The principle of influence known as
reciprocity defines human behavior that’s been around as long as mankind: we
feel obligated to give back to those who first give to us. We’ve been
conditioned to give in return because over the course of evolution we learned
we are all better off when we help those who’ve helped us first.
I’m sure every person reading this
understands the principle of reciprocity and my definition only serves to make
them think, “I already know that.” What most people don’t really understand is
how to engage the principle because all too often I read articles and blog
posts from marketers, sales trainers, and others who like to cite Robert Cialdini’s work…but do so incorrectly!
I recently read a blog post on
getting consumers to say yes using reciprocity and two examples were used:
"But 4 get 1 free"
"Free gift/shipping when
purchase for $60 or more"
Neither example is an application of
the principle of reciprocity. Do you know why?
As noted earlier, reciprocity is
engaged when you’ve given to someone or done something for another person first.
That feeling of indebtedness makes the other person want to “return the favor”
so to speak. Neither example used in the article I cited above did anything for
the consumer or gave them anything in advance. In each case what they were
actually offering was a reward. Rewards are predicated on an, “If you…, I will…”
basis. Both of the above examples were actually rewards that could read:
“If you buy four you’ll get one more
for free.”
“If you buy $60 or more in goods
your shipping will be free.”
Think about it for a moment. You
can’t get “one more for free” or “free shipping” unless you do something first.
Make no mistake about it; rewards
motivate behavior. There are decades of studies to back that up and it’s a fact
that rewards are more effective than the threat of punishment.
The word “free” is a big motivator
too. Dan Ariely brilliantly points that out in a chapter from Predictably Irrational called “The Cost
of Zero Cost: We Often Pay Too Much When We Pay Nothing.” All too often we’ll go out of our way to get something free. For
example, have you ever purchased extra items on Amazon so you’d spend enough to
get free shipping? People spend a lot more money to get “free” stuff!
Rewards change behavior but some
studies show you can engage people with reciprocity by giving a much smaller
gift in lieu of a large reward and get a better result. In workshops I often
share a study in which owners of a construction company were either offered a
$50 reward for completing a survey or given a $5 check up front in
consideration of their time. Only 23% who were offered the $50 reward completed
the survey but 52% who received the $5 check up front did so. And the savings was
anywhere from 57% to 77% depending on how many ultimately cashed the $5 check.
As a business owner, if you knew you could more than double your response rate
and save 50%, 60%, 70% or more by going the reciprocity option instead of the
traditional reward route, wouldn’t you choose the reciprocity option? Of course
you would…and now you will going forward.
I don’t point this out to be nit
picky or combative. Rather, I point this out because when I teach people about
persuasion I tell them, “If you use the principles ethically and correctly you
will get more people saying yes to you.” If people think they’re using
principles correctly but they’re not, then they won’t see the results they
hoped for. That leads to people thinking, “It sounds good when Brian says it,
or when Dr. Cialdini writes about it, but it doesn’t’ work in the real world.” It
does work but only if you do it the right way.
Here’s my final thought – if you
want to engage people in a low cost, easy to implement, sure fire way to
motivate the behavior you want, save yourself time and money by going the
reciprocity route in lieu of using traditional rewards
Chief Influence Officer
influencePEOPLE
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.
Helping You Learn to Hear “Yes”.
No comments:
Post a Comment