Reciprocity As A Marketing Strategy
It has been known for some time in the world of professional sales that reciprocity works. When reciprocity is correctly implemented it becomes a powerful method in attracting new customers and developing long term relations with existing clients. Including reciprocity in your sales and marketing strategy will facilitate stronger, deeper, longer-lasting relationships with your audience.
In the book, The Psychology of Persuasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini we learn how powerful a gift can be when it comes to persuasion. When you package your gift properly your client will feel special and you will increase the likelihood that they will respond to you positively. But, if the process of this strategy is done poorly without thought or consideration, it will be seen as a poor attempt to manipulate the client and you will lose. Give a gift that represents you as a company and says to your client here is your way of saying thank you before the sale.
Give Before You Get:
There is a common sales activity called the post-sale thank you that still is in place today for many. This activity may include a gift or thank you note at the end of the sales process in hopes that referral may be gotten. This is a 20th-century mentality that does not work well today; when it comes to getting referrals we want the client to be promoting us through the complete process.
Today we compete for every sale we earn, to best get the client’s attention is to do something the competition is not, give a gift to your warm leads first before they ever give you anything but their attention and maybe their time.
The goal is to provide a gift of value, that is relative to the client relationship you are trying to develop. Let’s take a moment and discover how warm clients interact with your showroom.
The typical client in the 2020’s will reach out to you in a variety of digital ways, email, text, or a social platform and any of these contact methods preferred by the client can be responded to the same way. With a well-written thankyou text, associated with a gift and a call to action.
Digital Contact = Digital Gift
When a showroom is contacted by a client using digital means sending them a digital gift is a perfect response. But what can be sent digitally that provides value to the clients we see in our showrooms?
It is the Ultimate Planning Guide Series from Bravo Business Media. These specifically versioned showroom guides are focused on the client’s need to have planning assistance before they have decided on who will be helping them. All while reinforcing that your showroom is where the experts live and who they must associate with.
The guides are specific to the categories in your showroom that your future clients ask questions about every day. These guides are available for the Bathroom, Lighting, Hardware, Kitchen & Bath versions. They support in-store and online marketing that drives sales and positions as the destination in your local market.
Using the guides can be done both as a physical and digital gift and here is the strategy. When an initial digital connection is made; offer the client one or more of the appropriate guides to be sent to them in a digital format. While it is easy to just drop the link to your flipbook version in a chat and send it away, there is more power with a good CTA, call to action. Ask the client for their email or phone number upfront so you can send them a great free gift to help them plan their project and when they come into the store you will be happy to give them their physical copy. Of course, as a second choice if they refuse to supply the contact info, send them the link to the guide by the method they contacted you with.
These guides have been designed and edited by industry experts to provide you with a working tool and a gift for your customers that they won’t get elsewhere. The inside of the guide is packed with the information the client wants. The outside and inside covers can be tailored to support the message you want your clients to understand. There is a section that spells out clearly why using a local showroom is in the customer’s best interest.
It’s time to implement a digital strategy and the Ultimate Planning Guides are the first step in creating a digital connection as no one else has.
