In “Thought is the Child of Action” we considered how social psychologists were able to get an astounding 76% of California homeowners to agree to post large, ugly DRIVE CAREFULLY signs on their front lawns – just because they had previously agreed to display tiny driver safety signs in their windows. That’s good to know if you’re a public safety advocate. But how can this knowledge benefit higher education programs for nontraditional students?
How the Consistency Principle Can Help Educators and Recruiters
Clearly, educators are hoping to encourage students to help themselves by furthering their education, not induce them to agree to outlandish requests. But despite the importance of education, prospective students continue to put off taking steps that will clearly help their job prospects in a recovering economy. Is it because they lack knowledge of the benefits of a degree? Yes, in a few cases. But often it’s because they just don’t have enough motivation to clear the hurdle of going back to college as working adults. This is where employing the Consistency Principle can help.
Graduate and Continuing Education programs recruit many students from among those who attend their Open House events. Can the Consistency Principle – confirmed by over 1,000 studies – help increase attendance? It can.
Consistency’s Power to Move People to Take the Next Step
In Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, persuasion expert Dr. Robert Cialdini and his coauthors relate another Freedman and Fraser experiment that shows how Consistency can move individuals to take further steps. An assistant called homeowners, asking them to participate in a consumer survey. Note what he told them:
This survey will involve five or six men from our staff coming into your home some morning for about 2 hours to enumerate and classify all the household products that you have. They will have to have full freedom in your house to go through the cupboards and storage places. Then all this information will be used in the writing of the reports for our public service publication – “The Guide.”
It’s remarkable that anyone consented to this equivalent of executing a search warrant. But 22% of those asked agreed. A second group of homeowners were called beforehand and asked a number of questions on the household products they preferred. Their answers would be published in “The Guide.” Most cooperated and answered the questions. When they were called three days later and asked to consent to the “marketing search warrant,” an amazing 53% agreed!
Moving More Prospects to Attend your Open House
Prospective adult learners who inquire about your programs have already taken the first step. They are equivalent to the homeowners in Freedman and Fraser’s studies who agreed to display a tiny sign or answer a few questions. Follow up their inquiry within two weeks and ask them to take a further step. If an Open House is scheduled, attending it is a natural next step. If not, would an in-person or phone interview make sense? If college resources would allow, could you schedule a discussion with a qualified education counselor? Each stride your prospects take makes the majority feel a greater interest in furthering their education. It moves them closer to enrolling in your program. That is, perhaps why colleges enroll so many adults who attend Open Houses – they’ve already taken a significant step by coming.
Increasing Inquiries with Consistency
As mentioned in “Thought is the Child of Action,” many institutions knowingly or unknowingly employ the Consistency Principle to increase qualified inquiries for traditional undergraduate programs. It works – but only when applied with knowledge and skill. Clearly the research shows that the Consistency Principle moves adults to action. Can it be used to increase inquiries from adult learners at your institution?
If you’re a Dean, Director or college marketing officer who would like to learn more, feel free to email me at lrondeau@thealliedgrp.com.
April 25, 2010 at 8:05 pm |
There is obviously a lot to learn about this. There were some pretty good points.