Robert Cialdini’s book “Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion”” offers a great primer on commitment and consistency. This book is a must read, it is that good.
Once a customer makes a commitment, all the actions that follow must be consistent with that commitment…A car dealer will sell a strip down car, once the purchaser has committed to the purchase it is very easy to sell accessories for that vehicle. A bettor at a race track is much more confident in their bets after they have made them.
This factor has vast implications in creating customer advocacy. Once the customer has decided that your restaurant is worth committing to, the opportunity to market to this individual and have this individual market your restaurant for you grows exponentially.
Seth Godin’s blog on “Loss v Gain” captures the concept very well, once you commit to something, it is yours and its worth much more than you would have paid originally.
