A number of psychological experiments have shown that the majority of people follow orders, even if this means problems or harm to others. A classic example is the controversial experiment conducted by Stanley Milgram in the 1960s. A student was placed in one room to answer questions and other students gave him what they believed to be electrical chocks when the authorative teacher said the answer was wrong.
You don’t need to pain people of course. As a marketer, you can take advantage of authorities, for example in the form of statements from experts in your organization or major users of your products or services. One variant is professionals in their field, such as sports or health. Dentists recommending a certain toothpaste or brand of electric toothbrush is a practical example, and advertising contains thousands more.
This preprogrammed behavioral pattern has a long history. Besides jobs where the employees wear a uniform, like the police and airlines, to show their authority it’s the same in normal business life. Titles and clothing, along with certain expensive possessions, like watches, cars, etc, have been widely accepted symbols of authority in most cultures. How you dress for a presentation, and what you say about your background therefore matters greatly.
Anyone who has worked with pharmaceutical marketing knows that there are one or two true authorities for each disease in each country, and that it is pointless to try to introduce a new product or treatment before the authorities have given their blessing. The influencer group – people who make a living by presenting products and services to their followers in exchange for payment – is harder to categorize. But for their followers, they undoubtedly represent authority, and then it works.
Selling dog food with the headline “When the dog gets to choose” is a neat way to use authority, and it also contains a touch of the previous phenomenon – liking. But it is important to choose the right authority. A celebrity used only because they are famous adds nothing. They must be credible, otherwise your claim backfires. There is also always the risk that “your influencer” gets involved in something negative, like doping or driving drunk, which will affect your brand negatively.
Finally, many companies today want to be seen as a knowledge leader. These companies often have quite full websites showing their authority through blogs, downloads, expert films, regular postings on LinkedIn, etc.
If you want to discuss persuation and communication, you are always welcome to contact ulf@sfinxconsulting.se
