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Persuasive
communication plays a key role in forming and shaping consumers’
behaviour. It involves the conscious attempt to modify consumers’
thoughts and actions to achieve a desired objective. The consumers
become the ultimate focus in the communication process as they are
expected to effect a change in their decision, attitude, or belief.
These involve adopting several tactics to gain the high ground in the
consumers mind.

Communication
through persuasion has one singular goal, and that is to significantly
influence consumers’ behaviour. It also aims at forming a desired
response from the consumers. For any communication to be persuasive,
the role of influence cannot be underestimated.

The communication
process and the media should wield a lot of influence on consumers. For
instance, some messages on the electronic media tend to have enormous
influence on the people because of its heterogeneous reach. When
powerful messages are delivered, they achieve the desired effect as the
influence stays longer because the medium drives home the message the
more. It ultimately moves the listener to action.

While writing this
piece, the ‘Pay Your Tax’ message of the Lagos State government was
being aired on TV, and the key message is not only to pay tax but that
Lagos only becomes beautiful when everyone pay tax. That communication
campaign persuades everyone to pay tax to develop the state and also
because credible citizens like Emeka Anyaoku and others were honoured
for paying tax regularly. The honour and recognition that come with
such would definitely influence an attitudinal change in others to pay
their taxes.

That is the role of
persuasive communication as it influences the thought pattern and
belief system of the audience to take a decision spontaneously.
Persuasive communication alters the psychological reasoning of the
consumers to take action or follow a new path of belief. Persuasion,
influence, and motivation are closely linked because when there is
persuasion, influence takes place through motivation. The key strategy
in persuasion is determining the purpose. The purpose of the
communication should be stated in specific terms such as, what should
the consumer do? How should the consumer think? All these involve
getting the consumers to believe and act in a particular way.

It is also
important to analyse the audience in order to predict their anticipated
response to persuasive communication. The audience may need to be
further stratified into smaller groups for the intended persuasive
communication to achieve its objective. The role of appeal through
reasoning and emotion cannot be ruled out in persuasive communication.
For instance, when you pay tax, there will be provision of
infrastructural facilities and basic amenities of life. When
interpreted further, you tell an average Lagosian “Crime can increase
when government cannot provide for the police.” The import of this
message is that “armed robbers will visit your neighbourhood”. With the
persuasive message, there will definitely be a change in the
behavioural disposition and belief system of the audience. The effect
of that course of action is to start paying tax and in the end, the
objective of the communication is achieved.

Language is important too

Language also plays
a dominant role in the persuasive communication model. The response of
consumers to any message depends largely on the ability to motivate
them, and this is the role language plays. The emotion of the consumers
can be stimulated through the compelling use of language. Communication
arouses emotion and evokes feelings when language is utilised. This
strikes a chord in the hearts of the consumers or the audience. The
Zain network ‘Joli’ TV commercial employed the use of language to
influence the audience through the various language adaptations across
the ethnic groupings in Nigeria. The communication, to a large extent,
shaped the mindset of Nigerians that they all had a part in the
network. This is the essential role of message design in the persuasive
communication. The message should be apt and inspiring to move the
audience into action.

The Etisalat
campaign is also another communication that stimulated consumers’
emotion with the ‘Now you’re Talking’ campaign. The adoption of native
language in the communication goes a long way in influencing the
thoughts and attitude of Nigerians. The strategy adopted focuses on the
consumers and it is aimed at influencing them to believe that it is
only “Now that you’re talking.”

The campaign
reflects the different shades of the Nigerian people and this
influences the choice of the network by many consumers. The line
reservation at inception was clearly aimed at making Nigerians see the
need to switch base to the network. The present ‘SOLO’ TV commercial is
one that will persuade any consumer to attempt to hook on to Etisalat.
This underscores the role of the persuasive communication model as it
takes advantage of the values, beliefs, and attitudes of the audience.
This explains why consumers respond the more to many messages that
align with their beliefs and values.

The selling
proposition in the persuasive communication is “Me Selling Proposition”
(MSP). This is because it is a renewed focus on the consumer. The
consumer identifies the message and he believes he owns the brand that
aligns with his aspirations and belief. A brand that is sensitive to a
consumer’s beliefs and aspirations can effectively influence him/her
through the communication process.