Bi 5 Customer engagement |5.2 Persuasion | Exercise 8 Advice for time-pressed executives Robert Cialdini, Professor of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University, wants businesses to create a new role of Chief Persuasion Officer (CPO). "Drawing on psychology. neuroscience and behavioural {economics, ‘persuasion science’ should be deployed in ‘systematic way, So, rather than leaving decisions on Influencing customers and employees solely to marketers or HR executives, Professor Cialdini believes they should collaborate with expert CPOs, In his latest book, The Small Big: Small Changes That Spark Big Influence, Cian, with co-authors Steve Martin and Noah Goldstein, suggests itis often the litte things business, policy-makers und individuals ean do which make «significam difference ~ a type of change the authors name ‘small big’. “Targeting the business audience. it follows the success of other behavioural economics books. Clearly, time-pressed executives want to cut through the noise and Jearn by example. Part of the appeal, Cialdini concedes, is also because doing something small is cheap. ‘The book's mission is to debunk assumptions that we cean change behaviour or inform devisions by providing customers and employees with all the information available; “Successful influence is increasingly governed by context rather than cognition and by the psychological environment in which such information is presented.” Linking their message to human motivations, readers are able to inerease their ability to persuade others by making, tiny shifts in their approach, Tn an earlier book, Cialdini came up with what he claimed were six universal principles of persuasion: reciprocity ~ thaving favours performed for them, people feel obliged 10 return them {i authority ~ people look to experts to show them the way Ill scarcity the less available the resource. the more people want it iv liking ~ the more people like others, the more they want tosay yes to them ¥ consistency ~ people want o actin. a way that is consistent ‘withthe values i Social proof — people look to what others do in order to ‘guide their own behaviour ‘Other experts feel Cialdini’s work is important because it shows tha persuasion means changing the way ‘people see the facts’. Abe says, "You cannot underestimate the importance ‘of small things in influencing people. Details mater! 6% 3 Read the article again and answer the questions in your own words. £ Zoom eut