It has been a popular business model, especially on the Web, to offer something for nothing. Free trials and gifts are very popular for online marketing.
Facebook, Twitter, Google and many other businesses are founded on this model – you get traffic and then you figure out how to “monetize” it.
Many traditional businesses that offer a product or service have used this to great effect, by offering free samples or a free trial.
On one hand, this offers a great opportunity for people to get acquainted with your product or your company at a low risk to both parties.
On the other hand, I think this may cause the market to be flooded with low quality products – companies have to keep their costs low if they’re offering things for free!
And customers tend not to value products or information they get for free. My Grandpa says “Free advice is usually worth about what you paid for it.” He has a point!
Have you offered a product or service for free? As a trial or marketing strategy? How did it work for you?
I’d love to hear what you think!
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But you don’t need to use your product or service as the free item. Why not use the “free promo item” as a means to help your potential client understand better how you can help them or please them with your service? It’s a golden opportunity.
One way to do that inexpensively in your field might be to make a video download that shows folks the thrill of aviation, the special feeling of flying that you simply cannot get in any other way on – or off – the face of the earth, how you can help them explore a side of themselves that they may not even know exists, introducing them to an intimacy with the heavens and within themselves that is theirs and theirs alone – and all the while showing them folks of all ages and various levels of experience enjoying aviation and marveling at their own capability and skill in flying, etc.
A fun little video could be kept inexpensive and one download can be used by all potential customers who are sent to a site with the link.
You could also offer a little flight simulation, or show all the locations they might venture to, or what techniques they might use when they fly, or how they might use their aviation skills for business, or pleasure, or exploration.
Get creative! You can use your free product extensively, and then re-purpose the material for other promotional items too, to keep cost low.
Excellent ideas, Susan! Thanks for writing in. . .
Anyone who is serious about selling a product or service needs to reach out in some way to introduce his business in a compelling way. And we can’t expect a consumer to shell out money if they don’t know us very well yet, so your ideas are excellent ways to initiate that relationship without “giving away the store.”
Paula I have found more frequently you need to get creative to secure and then retain new business.
One of my more favoured models is Risk / Reward – rather than free i.e. if the work that you undertake for a client brings new tangible benefits to them then financial reward to you should follow. Clearly the scope of work and the measurement criteria need to be established, but it helps engage the client and focus on what the results need to be. With an increasing number of tracking tools in the internet world, this is becoming easier to undertake I suspect for the services ABCI offer.
I am not enthusiastic about distributing free samples which might be given to wrong prospects.
I would rather prefer to combine the free sample (service or product) with a solid commitment from the potential prospects. One month free with a paid 3-month subscription, for example, could be more realistic option. For airline industry, I would recommend applying a discounted (or free) travel companion ticket.
That way, the marketing efforts would positively affect both publicity and sales.
An excellent suggestion, Ahmed! “Free ____________ with purchase” is a good incentive, as is a free trial with a commitment to buy if the trial meets clearly defined expectations. The idea is to reduce risk, not give product away! 🙂
Free samples, popular among customers in the name of freebies, are nothing but products or services that are provided to potential customers free of cost. The customers get an opportunity to try out the product or utilize the services without any fee. Free samples are given to motivate customers to buy that product. As customers get to check the quality of the services or products, giving freebies has been considered as one of the most effective promotional tool.
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Thanks, Jarrod! Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for sharing your insights. Free samples do reduce risk, and can be an effective promotional tool as part of a thought-out campaign. But they won’t sell the product by themselves. 🙂
Great
I am completely agree with you, Those things do promote business on online. I also preferred this for my office.
Thanks Micheal! Appreciate your thoughts. What line of business are you in?
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