原文: The Power of the Flower - Give to Get

Have you ever wondered why those religious groups hand out flowers in airports?  Or why your insurance agent sends you a calendar every year?  Or why e-book marketers send you a free e-book or report? Or how about the free toy in a fast food meal?  These people are not entirely selfless.  In fact, they are playing on your sense of fair play, hoping that their gift to you will give you the idea that you should give back to them, by donating or buying.

It is called the Principle of Reciprocity, and it is as old as humans. Cave people shared the animals they killed so that other cave people would be willing to share with them. Robert Cialdini, in his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, studied the Hare Krishnas who were begging in airports.  They quickly learned that giving people a paper flower and saying “My gift to you” was a stronger encouragement to people to donate.  Giving to get is practiced by most small business people.

Think of how many pens, calendars, mugs and water bottles you have received.  Did you ever receive a bent pen from a chiropractor?  Did you ever receive a free sheet of self-addressed labels from a charity? I get a calendar in the shape of a ball from a trade magazine every year.  Water bottles are big giveaways at running event.  And I will be that you have at least three pens in your pen holder, which is a coffee mug from a business.  Right?

How to Give. Giving to get is a perfectly legitimate small business marketing concept.  But to make your gift meaningful and get the most for your marketing expense, here are some suggestions:

Make it Related. Relate the gift to your business in some way.  The chiropractor’s gift of a bent pen is an example. Or the water bottle from a fitness club.  Relating it to your business purpose helps people associate you in a positive way with that item.

Make it Memorable. Many of these gifts serve a dual purpose - to encourage buying and also to keep them in your mind.  The refrigerator magnet and calendar are perfect examples of this.  If your small business is one that people might not use every day, but you want them to remember you when the time comes, give a refrigerator magnet.  I have a magnet/business card from the appliance repair guy on my refrigerator.  And the other day I needed to call my veterinarian and used the refrigerator magnet to get the phone number. Obviously, if you want people to remember where that gift came from,you will have to include your business name and phone number.  Include your slogan only if it will be visible and helpful to people (putting a slogan on a pen is probably a waste of money).

Make it Quality. Choose your gifts carefully.  A pen that doesn’t work is worse than no pen at all.   And a t-shirt that shrinks when washed sends the message that you were too cheap to buy quality.  Spending a little more for a quality gift is worthwhile.

Giving to get is a legitimate business strategy. Using it to encourage people to use your products and services is  part of your marketing program.

Image source: sxc.hu

译文: 花之力量——给予是为了索取

 你可曾知道那些宗教团体为什么在机场给人们送花吗？或者为什么每年你的保险代理人都送你一副挂历？为什么电子书推销商会给你一本免费的电子书或者一份报告？再或者你吃完快餐后他们送你一个免费的玩具？这些人并非大公无私。其实，他们只是在利用你的公平交易意识罢了。他们希望他们的礼物能让你觉得你应该通过捐赠或者购买来回报他们。

这叫做互惠原则，并且它的存在同人类的历史一样久远。远古时代，为了能够分到别人打的猎物，洞穴人必须平分他们所捕获的动物。罗伯特恰尔蒂尼在他的书《影响：劝说心理学》中研究一群在机场乞讨的克利须那教徒。他们很快意识到，这些人通过给人们送花并献上一句“这是我送你的礼物”，就能强烈地鼓励人们捐钱。很多商人也都见习了这一招——给予是为了索取。

 想一下你总共收到了多少钢笔、挂历、马克杯和矿泉水瓶？你可曾受到驼背者送给你的弯曲的钢笔？你可曾收到慈善机构给予你的一张免费的自助标签？我每年都会收到由贸易杂志社寄来的一张以球的形状做成的挂历。送矿泉水瓶是一项大赠送活动。我肯定在你的笔筒里至少有三只别人赠送的钢笔，并且这一笔筒是一位生意人送你的咖啡马克杯。我说得没错吧？

如何给予。给予是为了索取，这是一则完全合法的生意经营理念。但为了使你的礼物有意义并且可以你从中获得最大的利润，这儿有一些建议：

使你的礼物有关联：把你的礼物在某一方面同你的生意的联系起来。例如，驼背者的礼物是一直弯曲的钢笔。再例如，健康俱乐部的礼物是矿泉水瓶。把你的礼物和你的生意目的联系起来，这样有助于人们把你和你的礼物以一种积极的方式联系起来。

使之难以忘怀。很多礼物都有双重的目的——鼓励人们购买的同时使他们铭记于心。可吸附于冰箱表面的磁铁和挂历就是这一方面最好的例子。如果你的东西可能不是人们经常用到的，但你又想让他们在时机到来的时候记住你，那么你就给他们一块可吸附于冰箱的磁铁吧。我从电器维修的小伙子那得到了冰箱磁铁。某一天，如果我需要打电话给兽医，我就会从冰箱磁铁上找到电话号码。很明显，如果你想让人们记住所得的礼物来自何处，你必须注明你的商业名字和你的电话号码。如果标语明显并对人们有用的话，那么也注上你的标语（在钢笔上注明标语可能会浪费钱）。

给予是为了索取是一项合法的商业策略。用这一策略去鼓励人们使用你的产品和接受你的服务是你的部分经营计划。

图像来源：sxc.hu