{"id":164449,"date":"2024-02-22T13:31:36","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T12:31:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=164449"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:11","slug":"how-to-cut-long-queue-marketing-students-learn-how-to-persuade-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2024\/02\/22\/how-to-cut-long-queue-marketing-students-learn-how-to-persuade-people\/","title":{"rendered":"How to cut in line? Marketing students learn how to persuade people"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Advertising and Communication lecture, Marketing students learn strategies to influence and persuade people. “Requests can backfire. Sometimes, it\u2019s better not to say anything.”<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPauline Wiersema<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

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\u201cImagine you are standing in a long queue at the copier. Someone behind you asks: \u2018I only have five pages to copy, can I go first?\u2019 Would you let that person cut in line?\u201d This is the scenario posed by lecturer Bram Van den Bergh to the over 70 students in the lecture hall. A QR code on the screen behind him directs students to MentiMeter, where they express their opinions with a \u2018yes\u2019 or \u2018no\u2019. Less than 20 per cent of students agree, while the majority reject the request. Van den Bergh laughs, saying: \u201cMy, you sure are strict!\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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Lecture:\u00a0<\/strong>Advertising and Communication, Wednesday 13:00\u201315:45 in the Mandeville building T3-21<\/p>\n

Lecturer:\u00a0<\/strong>Bram Van den Bergh<\/p>\n

Subject:\u00a0<\/strong>Influencing people to buy a product<\/p>\n

Audience:\u00a0<\/strong>Over 70 students who, by the time the series of lectures come to an end, will be able to sell anything<\/p>\n

Reason to attend:\u00a0<\/strong>The lecture is highly interactive and fast-paced, leaving no time to get bored and scroll on your phone. Examples are from the real world, so by the end of this lecture, you will know the marketing strategies behind advertisements, and be aware of the tricks you shouldn\u2019t fall for in wine shops or hotel bookings.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

This question originates from a study on how accommodating people are. The lecturer then reveals the study\u2019s results. \u201cContrary to your responses, 60 per cent of the participants agreed to the request\u201d, Van den Bergh says. When the person behind provides a good reason for the question (like, they are in a hurry), 94 per cent of people allow them to go first. Even for silly reasons, such as \u2018because I want to\u2019, 93 per cent of people still say \u2018yes\u2019. \u201cThis is because it\u2019s a low-impact request. After all, copying five pages does not take that much time\u201d, the lecturer explains.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPauline Wiersema<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

As the request gets larger, such as 20 pages, only 24 per cent of the study\u2019s participants indicate that they would agree. With a good reason, 42 per cent say \u2018yes\u2019, but with a \u2018silly\u2019 reason, only 24 per cent would let the person cut in front of them. Conclusion: people are not as easily swayed with larger requests compared to smaller ones.<\/p>\n

Strong reasons <\/h2>

Applying this research to marketing, the importance of giving a good reason to persuade people becomes evident. \u201cClearly, providing a good reason is essential to convincing people\u201d, says the lecturer.<\/p>\n

Van den Bergh illustrates this with an example from a campaign by Child Focus, a Belgian foundation for missing and sexually exploited children. When a child goes missing, the foundation spreads the message on social media. However, not enough people were sharing the message.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPeople did not feel connected to a missing child because they did not know the child personally\u201d, explains the lecturer. The foundation then launched the \u2018Closer than you think\u2019<\/a> campaign, based on the idea that it only takes six steps to connect you with any stranger (six degrees of separation) \u2013 in this case, the missing child. They used this concept in a video to show people that they were indeed connected to the missing children. This campaign resulted in a 380 per cent increase in the sharing of missing children\u2019s messages, reaching twice as many people.<\/p>\n\n\t

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Lees meer<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t