23/6/2022 Give a Little, Get a Lot?McDonalds is a worldwide success - its restaurants sell a totally amazing 2.36 billion burgers every year. And, given the amount of footfall the restaurants get, they have become a familiar place for psychological research. I was recently listening to a podcast which described some of the research centred on reciprocity. In one piece of research, families arriving at McDonalds were given a balloon for each of their children, in another instance, families were given a balloon as they left. The families who were given a balloon as they arrived spent on average 25% more than the families who were given the balloon as they left. In another experiment, people were given a very nice medallion as they arrived. Their food spend increased by 12%. But when they have a free yoghurt, an item that is in direct competition with the food the restaurant wanted them to buy, the spend increased by 24%. The research shows that we will try to match the value of the item or service given to us, but if there is no direct comparator then we will tend to give back the next most expensive ‘thing’ available. Some research holds that such small acts as buying the other party a coffee at the outset of a negotiation can have substantial benefits in the negotiation, as reciprocity, described as a social glue, takes effect. But it can also directly be used within the negotiation itself; by giving away small, what might be unimportant, points, can lead to pay back many times over. So in your next negotiation, or mediation, think in advance about what you can give away to prompt getting something in return. Do you often give things away in negotiations with the hope of getting something back? Comments are closed.
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AuthorRichard Marshall is an Accredited Civil and Commercial Mediator with over 25 years experience as a Litigation Solicitor, as well as being a qualified Solicitor-Advocate. He is the founder of Striving to Settle, through which he works as a mediator and provides negotiation training. www.strivingtosettle.co.uk Archives
August 2022
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