Contact:
Vige Barrie, [email protected], (214)768-3678
WhatÃs in a Name? A Complimentary Means of Persuasion
There is now a way to increase marketing sales by 239 percent, an amount which should have all sales representatives and executives paying attention. New research by SMUÃs Cox School of Business Associate Professor of Marketing Daniel Howard, Rutger UniversityÃs Assistant Professor of Marketing, Charles Gengler, and Ambuj Jain, currently at Deliotte & Touche, has unearthed a key to increased sales compliance, a key neither expensive nor time-consuming: merely remembering a personÃs name. Many people suspect that remembering someoneÃs name is important in business and personal relations, but the sales reciprocity of a 239 percent increase greatly exceeds what many expect as a result from common etiquette.
The test group, unknowingly being tested for sales compliance, was divided into three sections. The first section met with the salesperson who addressed them by name. The second group was not addressed by name or any familiarity at all, and the third group was asked to reintroduce themselves. The sales results from this simplistic experiment were astounding in the gulf between the test groups. Ninety percent of the people whose names were remembered complied with the sales request, while only an averaged 55% of the other two groups purchased the product. This experiment irrefutably proved that the remembrance of a personÃs name results in a far greater improvement in sales than when their name is not remembered or merely discounted.
Beyond increasing sales compliance, a second experiment proved that the general mood of the person when approached with a sales request is raised in instances where their name is remembered. By lifting the consumerÃs mood, the chances of probable compliance with a sales request is increased along with general betterment of their perception of the sales individual and company. It was also proven that the individuals being solicited were flattered when the salesman remembered their name, the flattery improving the general mood as well.
Name remembrance especially increases compliance with a sale if the person being solicited has low self-esteem or an unfavorable self-perception. A person with low self-esteem may tend to view themselves in a positive light through othersà perspectives, hoping that the personÃs image of them is a positive one. The logical conclusion from this rationalization is that the remembrance of a name is a compliment to the consumer which often results in the person being more motivated to return the favor through a sales purchase. This personal psychology improves reciprocation of a sales request because the purchaser is compelled to reciprocate the name-remembrance to keep up a positive appearance with the salesperson.
Through the three experiments, which test different explanations for the sales increases caused by name remembrance, all consistently showed that by addressing a prospective consumer by name greatly increases the chances of sales compliance. Although the extent of compliance may vary according to the gravity or expense of the purchase request, sales increases even one-tenth of these results would be highly advantageous, regardless of the product or service being sold.
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