Offering something for free is a bold step and something you’ll want to consider carefully before undertaking. What are some of the reasons for doing this that are worth taking into account?
When You Have Faith in the Product
Offering something for free is a huge test of your faith in the product. If you give away a lot of products then nobody buys them it’s going to be a huge waste of time and money. So you need to have a lot of faith in the fact that you’re offering a free product people are going to be impressed by and are going to be happy to pay for later.
This is one of the key elements in certain industries, such as online bingo, where free games are offered as an incentive for new and returning players. This way of playing is available in a dedicated free bingo room where players can go at certain times of the day. Several other themed rooms offered paid games with bigger prizes, to make the transition between methods easy and natural.
To Build Trust
When a new product or service is launched, overcoming the public’s lack of knowledge of it is one of the key concerns. In many cases, this can be seen in a lack of trust in what’s being offered. Even a well-known brand can struggle to get the public to trust a new product, as we’ve seen in product flops like Google Glass, The Newton by Apple, and Satisfries by Burger King.
On the other hand, successful product launches have usually involved quickly gaining the confidence of the public. This can be done in several ways, such as by turning the product into a household name through widespread advertising or by getting powerful endorsements on board. Compared to those approaches, offering a free trial might be a cost-effective method worth considering.
It’s worth thinking about alternative offers if you can’t take the hit of giving products away completely for free. Buy one get one free and 50% off offers can be hugely effective too, while still keeping some income rolling in. Take a look at big supermarket chains like Walmart to see how they use a variety of interesting offers to encourage shoppers to buy more.
To Keep People Coming Back for More
One of the other issues to consider is that getting the first sales is a huge moment but it doesn’t define a successful marketing campaign. For that to be the case, you need returning customers who are happy to pay for the product or service. This is what lets you see that you’ve got long-term success on your hands.
A look back at some of the most successful marketing campaigns of all time includes many brands that offered something for free to make choosing them a habit for consumers. For example, the Spotify success story is built on several factors and offering a freemium service that can be upgraded to a paid subscription at any point is one of them.
Giving something away for free might seem like a bad idea at first, but these examples let us see that it can be a solid building block from which to build lasting success.
