LDR 308 Week 4 Persuasion Example

Winning the Booksellers Over: Persuasive Communication for a Membership Program at a Twin Cities Bookstore Chain

[Student Name]

University of Phoenix

LDR/308: Communication Strategies for Leaders

Week 4 Assignment

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

Riverbend Books, its staff and its proposal are composites written for a model paper.

Three weeks into this course, the invented Riverbend bookstores have tackled internal messages, customer service and a lease. Its owners now want to launch a paid membership program. For $49 a year, members would receive 10 percent off purchases, early access to author event tickets, a birthday book credit and a members-only newsletter. Similar programs at other independent stores have raised repeat visits, and the owners estimate that 2,500 members would add about $120,000 a year in membership fees and extra purchases. But in early conversations, many booksellers objected. They worried that asking customers to join at every sale would feel pushy, that the program would make Riverbend seem like a chain and that loyal customers would resent paying for what they used to get informally, such as event seating. This paper plans how the owners can persuade staff to support the program.

Knowing the Audience

Riverbend's booksellers are mostly passionate readers, many with long tenure, who see their work as matching people with books. They value independence, community and authenticity. They distrust anything that resembles a corporate sales script. They trust the senior booksellers more than the owners on questions of customer relationships, especially after the store closure handled poorly in Week 1.

Source Credibility

Pornpitakpan (2004) reviewed five decades of research on source credibility and found that highly credible sources, those seen as expert and trustworthy, generally produce more persuasion than low-credibility sources, though the effect depends on factors such as the audience's involvement and the timing of identifying the source. For Riverbend, the owners' credibility on customer relationships is weakened; senior booksellers have more.

Social Influence

Cialdini and Goldstein (2004) reviewed research on compliance and conformity and described how people are influenced by the desire to be accurate, to affiliate with others and to maintain a positive self-concept. Principles such as reciprocity, commitment and consistency and social proof, following what similar others do, help explain why people agree to requests. Influence is strongest when it fits people's goals rather than working against them.

One-Sided and Two-Sided Messages

Allen (1991) conducted a meta-analysis comparing one-sided messages, which present only supporting arguments, with two-sided messages, which acknowledge opposing views. Two-sided messages that refuted the opposing arguments were more persuasive than one-sided messages, while two-sided messages that mentioned objections without refuting them were less persuasive. The finding argues for naming booksellers' concerns and answering them directly.

Why Authority Alone Will Not Work

The owners could simply announce the program and require staff to offer it. Compliance would follow, but booksellers would likely mention membership half-heartedly, and customers would sense their reluctance. Worse, an order would confirm the lesson staff learned from the store closure, that decisions are made without them. Persuasion is slower, but the program depends on booksellers' genuine enthusiasm, which only persuasion can produce.

Choosing the Messengers

The program will be presented by co-owner Helen Sorensen together with Grace Lindqvist, a senior bookseller of 19 years who visited an independent store in Milwaukee with a similar program and came back convinced. Grace's credibility with staff and similarity to them strengthen the message.

The Core Message

Membership is a way for our most loyal customers to support the store they love, and it helps keep Riverbend independent. The message ties the program to values booksellers already hold, independence and community, rather than to sales targets.

The program will persuade booksellers only if they see it as a way to keep the store independent rather than a step toward becoming a chain.

Answering Objections

Each objection will be addressed openly. On pushiness, staff will mention membership only when a customer asks about discounts or events, or at most once per visit, and there will be no individual sales quotas. On seeming like a chain, the program will be named the Riverbend Readers Circle, with a local design and member benefits such as bookseller-hosted reading nights. On resentment, free events will remain free to everyone; members will receive early access only for ticketed events, which already sell out.

Evidence

Helen and Grace will share results from the Milwaukee store, where members visited 40 percent more often and staff reported that conversations with members were among their favorite interactions, along with Riverbend's own data showing that its top 2,000 customers account for more than a third of sales.

Listening After the Message

The meeting will end with open questions, and Helen will commit to answering any she cannot address on the spot within a week. Concerns raised during the pilot will be gathered by store managers and reviewed before the company-wide launch, so staff see that their objections shape the final design.

Inviting Participation

Following the commitment principle, staff will be invited to a design session to shape benefits and decide how membership is mentioned. People are more committed to plans they helped create, and the session continues the two-way communication from Week 1.

A Sample Opening

Helen might open the staff meeting this way: Last year was hard, and we did not always talk with you the way we should have. Today we want to share an idea and hear what you think. Our most loyal customers keep asking how they can support Riverbend. Grace visited a store that found an answer, and we would like her to tell you what she saw.

Channels and Timing

The message will be delivered in person at each store's staff meeting, followed by the design session two weeks later and a pilot at one store for three months before company-wide launch.

Measures

Because staff support matters more than any single number, managers will also report what booksellers say about the program in huddles during the pilot. Persuasion will be judged by staff support in a short anonymous poll before and after the meetings, participation in the design session and, after launch, member sign-ups and staff comments.

Conclusion

Research on credibility, social influence and message sidedness shows that persuasion depends on trusted messengers, appeals that fit the audience's goals and honest answers to objections. Riverbend's booksellers will support a membership program if it is presented by someone they trust, framed around independence and community, designed with their input and free of pushy quotas.

References

Allen, M. (1991). Meta-analysis comparing the persuasiveness of one-sided and two-sided messages. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 55(4), 390-404. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570319109374395

Cialdini, R. B., & Goldstein, N. J. (2004). Social influence: Compliance and conformity. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 591-621. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.142015

Pornpitakpan, C. (2004). The persuasiveness of source credibility: A critical review of five decades' evidence. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34(2), 243-281. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2004.tb02547.x