Using Reciprocity as a Weapon in Digital Marketing

Introduction

At the young age of 10, I was the victim of reciprocity in the retail environment. The occurrence remains in my memory because I wanted to try the newest soda on the market - Surge. This “Mountain Dew Killer” of a soda gave a heart-pounding, cardiac arrest-ish experience to anyone who consumed the green syrup. Moreso, they pushed the product down the throats of consumers, specifically that day when people in Surge garb gave me a free 2 liter of the stuff. Little did I know, they were using reciprocity in the form of a concession to make my ten-year-old-self an advocate of the product.

The rule of reciprocity isn’t new by any means. It says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us. For example, if a woman does us a favor, we shall do one for her in return. By virtue of this weapon, people are obligated to the future repayment of favors, gifts, invitations, and the like. Customers that receive something are indebted to accompany the receipt of such things that are bigger than saying “thank you.”

Overpowering and Uninvited Debts

Reciprocity is one of the most powerful ways to change the way people think of you, your company, or your reputation. It’s not uncommon to hear a “yes” response to a request that would have surely been refused otherwise. You can find the rule being used by secret societies, politicians, religious sects, and businesses. As a marketing technique, the “free sample” has long been used to allow consumers to try small amounts of a given product. The free sample is such a great and widely used retail marketing tactic because it’s viewed as a gift by its takers. Many people find it hard to accept the sample from the always smiling merchandiser, return only the toothpick, and walk away.

You can find variations of the free sample online. This is most commonly seen as “free online quotes” in automotive, insurance, real-estate and other high consideration products and services. The thought is that website visitors will fill out the form to get the quote, and they then will be more likely to buy from that particular company. The word “request” is typically used to only strengthen the rule of reciprocity. This verb makes you think that the company had to physically produce the information for you, ultimately making you feel more indebted to buying from them.

Indebtedness can be triggered by another person doing us an uninvited favor. Remember how the rule states that we should provide others with the kind of actions they have provided us? And that it doesn’t require us to have asked for what we have received in order to feel obligated to repay? The ability of uninvited gifts to produce feelings of obligation is recognized by a variety of organizations. For example. charity agencies are constantly giving gifts to consumers - personalized address labels, greeting cards, key rings - through the direct mail system.

Reciprocal Concessions

There is another way to apply the reciprocity rule to get someone, like a customer, to comply with a request. In some cases, reciprocal concessions are more devastatingly effective than the direct approach. The reason being that this weapon of automatic influence can ignite a compliance request with its power. It reminds me of a situation presented before a St. Louis Blues hockey game that I attended years ago.

I was sitting on the tailgate of a friend’s truck drinking the last bit of my $0.50 beer (preceding the $9 ones inside the stadium) before a young kid strolled up with his sales pitch. He asked if I would be interested in buying $5 tickets to attend his 6th grade school play. Since the last place I wanted to be on a Saturday night was inside a middle school auditorium, I politely declined. He said promptly, “Well, if you don’t want to buy any tickets to the play, would you be interested in buying a $1 candy bar? All of the proceeds go to my school.”

Boom. He had me. I bought two of the candy bars, each of which I didn’t even come close to consuming since I’m not too big on sweets. So, how did this magic happen? It was the exact position that the kid put me in. His request (there’s that word again) that I purchase a $1 candy bar was a concession and a retreat from his request that I buy a $5 ticket to his play. I turned from a noncompliant to a compliant when he offered me the less expensive option.

Tying Reciprocation Back to Digital Marketing

You’ve learned that reciprocity is all about repaying someone for what they’ve provided us. And a large part of digital marketing, especially SEO, is all about giving your customers something that is extremely valuable to them. For example, we published 10 SEO Quick Tips for small/mid-sized business owners looking to optimize their website on their own time. It took a lot of time and energy to produce this free downloadable how-to guide, but our prospects may find out that there is a lot involved in SEO and consult us to help them get more online leads.

Heck, there are plenty of ways to use reciprocity in your digital marketing efforts. We talked about the free online quote earlier in the post, but that’s only scratching the surface. It could be something really cool, like infographics, checklists, white papers, case studies, guides, webinars, or something else. All we’re saying is, spend some time thinking about what your customer base would appreciate and develop an authentic piece of content around that topic.

You’re probably thinking, “Why would we want to give away our tricks of the trade?” And I’m probably scratching my head. There are so many reasons why. It generates media buzz, it gets you links, it makes you an expert in your field, and it’s extremely powerful in changing the minds of prospects. I could probably write for days and give hundreds of examples of reciprocation, but I just have to trust that you trust me.

Conclusion

When up against a requester who employs the rule of reciprocity, your customer faces a powerful foe. Whether it’s letting them attend a free online webinar or giving them a free guide on how to perform one of your services, you have enlisted a powerful ally in attaining their compliance. Your prospects could accept your request and succumb to reciprocity, or they could refuse and suffer from deeply conditioned feelings of fairness and obligation. Your choice. Cheerful (cheerless) prospects indeed.