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Imagine this…

Your upper back is screaming in pain after another 8-hour workday.

And you know the culprit: that 7-year-old “ergonomic office chair” you grabbed from Facebook Marketplace last year.

The thought of spending another minute in that torture device makes you wince.

So you grab your laptop, head to the couch, and start researching the best office chairs that *won’t* bankrupt you.

An hour later, you’ve placed an order for a new office chair.

You get an email confirmation that promises delivery in 5 business days.

But to your pleasant surprise, it’s delivered just 3 days later. And the included instruction manual makes putting it together a breeze.

As you take a seat, you immediately notice the difference.

And after putting it to the test for another 8-hour workday, you feel like you’re floating on a cloud—even when you close your laptop at 5 p.m.

Sweet, sweet relief.

Fourteen days later, you receive an email from the company asking you to leave a review.

You make a mental note to do so, but keep scrolling through your inbox to locate the customer email you’re searching for.

Two more weeks pass before you get another email asking for a review. You feel a twinge of guilt, then hit “Delete email.”

This company solved your painful problem. So why didn’t you give them a glowing 5-star review?

In today’s edition of Why We Buy 🧠 we’ll explore Reciprocity Decay—why we feel *less* compelled to return a favor as more time passes.

Let’s get into it.

🧠 The Psychology of Reciprocity Decay

What do reciprocity and cheese have in common? They both have an expiration date.

One hospital found this out the hard way.

They sent over 18,000 donation requests to former patients at different points in time.

Former patients who received a donation request soon after their care were *most likely* to give.

But, as more time passed between the patient’s hospital stay and the donation request, donations declined.

At 14 days, donations noticeably declined. And by the 30-day point, donations had plummeted by 30%. 🤯

While it may feel pushy to ask a customer for a favor (such as a testimonial or referral) soon after giving them a stellar product or service…

Behavioral science indicates you’re only hurting your business if you hold onto that belief.

Because the more time that passes, the more reciprocity decays.

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🤑 How To Apply This

Ok. So how can you apply reciprocity decay to sell more stuff?

SaaS​
Remind buyers what pain you killed for them

*Never* assume your buyers remember the pain they felt before using your products or services. So before asking them to buy another product, leave a review, or sign up for your newsletter, gently remind them.

Grammarly does this by revealing how many words it’s analyzed for you and sharing the top 5 mistakes that you *would’ve* made—mistakes that could have made you look like a dumb-dumb to your clients or team—if Grammarly hadn’t fixed them. 😏

​

At the end of the email, Grammarly showcases features that can fully protect you from writing mistakes, including their paid Premium Suggestions.

By reminding you of your initial pain and how Grammarly killed it, you’re more likely to click “Activate.”

Reward programs​
Create a reciprocity flywheel

Instead of asking for reviews of your local coffee shop, Starbucks’ created a reward program that gamifies reciprocity—with a delicious twist.

Every time you make a purchase, you earn a star (and Starbucks earns a pretty penny).

This incentivizes you to keep making purchases because once you earn 25 stars, you unlock free rewards—like a free espresso shot. If you earn 50 stars, you can grab a free drink.

The asks and rewards keep growing, so reciprocity never has a chance to decay.

And this leads to a growth flywheel for Starbucks that makes sales *much* easier.

Newsletters​
Leverage your buyers’ need for action ASAP

Your buyers prefer to do something over nothing because more action releases more dopamine. It’s called Action Bias.

So *while* they’re riding the high of taking action (e.g., making a purchase, clicking “Follow,” or reading your newsletter *wink wink*), ask them to take another quick, easy action that will grow your business *before* they click off the page.

💥 The Short of It

Reciprocity is an established law of psychology. If someone gives us something, we feel compelled to return the favor.

But the little-known-fact is…

Reciprocity has an expiration date.

So to fully harness the power of reciprocity, ask your buyers to take action sooner rather than later.

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Until next time, happy selling!