Manipulate the Shopper’s Sense of Power

If you make shoppers feel more powerful, they’re likely to increase the amounts spent on purchases for themselves. If you make them feel less powerful, they’re likely to increase the amounts on purchases intended for others.
     Participants in a study at Northwestern University placed bids on items like a T-shirt and a mug. Some of the participants had been exposed to a manipulation to build a sense of greater power, while the manipulation for the other participants was designed to lessen the sense of power.

• When purchasing the item for themselves, those feeling greater power bid about 86% more for an item, on average, than those feeling lower power.
• When purchasing the item for someone else, those feeling less powerful bid about 52% more for an item, on average, than those feeling higher power.

     How can you as a retailer manipulate a shopper’s sense of power? In the Northwestern study, it didn’t take much: Some of the study participants were asked to imagine an actual episode in the past when they possessed high power in a situation. The others were asked to imagine an actual episode in which they experienced little power.
     You could adapt that to discussions you have with a regular customer.
     But that might be getting too personal. So instead, consider some other types of research-based manipulations:

• Show advertisements and store signage which emphasize the power possessed by the shopper (“At our store, you’re the boss”) or deemphasize the power (“At our store, we take care of you”).
• Treat the shopper with deference or with authority.

     When the salesperson takes on the role of Coach or Playmate, that builds the sense of power of the shopper.

• The Coach reassures us. The customer expects the Coach to be available until the problem is solved and to encourage the customer to buy whatever is needed to solve it.
• The Playmate loves fun. The customer expects the Playmate to be more interested in how the shopping experience feels than in how the product or service works.

     Conversely, the salesperson roles of Superhero and Guru manipulate shopper power downwards.

• The Superhero takes responsibility for rescuing us. The customer expects the Superhero to go above and beyond what most salespeople are able or willing to do.
• The Guru brings experience and a sharp mind. The customer expects the Guru to pretty much know the customer's needs without asking lots of questions.

Click below for more:
Bow Down Before the Shopper’s Power
Build Each Customer’s Assertiveness
Mythologize Your Store