Giving Away FREE Stuff – Does it Work?

Potentially, any brand could give away free stuff. From food brands giving out tasty morsels at food fairs to artisan food producers tempting customers to beauty brands giving away free samples, the psychology of giving customers ‘a taste for nothing’ has been a marketing ploy utilised for years.

There is a divide in opinion, however, with some saying that giving away stuff is exactly that, giving your product away for nothing and for little, if any return. But there are others who say it works.

It begs the question, do free samples actually increase sales?

Be honest, you, like everyone else, love something for free, even if it is just a snippet of what a brand has to offer. But can it be anything more than just a nice gesture?

It seems counterintuitive to hire an in store demonstrator to give something away for free because you won’t be making a profit on it. In effect, you are giving away a portion of your profit’s.

But this small gesture can bring massive rewards, something that research has shown time and time again.

What giving away a free sample does is to raise a desire in someone for that particular thing.

For example, give someone a small block of chocolate and it releases the craving for more.

The conversion rate from sampling activities can be between 25% and 30% – and who would turn down more customers?

Playing to human instinct

The psychology giving something away for free lends a powerful argument to the debate.

Receiving something for free promotes a very strong instinct called reciprocity.

It is a well-studied emotion in humans. When we see someone doing something nice and when we happen to be on the receiving end, we want to reciprocate. In other words, we want to do something nice in return.

So when a beauty brand allows us to try their new hand cream for free and gives a small sachet away, we are more likely to buy because we want to mirror this pleasant action. 

Sampling does work but…

Hiring product sampling staff for sampling activities DOES work BUT, just like other marketing activities, there needs to be a strong strategy behind this tool. Bowling on up on a street corner and simply giving away your products may not yield the results you think you might get.

There are four key components to a successful sampling session, all of which focus on customer satisfaction.

Sampling can move a customer from satisfied to highly satisfied. And when someone loves what you do or make, they are more likely to buy and – the best bit! – buy more!

But to have a chance of moving from ‘satisfied’ to ‘highly satisfied’, a sampling activity must;

• Provide great service – every customer needs attention, including those sampling your products. Professional sampling staff will engage customers, telling them more about the products, where they can buy, pricing, use and so on. An informative sampling session is far more successful because it provides a great service.
• Provide a pleasant atmosphere – sampling staff should willingly engage with customers, encouraging them to try everything they have on offer. This means creating a dedicated area for sampling, ideally placed closed by your products on display. It can also be as simple as keeping a tidy sampling station and uniformed staff.
• Provide a memorable experience – linking strongly with the last two points, if a consumer comes away with a strong favourable impression, it again sparks a strong reciprocal instinct in the consumer. A memorable experience is an impression that lasts for some time to come.
• Be powered by a strategy – with professional sampling staff offering a seamless service, a sampling activity needs a strategy powering it so that the goals of the event are clear.

Giving away free stuff does work if…

• there is a strategy behind it
• it is part of an overall marketing plan with clear aims and objectives
• there is an understanding of why giving away free stuff will work for your business.

Get the basics in place and giving away a little can bring a strong consumer response in your favour.

Click here to read why giving away free stuff will work for your business