Post by lizakhatun1122 on Oct 30, 2024 5:11:38 GMT -5
You were really looking forward to talking about the topic of free samples , as I believe that they can be a very effective branding tool for many brands, and I especially believe that they can be a very attractive element for online stores or e-commerce to use.
This marketing strategy is called Sampling and consists of sending a sample of our products for free and with a clear objective and promotional component.
Sampling is a on page seo service strategy that rises from the ashes like The Phoenix and from time to time appears as a very strong and useful marketing strategy for companies.
What's behind a free sample?
If you send a free sample to a customer's home, what you are mainly looking for is loyalty and for this customer to talk about your product, in other words, what we are encouraging is the traditional word of mouth that has always given such good results.
But you have to think very carefully about the marketing strategy involved in sending a free sample, and obviously it is not enough to send just anything and we have to take great care of every last detail of this sample that we are going to send.
Most popular examples of free samples
Free samples for babies
If you have been a parent, you will know that before your baby is born, it is very likely that you will start receiving free samples of baby magazines, creams, etc., and of course you receive them at just the right time, and of course they achieve their objective. I think I remember that we were subscribed to one of these magazines for a whole year, hehe.
A brand that knows how to exploit this sample thing very well is the Giant Dodot .
free dodot samples
Analyzing this example we can find several interesting features:
Promotion valid while stocks last. This way, if we don't have the samples in stock, we can say that we have warned you, clever, right?
At the bottom we can find offer conditions such as:
The period for receipt is within a maximum period of 1 (one) month.
Only one shipment will be made per household.
This promotion is only valid for deliveries in Spanish territory.
We must not leave any “loose ends” and we must make very clear the conditions that must be met or fulfilled in order to request one of our free trials.
Free Makeup Samples
Free makeup samples are another good example of this brand advertising strategy. Makeup is a product that takes up very little space and is very easy to send to anyone's home.
Here is an example of a free sample offered by Clarins as a reward for making a purchase of more than €60 and €100.
free sample clarins
If we analyse the promotion we can see that it appears in a pop-up, but it only appears the first time you access the page, so it is very well thought out as a sales incentive strategy. Would you buy from this online store?
Free samples of perfumes or cosmetics
When you go to buy a perfume or a cosmetic, there are large stores that usually give you free samples of other products so that you can get to know them. This strategy, despite being widely used, is still effective since most buyers accept and appreciate receiving these samples.
Here is an example of a free promotion from Lacoste in 2014.
free sample lacoste live
In the case of this Lacoste perfume, a promotion was carried out for a certain period of time.
Free video game demos
The video game industry has also realised the potential of offering these demos for free, thereby encouraging their purchase. I think we've all been there, downloaded a free version of a game for our child and then liked it so much that he asked us to buy him the full version.
Here we could have gone to any of the console or app brands, but for the example I decided to choose the Xbox 360 console which offers a whopping 326 demos on its website.
free demo xbox360
I assure you that it is a strategy that works wonders.
Free Wordpress Templates
This marketing strategy is also applied in the sale of digital or virtual products , such as a Wordpress template or theme , and for this occasion I have brought you a Spanish company called CPO Themes , which makes very professional themes and offers a free version of many of them so that we can try them out.
cpo themes
Are free samples effective in attracting customers?
Many companies offer free samples of their products and/or services in order to attract customers who are interested in what they offer. When a user tries a product, whatever it may be, they are more likely to buy the product if they like it.
There are several ways to offer these samples:
They can be offered as a gift with the purchase of another product.
Free samples can be sent to homes, and the company assumes the shipping and product costs as a promotional strategy. In this case, it can be done in two ways; actively sending to a database of interested parties or passively through the website, and the interested parties are the ones who request it.
They can be offered at trade fairs.
Tips for effectively offering free samples
1.- Clearly define the availability time of the promotion.
2.- Clearly specify that both the sample and the shipping will be free.
3.- Decide the characteristics that the interested party must meet in order to request the sample; reside in a certain country, have not previously requested the free test, etc.
4.- Specify the period of time that the interested party must wait to receive the sample.
5.- If your objective is a product branding strategy and you want to make it known to as many people as possible, then I recommend that you send samples completely free of charge and without the need for a prior purchase.
6.- If your goal is to encourage sales or for your customers to make larger purchases, then it can be very effective to offer one or more free samples after purchasing a specific amount.
7.- If you offer a virtual product, then it is a great idea to make a reduced or limited version of the product and offer it completely free.
Free samples to get customers
Now tell me if you have tried this marketing and promotion strategy before and what results you got. If you have an e-commerce and you have a product that you can use as a sample of the brand, you already have a strategy to promote your business without having to make a large investment.
Would you be willing to send free samples to your home?
Would you add any more tips to the list?
If you liked the post, you can share it with a friend.
Miguel Florido
Digital Marketing and Social Media Consultant, and Director of the Marketing and Web School.
Author of the books “Digital Marketing Course” with 3 editions and several times TOP sales on Amazon, and “Online Advertising and Sales Funnels Specialist Course”. Graduated from the University of Cadiz, and with extensive experience of more than 10 years as a data analyst and in digital marketing, before launching his own training.
