Introduction
My early days brought me many surprises, especially from different jobs' perspectives. I have worked in post delivery during nights and a huge warehouse for sorting trash coming from grocery shops.
What stuck in my mind from those times is one leader I had in a sorting place. He was from Serbia, an immigrant, living and working in Norway. A super charismatic and humble guy. We usually were lazy workers. Work was routine-filled and really boring. Paid well though.
But were we lazy when it was this charismatic leader's from Serbia shift? Hell no, we sorted every speck of dust from the floor so when he came in the morning, everything was clean and he could take coffee without worrying about anything.
The only thing he did differently than others - he cared about us, well, or at least wanted it to seem like that.
And it was a very simple way he showed care to us - just bringing Coca-Cola for every employee twice a week. This Coca-Cola was free as it was a food distributing giant.
Now, since we felt indebted towards this nice guy, we were almost running during his shift so we wouldn't feel this way anymore.
What is Reciprocity?
This psychological method is used around the whole world by the best salespeople. The main point of this method is providing value or physical goods so the other end feels indebted.
The feeling of being in debt is just horrible. We must all have experienced this. This is a reason why we often don't ask for a favor at all just to avoid this feeling whatsoever.
The key is that the other end does not need to ask for anything. You can give physical goods or provide value without asking. This will automatically put the other end in debt.
Yesterday, I went to the city center. A photographer took a picture of random people. And I was one of those lucky, or well, not so lucky people. He even printed the photo and gave it to me on the spot.
I felt so in debt that I automatically started checking my wallet. I gave 5 euros away without even thinking. Later I was impressed by his tactics. Reciprocity.
The Reciprocity Experiment
Did you ever get candies in a restaurant? Sorry, but probably not because you are special.
In 2002, researchers David Strohmetz, Bruce Rind, Reed Fisher, and Michael Lynn conducted an experiment. The objective was to investigate how the principle of reciprocity affects tipping behavior in restaurants.
Conditions
- Control: No mints given with the check
- One mint per person given with the check
- Two mints per person given with the check
- One mint per person given, then waiter returns to offer additional mints
Results
- Control: Baseline tipping
- One mint: 3.3% increase in tips
- Two mints: 14.1% increase in tips
- One mint, then additional offer: 23% increase in tips
Conclusion
This experiment demonstrated how small gestures of kindness can change your business dramatically. Now, imagine if you send hand-written letters to every customer and add a candy?
Ways to use Reciprocity in E-commerce
The psychological reciprocity method can be used in e-commerce too. It actually can be used in many different ways and combinations of psychological methods.
Giving instant value
Give instant value to your visitor. Clearly communicate why a visitor should buy in your store and not from a competitor.
Provide free shipping. Add it in a clearly visible banner and with big font. Who does not love free shipping?
You have a products section. Products look amazing, but oh my goodness, they also have a discount? I am lucky today to save some money.
Oh, you also add a secret gift of value $50 in the checkout? Yes, please.
As a cherry on top, provide that mystery discount in exchange for the email. Email is where the real magic happens. It is a perfect place to use the reciprocity method.
Well, I get so much for free, it would be stupid not to buy now.
Excellent customer support
We all have had bad experiences with customer support in the past. Even top brands often have bad customer support by outsourcing these valuable people from 3rd world countries that just are not able to provide top service.
Providing excellent customer support is key to gaining loyal customers and even causing reciprocity.
When provided with perfect customer support, not only do I feel more trust in the brand, but I feel grateful that they made my life easier. Yes!
Most importantly, don't forget your customer after they click that purchase button. Provide excellent help with post-purchase questions, returns, and general support. Don't leave it to third world countries or AI. It is too important. Once it is damaged it becomes super hard to recover.
Creating content
Creating helpful content around your product can be very helpful. This helps to engage customers through organic content by showing authenticity and activating the reciprocity principle.
Create blogs, videos, social media content. Show how unique and amazing your product is, how it helps thousands of people and how the world would not be able to live without it.
It is no quick road to success, but eventually you will be surprised by the effect of it.
Make that purchase special and memorable
Joe Girard used to send greeting mails to his customers. This made his customers treat him as a family member. He appeared in the World Guinness Records book as the salesperson that sold the most cars in one year. He did that 12 years in a row. His secret? He sent a letter on special occasions to his customers, like birthdays, Valentine's Day and others with simple text "I like you".
Show your customers you value them. Show the respect they deserve for choosing your amazing products. Make it so they feel in debt.
There are many ways to make it special. Put a handwritten text in the box of shoes that I just bought. Add a card with a discount and my name on it. Whatever you do, be creative and authentic so it is memorable.
Conclusion
Whatever you do to make your customers feel special, the most important thing is to be as creative and authentic as possible. Free shipping is so commonly offered that it could have lost its power by this time. However, it is much much better than not offering it at all.