Sun, Sea, and Salsa....AND THAT'S NOT ALL!!

It’s that time of year again where many of Warwick University’s society execs are frantically attempting to encourage their members to buy tickets for their annual tours. So, in attempts to sell the last few tickets, societies often make full use of the “That’s Not All” persuasion technique, to sweeten the deal and convince members to decide that it’s a good way to spend their student loan! With prices of tours increasing, and often taking place in the last break before final exams, it is important for members to believe that what they are paying for is worth the costs and the time away from revision. In organising Warwick Salsa Dancing Society’s tour, the “That’s Not All” (TNA) technique was included in publicity to make members believe that they were getting a lot for their money – i.e. their ticket paid for flights, accommodation etc., and (that’s not all!!) we would organise extra parties, day trips and t-shirts etc. 

The use of the TNA technique in attempting to sell things, such as tour tickets, has been found to increase sales of that item dramatically, as shown in the study conducted by Burger (1986).  In his study, he conducts seven experiments to test the effectiveness of the technique; however, for this I will just be linking my experience to his experiment 1. In experiment 1, Burger tested the TNA technique at a bake sale, with participants being offered a cupcake and cookies for 75 cents, or offered a cupcake for 75 cents, plus the addition of cookies at no extra charge (the TNA condition). He found that those in in the TNA condition were significantly more likely to buy the cupcakes than those who were offered cupcakes and cookies as one bundle. 73% of those in the TNA condition purchased the cupcake, whereas only 40% purchased from the control condition.

The results are depicted in figure 1.

Burger’s findings suggest people are more likely to buy products when they are accompanied by TNA persuasion techniques (and “free” cookies),  because people feel like they are getting more for their money, and are therefore more likely to think it is a good deal and purchase the product. Therefore, Burger’s experiment supports the idea that the TNA technique effectively improves sales, and should (hopefully!!) be effective in convincing Salsa members to purchase tour tickets - "free" t-shirts work the same as "free" cookies...right??

References

Burger, J. M. (1986). Increasing compliance by improving the deal: The that’s-not-all technique. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 277-283.