Today I went to the local market to buy some bread…
What happened while I was there turned out to be a great lesson in marketing that both you and I can apply to our businesses.
Here’s the story…
I had just purchased a loaf of brown bread and was on my way out of the store when I accidentally bumped head on into an old lady who appeared out of nowhere…
After picking up our personal items off the ground, we both went through the customary ritual of apologizing to each other – (as you do).
Anyway…
On my journey home, it suddenly dawned upon me that what had just happened; as strange as it may sound - fell under the category of the Law of Reciprocity.
Let me expand a little on that…
Throughout your childhood lives and into adulthood, you have been raised, brought up, pre-programmed - call it what you like, to stick to the rules of society.
Whoa betide the man or woman who dares to step outside of the box and break any of the “unwritten rules.”
In this case, in spite of the differences in our ages, race and cultures, both the old lady (I bumped into) and I felt compelled to offer our immediate apologies to each other…
It’s just good manners isn’t it?
And it’s what’s expected of us…
Each one of us was able to walk away with different levels of personal reward.
The old lady walked away feeling I’d understood that I’d temporarily invaded her private space – and acknowledged the fact with my apology…
And I was able to dump my temporary feelings of guilt (be it small) when I saw her understanding reaction. What a nice old lady, not an ounce of grumpiness about her…
So taking all of this into account, the question that’s probably on your mind is…
What does all of this have to do with me and my business?
Well, it’s like this…
The world we live in is governed by certain laws.
Laws like the law of gravity – you know “What goes up must come down.” Thank you Sir Isaac Newton…
There’s also the law of Attraction, which in its short form states… “Like attracts like.”
Another law which is not so much talked about but it’s the one I’d like to share with you today - is the “The law of Reciprocity” - it’s as real as Isaac Newton’s apple falling from the tree.
The law of reciprocity says…
“One of the most potent of the weapons of influence around us is the rule for reciprocation. The rule says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.”
Robert B. Cialdini, author of The Psychology of Persuasion (William Morrow, 1993)
That’s how we’ve been pre-programmed throughout society – throughout every land, throughout every culture and every belief.
Use this law or whatever you choose to call it in an ethical way to provide your clients or potential clients with something of extreme value to them — upfront…
Yes, at no costs!
Watch what successful online marketers are doing…
People Eben Pagan has this down to an art. He’s not alone on the list of smart marketers using the law of reciprocity in their marketing. The list goes on and on and on…
Watch how they market their products and services by offering tremendous upfront value at zero costs.
They provide the kind of free information you would normally pay for from less savvy marketers - and of course you automatically feel obliged to reciprocate and invest in their up sells.
This post is not meant to warn you of such tactics, as these guys are using this method in an ethical manner. My intention is however; to shine the spotlight on this very powerful method - which you can and should be using for you business too.
Look forward to talking with you again about niche marketing.
Stewart