This marketing strategy is called Sampling and consists of sending a sample of our products for free and with a clear objective and promotional component.
Sampling is a on page seo service strategy that rises from the ashes like The Phoenix and from time to time appears as a very strong and useful marketing strategy for companies.
What's behind a free sample?
If you send a free sample to a customer's home, what you are mainly looking for is loyalty and for this customer to talk about your product, in other words, what we are encouraging is the traditional word of mouth that has always given such good results.
But you have to think very carefully about the marketing strategy involved in sending a free sample, and obviously it is not enough to send just anything and we have to take great care of every last detail of this sample that we are going to send.
Most popular examples of free samples
Free samples for babies
If you have been a parent, you will know that before your baby is born, it is very likely that you will start receiving free samples of baby magazines, creams, etc., and of course you receive them at just the right time, and of course they achieve their objective. I think I remember that we were subscribed to one of these magazines for a whole year, hehe.
A brand that knows how to exploit this sample thing very well is the Giant Dodot .
free dodot samples
Analyzing this example we can find several interesting features:
Promotion valid while stocks last. This way, if we don't have the samples in stock, we can say that we have warned you, clever, right?
At the bottom we can find offer conditions such as:
The period for receipt is within a maximum period of 1 (one) month.
Only one shipment will be made per household.
This promotion is only valid for deliveries in Spanish territory.
We must not leave any “loose ends” and we must make very clear the conditions that must be met or fulfilled in order to request one of our free trials.
Free Makeup Samples
Free makeup samples are another good example of this brand advertising strategy. Makeup is a product that takes up very little space and is very easy to send to anyone's home.
Here is an example of a free sample offered by Clarins as a reward for making a purchase of more than €60 and €100.
free sample clarins
If we analyse the promotion we can see that it appears in a pop-up, but it only appears the first time you access the page, so it is very well thought out as a sales incentive strategy. Would you buy from this online store?
Free samples of perfumes or cosmetics
When you go to buy a perfume or a cosmetic, there are large stores that usually give you free samples of other products so that you can get to know them. This strategy, despite being widely used, is still effective since most buyers accept and appreciate receiving these samples.
Here is an example of a free promotion from Lacoste in 2014.
free sample lacoste live
In the case of this Lacoste perfume, a promotion was carried out for a certain period of time.
Free video game demos
The video game industry has also realised the potential of offering these demos for free, thereby encouraging their purchase. I think we've all been there, downloaded a free version of a game for our child and then liked it so much that he asked us to buy him the full version.
Here we could have gone to any of the console or app brands, but for the example I decided to choose the Xbox 360 console which offers a whopping 326 demos on its website.
free demo xbox360
I assure you that it is a strategy that works wonders.
Free Wordpress Templates
This marketing strategy is also applied in the sale of digital or virtual products , such as a Wordpress template or theme , and for this occasion I have brought you a Spanish company called CPO Themes , which makes very professional themes and offers a free version of many of them so that we can try them out.
cpo themes
Are free samples effective in attracting customers?
Many companies offer free samples of their products and/or services in order to attract customers who are interested in what they offer. When a user tries a product, whatever it may be, they are more likely to buy the product if they like it.
There are several ways to offer these samples:
They can be offered as a gift with the purchase of another product.
Free samples can be sent to homes, and the company assumes the shipping and product costs as a promotional strategy. In this case, it can be done in two ways; actively sending to a database of interested parties or passively through the website, and the interested parties are the ones who request it.
They can be offered at trade fairs.
Tips for effectively offering free samples
1.- Clearly define the availability time of the promotion.
2.- Clearly specify that both the sample and the shipping will be free.
3.- Decide the characteristics that the interested party must meet in order to request the sample; reside in a certain country, have not previously requested the free test, etc.
4.- Specify the period of time that the interested party must wait to receive the sample.
5.- If your objective is a product branding strategy and you want to make it known to as many people as possible, then I recommend that you send samples completely free of charge and without the need for a prior purchase.
6.- If your goal is to encourage sales or for your customers to make larger purchases, then it can be very effective to offer one or more free samples after purchasing a specific amount.
7.- If you offer a virtual product, then it is a great idea to make a reduced or limited version of the product and offer it completely free.
Free samples to get customers
Now tell me if you have tried this marketing and promotion strategy before and what results you got. If you have an e-commerce and you have a product that you can use as a sample of the brand, you already have a strategy to promote your business without having to make a large investment.
Would you be willing to send free samples to your home?
Would you add any more tips to the list?
If you liked the post, you can share it with a friend.
Miguel Florido
Digital Marketing and Social Media Consultant, and Director of the Marketing and Web School.
Author of the books “Digital Marketing Course” with 3 editions and several times TOP sales on Amazon, and “Online Advertising and Sales Funnels Specialist Course”. Graduated from the University of Cadiz, and with extensive experience of more than 10 years as a data analyst and in digital marketing, before launching his own training.
