No Attrition

In order to get a high follow-up rate for your research, you will have to employ marketing. Sorry. Just to get clients into your study, you will have to use marketing. A great place to start is the book “Made to Stick.” Essentially, in order for someone to remember an idea (like coming back in 6 months for an interview), you need to paint a picture with several different brushes, such as:

1. Simplicity
2. Concreteness
3. Emotional connection
4. Stories

Instead of explaining all of this, let me use an example. At the end of your first session, you can tell the client:

A. “We need you to come back in 3 months for a follow-up interview.”  or

B. “Next time you come in you’ll answer a few questions for about 20 minutes, and you’ll walk out the door with $30.  Plus, you’ll feel good about doing your part to make sure a 17 year old kid won’t have to hear a doctor tell him he’s got HIV. “

Which one do you think is a better sell? “B.”  They can visualize it  and get a taste of the emotional payoff.

So make it stick. Paint the picture. Your clients will remember it.

As always, hit me with your best comments. Pat Benatar rules.