Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion (ELM)

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Interesting and somewhat complex scenario, indeed. Please see response attached. I hope this helps and take care.

RESPONSE:

Let's critically review the information of the theory (uploaded from your file attached), to get a basic understanding of the theory:

Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion (ELM)

It is helpful to apply theory when attempting to differentiate and understand audience or customer purchasing influences. (Good point! It will help you to understand your customer to increase the likelihood that you will use a technique that will persuade the customer to purchase your product) Theory helps provide a skeleton for strategy development and a means for measuring the effectiveness of applying the theory to a given situation. One common theory of persuasion (learning to match customer motivation and knowledge base with techniques that will increase the likelihood that you can persuade the customer to purchase your product or service) is the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion (ELM) by Perloff and Cacioppo.

The ELM describes the cognitive processing (how our brain processes information e.g., hear the message, think about the message, and respond to the message) that occurs when a person is presented with a persuasive message. Whether the message is presented one on one (as in a business relationship) or through a medium (such as a television advertisement) the theory claims we all process those messages either cognitively or peripherally (automatic reaction versus active thinking process, a celebrity speaker ro buzz word may be enough to persuade this person using peripheral processing).

The theory can be applied to understanding both goods and service industries (this is #2 information), because across the board, persuasive attempts are looking to induce a change of opinion or behavior (this is #2 information), The sales process for any industry relies upon effective persuasive communication attempts to achieve certain results (Good point! Your new responsibilities in your imagined position are calling for increased sales, so this would be important). The ELM describes how different processing occurs by the target of the persuasive attempt (central processing which involves elaborate thinking processes versus peripheral process which people use when they are distracted or have limited knowledge about a topic), and what additional variables play a role in how that message is processed.

Specifically, the ELM, developed by Perloff and Cacioppo describes a central route and a peripheral route to persuasion. The central route being a cognitive path, where a great deal of thinking about an issue is involved, and more scrutiny and attention are paid to the message. The peripheral route is described as involving very little thought, and more attention is paid to the message's ability to evoke positive values, images, or feelings. Each route has very different ways of processing information, which means the methods to reach these two groups, will also be different. The theory identifies motivation and ability to process the message as the two indicators that determine in which route a person will process a persuasive message. [#1 information to consider. Central route would be appealed to when the person to whom you are selling your product has a high needs for the product (high involvement and motivation) and has a large knowledge base about the product (high ability to process information). Peripheral route of persuasion would be appealed to if your customer is distracted or has limited information (low ability to process information, so use a few main technical words, along with some buzz words, for the customer ...