3 ways marketers can boost their persuasion prowess

Derek Rucker is a professor of marketing at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management whose research focuses on persuasion and consumer behavior.

He is also the father of an 8-year-old girl with an iPad. Because he limits her screen time to an hour a day, he frequently tells her to turn off the device and put it away. She usually listens, but is that persuasion?

Not really. “She still believes she should be able to use the iPad as much as she wants,” Rucker says. Yes, he has influenced her actions—but it stemmed from his parental authority, not his ability to change her beliefs.

Persuasion, meanwhile, requires the ability to alter not just action but attitude. The difference is subtle, but important: A cereal brand that slashes its prices may gain new customers, but it hasn’t fundamentally changed how it is perceived.

It’s a distinction that gets at why persuasion can be so tricky, often requiring time, skill and a nuanced reading of multiple moving parts. But for brands looking to make, improve or reconfigure their image with consumers, there are few tools more valuable.

Here are three things to consider when attempting to craft a persuasive message:

1. Know your message.