Building trust, respect, and growing your business can be made easier by giving first, without the expectation of a reply. By demonstrating that your relationship with customers is more than just a transaction, they are more likely to think of you, rely on your expertise, and make purchases from you.
While there will always be others offering similar products or services for less or faster, what sets you apart is the relationship you cultivate.
In this video, Lacey discusses the power of reciprocity and how businesses are leveraging it to establish trust, initiate conversations, and incentivise desired behaviors or information sharing.
Consider incorporating reciprocity into your strategy to cultivate a loyal following.
More resources for understanding reciprocity
Referral Candy Blog – Give Before your Get:10 Examples of Reciprocity in Marketing
Wikipedia – Norm of Reciprocity
Sensei Marketing – The Principle of Reciprocity and Influence Marketing – Check out the interesting stats about the Surprise Mint research!
Transcript:
Hi everyone, I’m Lacey from FoodFlo. Today’s video is going to be a bit longer as we talk about reciprocity.
Other than being a big word, it’s also something that you can use in your business.
Our Aussie and North American friends will understand Costco and their extensive food sampling program or the hand cream sellers in the mall.
You may be more familiar with free samples tucked inside your order or the invoice with the little bag of lollies.
So why does it matter and who should care?
Well, reciprocity is not a new concept and not something that should be ignored. It is being used around the world by marketing professionals in fact, the social norm of reciprocity of returning in kind what others have done for us.
As a society, we are more likely to deal with, purchase from, work with, or even provide more information to, those that we have a relationship with.
How many club cards do you have? Or the free prize in the cereal. But reciprocity can go both ways.
How do you feel about the place you deal with that had the part you needed, but it was an add on, and not “out of the box”. Or the service was so horrible; you didn’t waste your time ever going back?
Now the trick isn’t to see through the tactic but to find the genuine delighter for the people you are dealing with and prove how the relationship you have with them is that extra little bit special.
A great example here is deliveries. Nothing worse than waiting for a confirmation, or something missing in the warehouse because the staff put it somewhere “safe” to deal with it later. Likely payment of your invoice and stock on the shelves later too.
Now think about the suppliers you deal with where you know they send something special inside. I have many clients who have customers have told me they watch out for the boxes with certain names because they know there is a reward for the process for doing so.
When a box with a bonus shows up, for the first time it is a delightful treat. The second time, you watch for the arrival, you open the box, clear the products and process that invoice to get rewarded tucking into a sweet treat.
At an event, such as Field Days, there are rows and rows of agriculturally focused entrepreneurs and internationally known businesses bidding for the time and attention of every gum-booted attendee there. Mostly tire-kicking, putting faces to names or doing the annual BBQ check-in for the bank.
Cue the booth staff and lollies.
Sometimes its as simple as handing a packet to the kid in tow watching the display that encourages the parents to look up, have that conversation and open up to a world of possibilities, and remind them that “oh, right, we did need to look at upgrading that system or replacing that part” and keep the conversation going. Other times it was a good way to remember to expect a call or a sweet reminder of the chat.
How about going back to your car after service and see that packet of sweets on the dash? You are way more likely to go back; you are way more likely to remember the sweet treat than the bill amount.
Closing the sale isn’t the end of the relationship, creating value, sharing, trust and respect matter more than ever in a world where almost always there is someone who can do it cheaper or faster.
When customers matter, and you are aiming to be the best at whatever it is that you do, why not consider using the trusted value of branded lollies.
