Psychology in The Market
What is the basic principle of reciprocity? How does reciprocity work? How to use reciprocity to gain benefits from your marketing efforts?
Let's dive deeper.
"If you scratch my back I will scratch your back."
Some people call it just returning a favor or paying it forward, but science describes this in a word that is called reciprocity.
Reciprocity has continuously helped humanity to survive in different ways, especially in the market. Folks use reciprocity as their marketing strategy.
What Is Reciprocity?
Reciprocity talks about the tendency of mankind's nature to pass on to offer something to others when something is expected or received by others.
The reciprocity principle effect is vivid in human lives every day. Let's take an example, let's say you're going to buy your friend's birthday gift because that same friend has given you a birthday gift too. Maybe you are going to visit your friend because your friend visited you a month ago. These examples clearly show that the principle of reciprocity is involved in our daily life.
How Does It Work? In Action Experiment of Reciprocity
Philip Kunz is a sociologist, and he experimented in 1947. He posted handwritten Christmas cards, with a family photo and note, to almost 600 randomly selected folks that are strangers. Soon, the responses started trickling back in.
Philip Kunz received almost 200 replies. But a question arrives why those stranger's responses to a stranger? This is a real example of reciprocity at the action. Because Philip had done right for them, many strangers were compelled to give Philip something in return.
Using the Principle and Psychology of Reciprocity in Market
The long-lasting, deeper and strong interpersonal relationships the reciprocity principle foster within the community and you. It can also be extended to make good relationships with
customers. The primary key is to use this law in good manners to prompt customers to act uniquely.
Let's take an example, consider it when marketers used special promotions and coupons to boost their sales and convince customers to buy their products. Or when marketers used lead magnets to lure you and get your contact details. In these examples, the use of human psychology is involved, and you can observe social psychology principles.
Authenticity Principle
The authenticity and reciprocity are both critical for marketing, and it's tough to separate these two principles. If you overlook one, for example, if you abandon the authenticity principle, your marketing approach may be viewed as a big joke. Never make a mistake like this in marketing.
When you use both these principles together, it will deliver a positive gesture, and you'll get positive gestures in return. The main thing is happening here. You are making customers believe that you're giving them valuable products. Doing so makes customers not think that they are giving you a bit more.
Reciprocity Tips for Marketing
Always make sure to take every step wisely, so you don't only influence the target market but also allow customers to reciprocate positively. This is a huge bonus. Just remember you are out in the market for sale. You can make this dream come true when you convince customers and win the hearts of your customers. Below are some useful tips you can use in your marketing.
Offer Something First
Rather than advertising an ad and waiting for your target customers will make a purchase, it's not enough. You have to offer them something free first. Always offer something attractive. Often, you can pass reward points, coupons, or discounts. When you give something without hoping for something in return, this will trigger a rapid response.
Make Customers Feel Superior
Before advertising free samples, take some steps to make customers feel special. You can do this in different ways, including sending them a warm note or giving them a choice to choose their reward. This is the right way. When you provide them with the freedom to choose the reward and extra attention, this will show them that you care for them as a person. Not just as your potential revenue source.
Help Customers Outside the Context of Store
This is an excellent way to establish your customer's trust, always try to help customers outside the store context. For example, a common content marketing strategy is to offer free buying guides to help customers whether or not they make a purchase. This is a simple gesture, but it will provide you the opportunity to showcase your expertise.
Make It Memorable
Make it a memorable experience for your customers. Run a campaign on social media sites or enlist other brands' cooperation to make it an exciting and fun offer. This way, people will remember your brand, and they will buy your brands when they want to buy.
Keep Your Relationship Going
Once a customer makes a purchase, never let your relationship end there. Engage your existing customer by offering them personal thanks note or reward. The most effective tactic is to convince them to refer your business to their friends and family. Give them discounts on every new customer that they invite and it will help you build a long-term relationship with existing customers. This will also help you get new customers as well.
Reciprocity Examples in Business
Let's review some examples of how businesses use reciprocity today to engage customers and maintain long-term relationships with the customers.
- YouTube
YouTube is an excellent example of a platform that is offering you free content in exchange for ads. Though YouTube Content makers can use this platform to share expertise to get more ad revenue, subscribers, etc. YouTube also started YouTube Premium and offers you a free first episode and attracting them to subscribe to their premium services to watch the rest of the episodes.
- Amazon
Amazon offers a prime free trial program, and you can get a one-day delivery, videos, music. Amazon attracts customers by giving them free trials without any commitments. If you already have an Amazon account, you can calculate the savings from the delivery cost if you purchase 2 to 3 items per year.
- Spotify
Spotify offers its customers the ad-free music streaming offline. They will provide you 30-days free trial of their Premium membership; you can cancel the membership any time without any cost. This technique will make it very hard for folks to stop payments when their trial period is over because it costs them a very low amount of $8 per month.
- Red Bull
Red Bull dropped a man from the space to make sure that their brand cannot be ignored. Their huge banners are sporting events to females who give free Red Bull Drinks, their color and brand logo are emblazoned everywhere. These techniques work best to attract customers.
Bottom Line
The reciprocity principle gives you huge benefits that your business can leverage. If you know how to go to leverage these huge opportunities, it's a big plus for you. Hopefully, this article is a huge bonus for you and your business. If you apply the law of reciprocity in your marketing, you will be successful in any aspect of your business.
There’s nothing like paying it forward especially when someone does a good deed. Whether someone supported your business through a referral or direct purchase, you should always find a way to give them an incentive. It can help build brand loyalty.
When you’re trying to establish a long-term relationship with your customer, showing some reciprocity is a sign of good faith. It’s important to be genuine in this act because the little extra goes a long way. Also, the compassion you exhibit can create a favorable reputation for your business.
A good way to help introduce the concept of reciprocity is by making your customer feel special. Maybe you can send them a random freebie or a discount code towards their next purchase. It not only gets them interested in buying but it’ll keep them glued to your business a bit longer. This can turn your customer into a more frequent buyer.
You should give your customers an experience they’ll always remember. Maybe you had a fun contest going on that required their participation. Little stuff like this makes your brand memorable. Also, it’ll give you a bigger draw because your competitors may not have the same creativity.
It’s not about one purchase and going your separate ways. You want to keep things flourishing. After someone makes a purchase, send them a “thank you” note. Maybe even send them a gift card that’ll give them a certain amount off their next item. All of this helps to extend the relationship between you and your customer.
The art of reciprocity helped me make my business sustain for years. When I started to treat my customers with more value and showed appreciation, I kept the bulk of them for years after the first purchase.