Leverage the rule of reciprocity for eCommerce conversions
Back in the days when the Hare Khrishna were spreading the Hindu word at airports and other public places, single-stem flowers could be found in the nearby trash cans. For anyone who was paying attention, the Hare Khrishna would, from time to time, fish those flowers straight out of the garbage.
This odd behavior was described in the book "Influence: The Power of Persuasion," written by Robert Cialdini. In it, Cialdini described the rule of reciprocity, which the Hare Krishna leveraged to their benefit. Essentially, the Hare Krishna discovered that passersby were more inclined to give a donation after being given a flower – even if they didn’t want it. Many recipients of the flower would walk away confused by what had just happened only to throw away the unwanted gift. To save on their limited marketing funds, so to speak, the Hare Krishna would “recycle” the discarded flowers and re-gift them for more donations.
Although eCommerce firms might not be prone to fishing unwanted products out of any garbage cans any time soon, they can still use the rule of reciprocity to their advantage. In social psychology, the rule of reciprocity describes a human response to a positive action as one that is equally positive.
When it comes to marketing efforts, social media is a great place to get the reciprocal ball rolling. Even though it requires customers to make the first move – to follow you or add you as a connection – the true interaction can begin with something as simple as a positive comment, a like or a retweet. Because of humans’ innate desire to return the favor, these social media followers might be more inclined to offer more social media likes, more favorable reviews or, of course, more purchases.
For B2C marketing efforts, the rule of reciprocity can be seen in promotions for free shipping or complimentary upgrades for customers when they make their next purchase. It also plays out in the form of free product samples or a complimentary eBook on the most recent fashion trends, for example. Similarly, white papers and eBooks are a great way for B2B businesses to give the gift of knowledge and insight to potential clients.
The key element to remember with the rule of reciprocity, however, is that there shouldn’t always be expectations of getting something in return like a purchase or a signed contract. You can, however, hope to get a piece of gratitude. To do so, make it easy for your customers and clients to show that gratitude. You can ask for a simple thumbs-up on Facebook or even a business referral, if the item or service you provided was to their liking.
No matter how much level-headedness we try to inject into the decision-making process, some of the choices we make are based on factors we can hardly control. Many catalysts to making a decision or a purchase hinge on simple human behavior – and probably more so than we’d ever imagined.
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