Give and Ye Shall Receive – Krishna Style

When I was a kid, you couldn’t move through a big-city airport without being pestered by people pitching their religion and begging for money.

The “Hare Krishnas” were the most notorious. With their shaved heads and orange robes, the Krishnas would approach travelers and offer a small gift.

The Krishnas hoped travelers would return the favor and donate some dough.

Psychologist Robert Cialdini calls this The Principle of Reciprocity. In his book “Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion,” he cites the Krishnas as a great example of this principle at work.

When they started this routine, Krishnas gave out small flowers. Travelers usually tossed those in the trash and rushed off without donating.

Nothing (but trash) received. Nothing given.

Then the Krishnas tried a new strategy. They gave out small American flags.

Travelers were reluctant to trash the flag. So they would pocket the gift, or pin it to their lapel.

And then…

…they would dish out the dough. After Krishna’s switched from flowers to flags, donations sky-rocketed.

Why so? Because when we humans receive a gift we value, we want to return the favor.

The key word here is value.

Give me a little flower, and I think, “Meh,” as I toss it in the trash and move on. Nothing of value here.

Give me a flag — even a tiny plastic one, fastened to a toothpick — and I have something more valuable. Sure, it’s not a diamond ring. But it’s not something I want to dump in the trash.

So I keep it. And now, even if I’m not conscious of the impulse, I want to return the favor.

Airports banned the practice, and courts upheld the bans. So the Krishnas are long gone from Terminal A.

But the marketing lesson lives on.

Give and you shall receive…

…as long as you give something of value.