Francesca Searle

Have you ever thought of the psychology behind what happens within us when we receive something for free?

When somebody does something for us or gives us something without expecting anything in return, a powerful psychological effect drives us to want to reciprocate by giving something back.

Connect with your clients in a more meaningful way, and build up trust in your company. Use the reciprocation effect to encourage customers to give your offering a chance.

When a company is giving away free stuff, the principle of reciprocation makes the gift recipient feel indebted to them, wanting to buy their offering. It’s like a psychological compulsion to return a favour.

This desire to reciprocate actions doesn’t only relate to promotional products either…has somebody ever bought you a birthday present that wouldn’t normally? When their birthday arrived, did you buy (or feel a need to) get them something in return? Well that is the reciprocation effect in full swing.

People love free stuff. In fact, 7 out of 10 consumers wish they received promotional products more often, according to the 2019 Consumer Study, done by PPAI Research.

Giving something for free, even if it is small, will heighten the customer’s perception of your company as a preferred place to buy from. Even though they may not have thought to buy from you originally, the buzz of FREE STUFF grabbed their attention and set you up in their mind as a good company to deal with.

To ensure great results from your promotional products, include the following in your strategy:

  • Segment your potential customers.
  • Come up with an actionable message to deliver with the ‘free stuff’.
  • Make sure the ‘free stuff’ you give is something they find valuable.

After your potential customer has then been psychologically primed to work with you, there’s very little chance that they will be walking away empty handed.

If you can’t think of the perfect promotional products that will influence your customer’s thoughts most effectively, that’s no problem – that’s where we can help.

To recap, you’ll need to, 1) Discover your strategy, by listening to your target market. 2) Choose the targeted promotional products and get the right messaging that will impress them, and 3) Bring value to your recipients.