Think Better.

Dr. Robert B. Cialdini wrote a book "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion". A key part of the book was the 6 principle he postulated as the principles of influence.

1. Reciprocity : The first principle states that we humans have a higher tendency to match favours that are don't to us. In other words, we do for others when they have done something for us. It comes natural to us and is part of our social behaviour.
2. Commitment : People have a need to stay consistent with their own self-image. No one wants to tell their peers about their workout routine and not fulfill it. We assign a certain value to our self-image and that can be helpful in persuading someone to commit to a product or service
3. Social Proof : We tend to seek consensus from our peers. Most people want to be part of a trend. We seek the safety in numbers like reviewers, ratings and followers. This is probably why the first 100 followers are harder than the first 1000 followers which is harder than the first million followers. It a virtuous cycle.
4. Authority : Authority figures are key to establishing trust with a customer. That is why we have familiar actors and celebrities endorsing brands. They are transferring the trust we have on them to the brand they are presenting to us. We tend to assign a level of objectivity on them.
5. Liking : People are more likely to be influenced by people who are like them than those who are not. The kind of persona that a company projects affect the kind of customers they attract. In a deeper sense, we always want to feel as part of a tribe.
6. Scarcity : Humans assign a higher value to something that is scarce. Knowing something is of limited supply will make you want it even more. A good example of this is the luxury industry. Watches, Cars, Boats, Art are all affected by this to some extent.