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By Root 1955 0

and all those who were asked to take this small step agreed to do so. They made no prior requests to a control group. On the evening following the request, another researcher, who was unaware of the initial conditions, rang each doorbell and gave a standard speech to the person who answered the door: “Hello, my name is _______, and I am canvassing for the Cancer Society. Would you like to make a contribution?” In the no-prior-request control group 46 percent made donations as compared with 77 percent of the two prior-request groups. In addition, the prior-request groups gave more, with the result that the prior-request groups donated 2.7 times as much as the no-request group (Pliner et al. 1974).

In a meta-analysis of 120 experimental comparisons, the effects of FITD on persuasion were positive but modest. Many of the studies produced small effects, sometimes in the wrong direction. But when the analysis was limited to studies with an explicit, directly related second request, the FITD strategy was persuasive (Beaman et al. 1983).

Perhaps the most important insight into the use of the FITD principle was established by a review of three meta-analyses covering 43 experimental studies. It showed that the effect was much stronger for requests involving social responsibility (Dillard 1991). For example, FITD increased human organ donations (Carducci et al. 1989).

2.8. Reciprocation

There is no duty more indispensable than that of returning a

kindness …. All men distrust one forgetful of a benefit.

Cicero, 53 BC

In the late 1800s, the Pears Soap Company sent a small bar of soap along with leaflets on baby care to those babies whose birth was announced in The Times in England (Twitchell 2000). Pears was building upon a social norm found in nearly all societies: people feel obliged to reciprocate when someone does something nice for them. In the 1880s, Quaker Oats gave out calendars, cookbooks, blotters, church fans, and free samples of cereal. In the late 1990s, America Online built its business by sending free Internet time as part of its direct mail ads.

2.8.1. Give something to specific individuals when they can reciprocate easily

A gift invokes the principle of reciprocation. It is not so, however, for promises of a gift. To be effective, an advertiser must put a gift into the customers’ hands first— with no strings attached.

A gift loses value if it is contingent on something, such as sitting through a long, high-pressure sales pitch. In such a situation, people feel that they have earned their gift by listening to the pitch and have no further obligation. Interestingly, some vacation home time-sharing marketers lose sight of how to properly use gifts to create a feeling of obligation, and instead, aggravate their potential customers by enforcing attendance at long hard-sell presentations.

Evidence on gifts to those who can reciprocate

When a mailing to CEOs of small and medium-size businesses included a promise of $50 upon receipt of a completed survey, it gained a 23 percent response rate after three follow-up mailings. That was about the same as for the control group, which received no incentive. But a survey mailed with $5.00 (cash or check) yielded a 49 percent response rate (James and Bolstein 1992).

Two small field experiments found that providing candy with the bill increased restaurant waiters’ tips by 16 percent (Strohmetz et al. 2002).

A mailing that requested donations for the American Disabled Veterans received an 18 percent response rate. However, when the mailing included a gift, address labels, 35 percent responded (Smolowe 1990).

Checklist 2 summarizes the influence principles. Keep in mind that a campaign can incorporate a number of these principles. An award-winning TV campaign for Waste Management, “Helping the world to dispose of its problems,” used six of these principles.

Checklist 2 Influence

2.1. Reasons

2.1.1. Provide a reason.

2.1.2. For high-involvement products, the reasons should be strong.

2.2. Social proof

2.2.1. Show that the product is widely used.

2.2.2. Focus