We all know that internet consumers have the attention span of a flea. If something doesn’t immediately grab their interest, they’re likely to be off to the next website within seconds.
This is a challenge for companies that depend on their websites to attract and engage customers. If customers don’t like what they see, they’ll click away before the company has a chance to sell itself. But according to recent research into the online dating world, there’s a simple secret to attracting people online.
Posture
It seems that when people have outstretched arms and other expanded postures in online photos, they’re perceived as more attractive. People want to be with attractive people and that can translate to spending more time on a company website.
In the online dating studies, researchers first tested the effect of postural expansiveness on speed dating success. In their evaluation of 144 speed dates, they found that an expansive posture nearly doubled the odds of getting a “yes” response.
In a separate study, researchers had six subjects each prepare two profiles for a popular online dating application. In one profile photo, the subject was shown with a posture that expanded the body through outstretched limbs and an open torso. In the other, the subject took a closed, slouching stance. The profiles were otherwise identical. The researchers then measured how often these profiles got a “yes” from dating application users who rapidly flipped through profiles looking for someone they would like to meet. They found that users were 27 percent more likely to give the thumbs up to someone who had an expansive posture rather than a contracted one. This effect was especially evident in profiles of men.
The researchers theorize that an open posture conveys both power and openness, which translate to social dominance – apparently a very sought after quality in the online dating world. Happily, this is not a world I need to experience firsthand, but I do think the research teaches us something important about customer experience.
Many businesses believe their customers make buying decisions based solely on rational factors like price and quality. But our research has shown that most of a customer’s decision making is based on emotions and subconscious impressions. This is especially true in the early stages of the buying journey, when customers rely on instincts and gut feelings to quickly filter their choices.
Open postures are common among clothing retailers’ websites – after all, it’s hard to see the clothes if the model is in a hunched position. But service providers may be driving customers away by using stock photos of people hunched at desks or on the phone – clear signals that they are busy and unapproachable. Photos with more open, welcoming postures might do a better job of inviting customers to look around.
If you don’t think a model’s posture is significant, take a look at a weight loss ad. Invariably, the “before” picture shows someone in a rather slouched posture, looking flabby and unattractive. In the “after” photo, the person is thinner, but also stands in a more open posture, with chest thrust out and tummy tucked in. The weight loss companies use this relationship between posture and attractiveness to help sell their product.
Posture sounds like a small and insignificant thing, but you have to remember that potential customers instinctively make snap decisions that determine whether they will engage with your company at all. I talk about this in depth in my forthcoming book, The Intuitive Customer.
Are there times when a closed posture might actually be more effective? Maybe. A closed posture with crossed arms can effectively convey dominance and a no-nonsense attitude, so it might be good for a personal injury lawyer. But for most companies, an open posture seems a better and more welcoming signal.
Does posture matter? Let’s talk about it in the comments section below.
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Register now for my next webinar: 5 Steps For An Effective, Customer Centric, Digital Transformation.
Colin Shaw is the founder and CEO of Beyond Philosophy, one of the world’s leading Customer experience consultancy & training organizations. Colin is an international author of five bestselling books and an engaging keynote speaker.
Follow Colin Shaw on Twitter & Periscope @ColinShaw_CX