Because Robert Cialdini loves Pi?

The truth about the Xerox experiment ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Got this question fresh in my inbox from reader Dave F., all the way from Hemel Hempstead, England: *** “Rob, what are your thoughts on running sales that coincide with national days/themes? Example, yesterday in the states was Pi Day - 3.14. Saw quite a few brands running sales around this. Do they work? Is it one of those things that you want to have an offer just because you can?” *** Ah yes. Reminds me of something I once read in Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence, where he talks about the power of the word “because” to get people to do stuff. Now, I’m going mostly off memory. But he says something like: if you throw a “reason why” behind any ask, you’re exponentially more likely to get people to act. And he drew on the findings of a famous study called, The Xerox Experiment, to make this claim. Which basically worked like this: Research assistants were hired to hunker down in their college library. These assistants were given strict instructions to sit within eyesight of the Xerox machine. And anytime someone approached the machine to make copies, they shot across the library floor, asked if they could cut the person in line and noted what the person said. Seems like a cruel way to test people’s kindness, right? Well, researchers had another motive, too. Because there was an added twist to this test. 1/3rd of the time the assistants would ask flatly: > “Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine?” Another 1/3rd of the time, the assistants would make the same request. But this time they would also offer a real reason why they needed to skip in line: > “Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I'm in a hurry?” And finally, for the last 1/3rd of the time, the assistant would just make up a reason to skip ahead: > “Excuse me, I have 5 pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make copies?” The last one doesn’t make much sense. But the results were interesting. For those given no reason to let the person skip... They only let the researchers skip line 60% of the time. For those given a real reason to let the person skip… They let researchers skip the line a shocking 94% of the time! But most interesting of all, for those given a completely made-up reason to skip... They let researchers jump line 93% of the time. From this, Cialdini concluded the word “because” is one of those persuasion “power words.” Something we don’t quite understand, but it works incredibly well when you lean into its power. The problem with this study is… IT’S NOT TRUE. It's been debunked. Or better put: The findings didn’t hold their weight as a prediction tool. So when others tried to replicate the results (with greater stakes than simply asking to skip line to make a few copies), the power of any old “because” didn’t hold true. Turns out, any reason wasn’t a good enough reason, at all. So back to the question. Should you jump on "national days" and make a special offer just because you can? Maybe. But most don’t pass the “sniff test” to me. For example: On the calendar this week is National Corned Beef and Cabbage Day. Hopefully, you weren’t holding your breath for me to make a special sale to celebrate. I'm not. But I bet pizza businesses sold a lot of dough on Pi Day. But in my view that’s got less to do with Pi Day being a great “marketing opportunity.” And more to do with $3.14 being one heck of a deal on a medium pizza. In sum, by all means, sell your heart out. Just probably don’t wait on national holidays to justify it. Rob “[Happy National Buzzard Day]( Allen P.S. I was going to make an offer today. But I held off. Because I’m getting ready to tell you about something else. Our next event. Get ready. It’s gonna be epic. P.P.S. For any stats and science nerds out there who want to see how that Xerox study got debunked, [this is a pretty good source]( that explains it. Want to invest in your copywriting education? [Check out resources on email marketing, copywriting services, client tips and more.]( Looking for something to watch? [Watch hours of impactful copywriting training on my YouTube channel.]( Are we connected on Twitter? [Follow me here!]( No longer want to receive these emails? [Unsubscribe](. Kings of Conversion PO Box 1175 Boise, ID 83701 ‌