Schedules of Reinforcement

One other area of reinforcement is worth expanding. In my conversation with Karen Pryor, she discussed a problem with her clicker training web site. She was disappointed in sales and commented, “I had them build in a variable reinforcement schedule, but it doesn’t seem to be working.”

Variable reinforcement, reinforcing behaviors sporadically instead of every time they are performed, leads to behaviors that are more persistent and reliable. But companies must deliver on the brand promise every time. By reconciling these two principles, companies have an opportunity to create customer loyalty. Customer satisfaction research indicates that the only time a correlation exists between a satisfaction measure and repurchase is when a customer reports being delighted. Delight comes from being surprised, typically from receiving something unexpected or something more. New Orleans has a word for that little something extra that a merchant drops in with a purchase: a lagniappe.

If companies give a lagniappe with every transaction, it quickly becomes an expectation and fails to create delight. However, if that little something extra is put on a variable schedule of reinforcement, customers’ habits will be powerfully shaped toward persistent repurchase.