Pre-suasion and the art of selling ideas early

If you are trying to persuade somebody around to your way of thinking, writes Jonathan deBurca Butler, you need to start sowing the seeds earlier than you might think

In a recent marketing trial, an online furniture store brought its customers into its website through two separate home pages. Half of their visitors were brought through a portal with a picture of fluffy clouds while the other half were brought to a page that featured coins on its wallpaper.

The results were fascinating. Those who visited the idyllic ‘cloud covered’ page were more inclined to buy more comfortable furniture over those who initially interacted with the ‘coin page’ and who consequently made purchases that were altogether more considerate of their budget.