Persuasion in web design: emotional triggers versus trickery

As web designers we make our sites as user friendly, appealing and unbreakable as possible. It looks good, it does what it’s meant to, and the client is happy. Job well done! Or not.

Designing a good site isn’t enough anymore. Just as advertising has changed over the years, so must web design to take into account smarter consumers.

Enter persuasion web design: the ability of the designer to change or coax a user into a particular intent.

I’m not advocating sneakiness often referred to as ‘dark patterns’ in e-commerce. (This includes things like sneaking items into users’ online basket, slyly subscribing people to monthly payments and hiding fine print.) But using persuasion as an emotional trigger is a useful tool, and one web designers need to be able to add to their ever increasing skill set to develop methods to push, pull and motivate users to our end goal.



Here we’ll look at some of the more common elements used at the moment, and ways to integrate them into the user journey. The below methods and examples stay away from that tricky line where persuasion becomes deception (at least we think so). Because as we know:

Deception + reach of today’s internet users = instant reputation damage.

There are some great guides out there covering the full range of influencing in the psychology of persuasion - like this book. I’m going to cover some of these which are especially relevant considering the ever increasing use of social media and businesses moving their purchasing online.

Social persuasion 53% of people on Twitter recommend companies and/or products in their tweets, with 48% of them delivering on their intention to buy the product¹. Ultimately users should be able to share their experience on your site without leaving the page to make full benefit of the power of social persuasion.

Groupon, currently the fastest growing company ever², understand how to make a product or service look hot. Groupon offers discounted deals on behalf of businesses, which become ‘on’ when enough people purchase the deal.

Upon signing up, you’re immediately inundated with ways to spread the word via social media. Or, they’d be more than happy to email everyone in your address book for you (considerate, huh?).



They’re upfront about it, you don’t have to opt out (except for closing the window), and there is no trickery used, so it’s fair game. You even get a cool 10 bucks credit for every customer that signs up.

This element of persuasion not only increases the companies reach, but adds extra authority to it. This is critical as research shows that 67% of shoppers spend more online after recommendations from online community of friends³. Good websites make it as easy as possible for users to email, tweet or share their message.

ScarcityThe idea that stock is running out, or that it is only available for a limited time makes things instantly look more appealing. Apple is all too familiar with this concept when releasing their iPads, and Google used the same tactic when issuing limited invites to their Facebook rival site, Google+.

Staying with the example of Groupon, they’re also making great use of this tool too. Have a good look at the screen grab below:



With the clock ticking the buyer knows this deal is running out and that they need to act now. You’ll notice that the page also lets you know 231 other people have bought this deal, not just that it has reached its minimum number, reaffirming to you that other people think this is a good idea.

AuthorityUsers are more likely to believe your message or buy your product if it’s coming from a respected source.
Testimonials and icons for security and safety also fall under this category. Sites like eBay use these tools to let users know they’re purchase are low risk and smart.



On this one advert the user can see that this is a high traffic and top rated seller. Protected by eBay Buyer Protection all the persuasion tools used here are indicating a safe, and best value purchase from an expert seller. This will assist the user to get to the checkout as quickly as possible.

Retweets and independent blogs discussing your site are valuable tools – if you can get them. Savvy online media companies are now hiring well known bloggers to spruik their products for them, knowing the message will hit home more than traditional advertising. The new phenomenon of ‘Mummy bloggers’ has seen websites dedicated to assisting the new mummy blogger set up a blog and giving them guides on how much to charge – like this interesting article on price guidelines on the Mom Bloggers Club.

ReciprocationGive people something for free, they’ll feel indebted to you. This is not a new concept; Coca-Cola understood the value of this back in 1887, with what is believed to be the first coupon ever⁴.



A newsletter, a voucher, it doesn’t really matter just make is small and useful. Amazon uses the tool of reciprocation in abundance with Kindle, allowing you to download a sample of a book before purchasing it. Once you’ve finished the sample a handy ‘buy now’ button pops up to have it effortlessly delivered to your Kindle in one click.



Did I mention that Amazon sells 43% more eBooks then hardcovers on average⁵? The ability to design a website with these kinds of inbuilt, favour-building strategies gives your websites a nice advantage over the competitor.

Another key element of reciprocation is the spreading of links, like the very simple ‘blog roll’ in Wordpress, where you can create a list of websites you like. There is the slight assumption that sites will then link back to you. Almost like the ‘follow back tool’ used on many twitter management sites (those using these tools will automatically unfollow you if you do not follow them back in a certain time frame). The idea that when a website links to your website you should link back has caused much debate in the online world.

Those who are using reciprocation are not shy about it, and make it work for them.

LoyaltyWe like to think of ourselves as loyal people who stand by our word. Similarly, when we belong to a loyalty club, like a facebook page or follow a brand on twitter, we affiliate ourselves with that brand, a connection is made.
Next, you’re in the ketchup isle, staring aimlessly when you remember –



…hang about, 800,000 and I like Heinz ketchup. I buy Heinz.
This happens because we like to back up our loyalty with behaviour. Show that we know our own mind. This isn’t to say the person in question wasn’t already about to buy Heinz, but by using these web design tools we can be clever about forming these links.

Last thoughts

It’s always worth starting at the beginning, and looking at the company’s strategy – how does persuasion web design fit? Is it cost effective? Will it help us reach our objectives?
Persuasion as an emotional trigger, despite what the phrase conjures up, is not about trickery or placing pictures of cute babies on your website. As with defensive web design, we’re lowering the risk of the user getting lost amongst the site, and assisting with user journey, key messages and potential sales.


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References:

1. ROI Research for Performance,June 2010 
2. Meet the Fastest Growing Company Ever, Fobes.com, 30 August 2010
3. Internet Retailer, September 2009
4. The first coupon ever, Grocery.com
5. Amazon's E-book Sales Up 80%: Hardcovers Not Dead Yet, PC World, June 2010
6. Internet Retailer, September 2009

Other references:

• Persuasion Triggers in Web Design, Smashing Magazine
• Influence: Science and Practice, by Robert B Cialdini