Most of our guests in this bedroom - do what?
Why do hotel bath towels feature in ?“The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert B Cialdini?
You will see on reading the book (link below) that he identifies six key principles of influence. They are?reciprocity, scarcity, authority, commitment and consistency, liking and consensus (or social proof).
So, which of these six principles were in the minds of the hotel management who placed the card above in my room and all the others this weekend? And what can we learn for our engagement with colleagues, customers training participants and those we love if we draw on the six principles?
The story begins with Cialdini’s research in 2001.
In a Holiday Inn, his researchers randomly placed three notice cards in bedrooms but each with a different take on how guests could help the environment.
The cards were identical in two respects.
First, on the front, they informed guests that they could participate in the programme by placing their used towels on the bathroom towel rack.
Second, on the back, the cards provided information regarding the amount of energy that could be saved if most guests participated in the programme.
The cards differed, however, in the persuasive appeals designed to stimulate recycling.
The first card focused guests on environmental protection. It stated:
·???????? HELP SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT. You can show your respect for nature and help save the environment by reusing your towels during your stay.
?The second card focused guests on environmental cooperation. It stated:
·???????? PARTNER WITH US TO HELP SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT In exchange for your participation in this program, we at the hotel will donate a percentage of the energy savings to a nonprofit environmental protection organization. The environment deserves our combined efforts. You can join us by reusing your towels during your stay.
The third card focused guests on the descriptive norms of the situation. It stated:
·???????? JOIN YOUR FELLOW GUESTS IN HELPING TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT Almost 75% of guests who are asked to participate in our new resource savings program do help by using their towels more than once. You can join your fellow guests to help save the environment by reusing your towels during your stay.
Result?
The third card “Join your Fellow Guests” generated most success.
Guests were 33% more likely to reuse their towels than those who saw the other two card messages.
Why?
The first card was more abstract. The second card was vague, and no definitive proof offered as to how the promised donation would be made.
However, when a fourth card was randomly distributed with two of the messages but strictly in the sequence “Join your fellow guests” followed by “Partner with us to save the environment”? the result was a 47% success rate.
Over to You!
You can easily work out which of the six principles were at work here! You can also move forward and determine which of them, alone or combined, could enhance your:-
·???????? Expected staff protocols and conduct
·???????? Customer service standards
·???????? Learning agreements or ground rules for teaching and training
·???????? Personal relationships!!!
Read more in the link below about the six principles from Dr Cialdini:-
1.????? Reciprocity
2.????? Scarcity
3.????? Authority
4.????? Commitment and consistency
5.????? Liking and
6.????? Consensus (or social proof).
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