How to Coach Yourself and Others How to Influence, Persuade and Motivate | Page 195

extra $200 anyway because you're mentally committed to that car, and
you don't want to go through the whole hassle and headache of trying to
renegotiate the deal.
Often car dealers promise an incredible price, even a few hundred dollars
below a competitor's price, all the while knowing it's not actually going to
go through. The deal is offered only to motivate the buyer to purchase
from their dealership. Once the customer decides to buy, the dealer sets up
several conditions, each of them causing the customer to feel increasingly
committed before finding out the real price: lengthy forms are filled out,
great lengths are taken to set up specific financing terms, the customer is
encouraged to take the car home and drive it to work, to run errands, to
cruise the neighborhood. The dealer knows that while the customer is out
joy riding, she is thinking of all the many reasons her purchase is
justified.[4]
These tactics are even used when high school students and their parents
are narrowing down the colleges they should attend. Just like car dealers,
colleges often give a low estimate on your costs, and it's not until after
you've signed up and registered that you discover your actual costs.
Brand Loyalty
It's a challenge getting consumers to remain loyal to a particular brand.
Unlike the good old days when brand loyalty was a given, times have
changed. As a society, we no longer feel compelled to stick with a certain
company or product. I grew up with Crest, Cheerios, and Tide being
staples in my home. Now I change brands much more easily. I'm not
likely to remain loyal to a brand unless they reward me for my
commitment to them, for example, with frequent flyer miles, with the
little cars you can buy for your kids at Chevron, or with a Unocal 76 ball
to swing from your car antennae. Acquiring consumer loyalty is the
reason the tobacco industry spends over $600 million giving away
paraphernalia with tobacco logos.
[5] We constantly see companies putting their logos on coffee mugs, T-shirts,
pens, and mouse pads, to name just a few promotional items. Even though you
might not have paid for these items, owning them creates loyalty to the product
advertised on them. Most people who wear a Budweiser T-shirt don't drink Coors
beer.
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