Persuasion and Influence 1 - Assignment Example

Cialdini’s article is hugely pertinent and reveals important facets of human behavior that are subtly exploited to influence purchase actions of consumers. Looking back I realize that two of my purchases recently were bought despite the fact that they were not essential items and more importantly, not in my list of requirement! The first item was the perfume that was on offer at 50% discount and the offer was only for that day. It was my favorite perfume and knowing the actual cost, I found the offer to be highly tempting, finally leading to my purchase of that perfume.

The second item was a dress for my niece. I had bought the dress because that brand was running a campaign for educating the poor in Africa and 10% of the dress price was to be donated to the cause! Hence, it made me feel good that I am also part of that campaign. The two unplanned purchases had actually upset my weekly budget and as a result, that week, we had to cut down on our regular fruit diet. I realized that because of my irrational decision, my family had to compromise on essential food item.

Indeed, consumer behavior is need based which is exploited by marketers (Arnould et al., 2004). Hence, I decided that I would rationalize my buying and stick to list. The perfume that was on offer of the day was actually not so as three weeks back, my friend had also bought the same perfume at same price! Indeed, they are marketing gimmicks that are essentially designed to tempt consumers (Edwin and Douglas, 2008). Thereafter, during my weekly shopping, I would wave my list in front of the salesperson and move forward to complete my shopping.

I found this technique to be very effective. (words: 298)ReferenceArnould, Eric., Price, Linda & Zinkhan, George. (2004). Consumers.(2nd ed.) NY: McGraw-Hill.Cialdini, Robert B. (2001) Harnessing the Science of Persuasion. HBR, 72-79.Edwin, J Nijssen & Douglas, Susan P. (2008). Consumer World-mindedness, social mindedness and tore image. Journal of International Marketing, American Marketing Association; 16(3), 84–107.