Have you ever noticed that you naturally want to return the favor when someone does something nice for you? As human beings, it\u2019s a reaction that is wired into us, and it can be tapped as part of your direct mail strategy. It\u2019s called \u201cthe rule of reciprocity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rule of reciprocity is why fitness gurus spend so much time creating free fitness videos to sell their line of dietary supplements. They give away something valuable (their expertise) for free. Then they ask their viewers to respond. \u201cThanks for watching! To maximize your results, purchase my [fill in the blank].\u201d \u00a0Video watchers know they\u2019ve gotten something of value. If they are going to buy supplements anyway, they figure, why not buy them from the person who just helped them out, even if those supplements cost more? Classic!<\/p>\n
Another example of reciprocity is branded promotional products. Businesses give away millions of dollars in free gifts every year. Companies know that when recipients receive a high-value gift from branded hats and t-shirts to branded mugs and thumb drives, they are more likely to purchase from them later. According to the ASI\u2019s Global Ad Impressions studies, 83% of people are more likely to buy from a company that has given them a branded promotional product.<\/p>\n
A third example is free \u201ctry at home\u201d programs. You offer to let customers try your product at home for free. Here you go! If you don\u2019t like it, return it\u2014no obligation<\/em>. Companies that use this approach include True&Co (lingerie), Amazon (in-house brand), and Warby Parker (eyeglasses), among many others. Shoppers know that it can be costly to package and mail a product. Even if they return the item, they know it has cost the company something. Even though there is no obligation to keep their purchase if they don\u2019t love it, people often do.<\/p>\n Here are a few tips to get the most out of the rule of reciprocity:<\/p>\n How could you tap the rule of reciprocity in your direct mail marketing? Come up with a good fit, and let\u2019s give it a try together!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Have you ever noticed that you naturally want to return the favor when someone does something nice for you? As human beings, it\u2019s a reaction that is wired into us, and it can be tapped as part of your direct mail strategy. It\u2019s called \u201cthe rule of reciprocity.\u201d The rule of reciprocity is why fitness […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/34.94.80.94\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/34.94.80.94\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/34.94.80.94\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/34.94.80.94\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/34.94.80.94\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/34.94.80.94\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5635\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/34.94.80.94\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/34.94.80.94\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/34.94.80.94\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n