When someone does something for you, like brings you a surprise peppermint mocha latte, you feel the need to do something for them. That's the law of reciprocity in action. But there's a weird glitch that happens to the brain of the favor giver that's rarely talked about—until now. Keep reading to find out what it is. 🧠
Read time: 3.3 minutes ⚡
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Imagine this… This morning, you're finally checking out the new bakery in town. As you're in line, you eye all the pastries housed in the display case, from buttery croissants to garlic scones. The owner is a bit distant as you decide on a croissant and she rings you up. You sit at a small café table and take the first bite. It's good, but nothing spectacular. The morning rush has died down, and you're one of the few customers left. As you finish up and begin to leave, the owner calls out: "Hey, quick favor… I'm trying to decide between two new scone flavors for next week: lemon lavender or brown butter sage. Which one sounds better to you?"
You pause.
"Definitely brown butter sage." She smiles. "I was leaning that way, too. Thanks!" You make a mental note to stop by the bakery next week to try it. The following Friday, the owner waves at you from behind the counter as you walk in. "Hey! You were right—these are selling like crazy. Wanna try one?" she asks, pointing to the brown butter sage scones in the display case. You order the scone and take a bite. For some reason, it tastes... incredible. And with an owner that kind, there's no doubt about it: This is your favorite bakery. Why did helping the owner pick a scone flavor make you like her (and her bakery) more? In today's edition of Why We Buy 🧠 we'll explore the Benjamin Franklin Effect—why we like someone more after we do a favor for them. Let's get into it.
🧠 The Psychology of the Benjamin Franklin Effect
When trying to win over a rival legislator, Benjamin Franklin didn't do him a favor. Instead, he asked his rival for one; specifically, to borrow a rare book. The rival agreed, Franklin returned it with gratitude, and they became friends. Franklin's hunch? "He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another than he whom you yourself have obliged." About 200 years later, two researchers tested this hunch. Students competed for prize money, then were split into three groups:
One group was asked by the researcher himself to return the prize
A second group was asked by a secretary to return the prize
A third group wasn't asked at all
Afterward, the students rated how much they liked the researcher. The result? The group asked directly by the researcher to return their winnings liked him most.
When you do a favor for someone, your brain experiences a tiny jolt of cognitive dissonance. You think, "Why did I just help this person?" To resolve that discomfort, your brain decides, "I must like them." This means customers who do *you* a favor don't just engage with your brand—they like it more.
🤑 How To Apply This
Alright, so how can you apply this right now to sell more?
E-commerce Ask for a review, but make it friction-free Most brands send a "please leave us a review" email after you get your order. But they usually kill the momentum by making you click a button that takes you to a long page. So you inevitably think, "Ugh, too much work" and bounce. Nordstrom takes a different approach.
They remove the typical friction of leaving a review by jumpstarting the process directly in the email. And they do so with a dead-simple ask—just click the star rating—which makes you more likely to respond and like Nordstrom more as a result.
Consumer goods Find what customers *really* want before creating your next product Back in 2012, Lay's launched their "Do Us a Flavor" campaign (hehe—get it?), asking customers to send in ideas for new chip flavors. Nearly four million people participated in the first year alone. (Spoiler alert: "Cheesy Garlic Bread" won.)
Customers who submitted flavor ideas probably liked the chip brand more because they'd done something for Lay's, not the other way around. But the psychological double-whammy? Lay's made them feel like co-creators (hello, Endowment Effect), so they valued the new bag of chips more, too. So it makes sense that there was a 12% increase in overall sales from 2012-2017.
Newsletters Use surveys to segment *and* sell When you sign up for Jay Clouse's Creator Science newsletter, he asks a favor: Mind taking 30 seconds to share your goals? The way the ask is framed, it feels like you're helping him out as you're completing the survey. Which makes you like him more.
Meanwhile, he's collecting valuable segmentation data so he can send personalized content—and offers—down the road. But the most brilliant part? After you finish, he pitches a limited-time deal on a paid product tailored to your answers. And because you like him, you're more likely to buy. Smart, huh?
💥 The Short of It
Asking for a favor from your customers doesn't make them like you less. It actually can make them like you more. When someone helps you, their brain needs to make sense of it. So it decides they must like you ('cause why would they bother otherwise?). But the key is to ask for something small and specific. Don't overdo it. Just create a moment where someone can easily say "yes." Because once they help you, they like you. And once they like you, they're more likely to buy from you. Until next time, happy selling!
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