggered by beliefs about

Trust

• To have faith or confidence in something or someone

someone toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic means

• Not coercive

5

beliefs about something

• Has cognitive, physiological, social, and behavioural aspects

“Six Weapons of Influence”

• Reciprocity

• Commitment Consistency

• Social Proof

6

• Social Proof

• Authority

• Liking

• Scarcity

Robert B. Cialdini “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”

• Reciprocity

• Commitment Consistency

• Social Proof

• Authority

• Liking

• Scarcity

• People tend to return a favour

• Scarcity

7

• People behave more

consistently when they have

committed to something

• Reciprocity

• Commitment Consistency

• Social Proof

• Authority

• Liking

• Scarcity• Scarcity

8

• People are more likely to do

what everyone else is doing

• Reciprocity

• Commitment Consistency

• Social Proof

• Authority

• Liking

• Scarcity• Scarcity

9

• People will obey perceived

figures of authority

• Reciprocity

• Commitment Consistency

• Social Proof

• Authority

• Liking

• Scarcity• Scarcity

10

• People are more likely to buy

from people they like

• Reciprocity

• Commitment Consistency

• Social Proof

• Authority

• Liking

• Scarcity• Scarcity

11

• Reciprocity

• Commitment Consistency

• Social Proof

• Authority

• Liking

• Scarcity

• Goods become more valuable as

they become scare and we

compete for them

• Scarcity

12

Why is Persuasive Design a Challenge for UX?

13

Why is Persuasive Design a Challenge for UX?

Usability is only a hygienic factor

• ‘Easy to use’ is something consumers always ask for

• But it’s not a competitive advantage – it’s becoming a given

• ‘Usability’ doesn’t persuade (but the lack of it can disuade!)

14

Emotion influences perceived usability

Once a consumer feels positively (or negatively) about a product or service, their emotional reaction influences the perceived importance of small usability issues

15

• Pantyhose Study by Nisbett and Wilson

12% 17% 31% 40%

Consumers don’t have sufficient insight to help

16

“This pair is sheerer”

“I think this pair is better made.”

Measuring Persuasion Through Conversion

17

Measuring Persuasion Through Conversion

Measuring Persuasion: How do people think about

a new online banking proposition?

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Measuring Persuasion: Task flow on the banking site

Browse &

Explore

Choose a

path

Choose a

conversion

path

Enter Site Converted

Visitor

Commit to

Convert

Start

“Checkout”

Unengaged Unpersuaded Unconverted

Common Conversion

Measuring Persuasion: The traditional view - X visitors in, Y visitors out

Browse &

Explore

Choose a

path

Choose a

conversion

path

Enter Site Converted

Visitor

Commit to

Convert

Start

“Checkout”

Engaged Conversion

Measuring Persuasion: Start measuring from a meaningful point

Common Conversion

Browse &

Explore

Choose a

path

Choose a

conversion

path

Enter Site Converted

Visitor

Commit to

Convert

Start

“Checkout”

Engaged Conversion

Measuring Persuasion: Distinguish between different cognitive stages

Browse &

Explore

Choose a

path

Choose a

conversion

path

Enter Site Converted

Visitor

Commit to

Convert

Start

“Checkout”

Committed Conversion

Engaged Conversion

Common Conversion

• Human beings make decisions based on emotional responses as well

as rational thought processes

• Usability governs whether or not people can complete a task

• Persuasion, emotion & trust determines whether they will do it

Summary

• Psychological principles give us a framework for thinking about

persuasive design solutions

• Persuasion can be thought about in terms of conversion – but only if we

break it down and think about conversion as a series of persuasive

steps

Thank You!

24 BBC World Service - Chinese