As humans, we are hard-wired to reciprocate a favor. By building favors into your online marketing you can ethically grow your business.
One of the major tenets of influence, according to Robert Cialdini’s Influence: The Psychology of Persuation, is reciprocity. Cialdini says:
“We are trained from childhood to chafe, emotionally, under the saddle of obligation. For this reason alone, then, we may be willing to agree to perform a larger favor than we received, merely to relieve ourselves of the psychological burden of debt.”
This is why Hare Krishnas give flowers to travelers at airports before asking for money; they know it’s difficult for people to receive a gift–no matter how small–and then refuse to give a donation.
In another example, the Disabled American Veterans organization sent a donation request mailing that got a respectable 18% response rate. They did another mailing and included those self-adhesive address labels and nearly doubled their response rate to 35%!
These are interesting examples of human behavior, but how can you use them to market your business? (And to do it ethically!)















