Grow Your Business with Free Trials

December 24, 2020

Giving away free items could potentially net you that large, loyal customer base you’re after.

  • Everyone loves free things; it’s a given!

  • Introducing your service or product at no cost can help reduce customers’ fears.

  • Free trials and samples can help you get constructive feedback.

Perhaps one thing most can agree upon is the notion that people really enjoy getting free things. It would not be uncommon to hear, “Free kah ni?” in the grocery store when samples are offered to customers, and it would usually be met with an enthusiastic, “Awu, free, kita mau try?” More often than not, the free samples would be taken, and that will then offer marketers a chance to gain a new customer for their product.

That strategy could also work with small businesses, or if you’re just starting out. Potential customers may not fully understand your product or service, no matter how hard you’re selling it, so giving free trials or samples is probably the best way to execute the “show, don’t tell” concept.

Here are some reasons to consider giving free samples or trials:

1) Lessen customers’ fears of trying something new

Following the point from above, giving potential customers access to some of the features of your service, or samples of your products for free can help reduce their fear, as all of this will come at no cost for them. Customers can also know exactly what to expect once the free trial is up, and if your service or product speaks well enough for itself, it will make it easier to convince them to sign up for your business!

2) Free exposure

With the advent of social media, sharing the latest new product or service is done in a matter of seconds. Giving a select few a chance to try your products and services, while encouraging them to share their experiences, guarantees free exposure for your brand. That also means the burden of marketing is inevitably shared between your business and the free trialers.

3) Collect feedback

By providing free trials or samples, you have the opportunity to check in with those trying them out during and after the end of the trials to get their feedback. This will be very useful in continuing the development of your product or service. While they might not all convert to paying customers, they may still be able to give you insights.

Lessening the risks

Every sales strategy will inherently have some risks. You might have users who could take advantage of the free trial system, and the concept of giving away free stuff might not be very cost-effective as well, especially if you’re just starting out as a brand.

Nevertheless, you can always mitigate these risks by taking steps to ensure that your free trials and samples will reap some form of benefit, no matter the outcome.

One way to do so is by designing your free trials in a way that will give a maximum chance of success — giving enough for your customers to experience the basic ins and outs, but withholding enough to get them to come back for more. This could be giving samples in a limited quantity to the free trialers, or if you’re offering a service, you could put a time limit on how long they can get to enjoy it for free.

Provide an example – do you mean giving samples in small quantities?

You also shouldn’t give away free items without a game plan — strategic sampling that takes into account your intended target audience will likely yield the most coveted outcome for your business. Giveaways work really well on social media platforms; one way to utilise them in gaining a following is by establishing rules that ensure you expand your influence through engagement and encouraging them to follow your business’ social pages. Another way is by prompting customers to leave reviews or to subscribe to your page and giving them a free sample or trial in return!

Including a mix of both regular, online users and those who have extensive communities or large public platforms such as bloggers, influencers and other known names will help extend the audience reach beyond your current business; for example, personas like Rano, Pengiran Salimatul Sa’ada Saleh or better known as Ninjatutul and Nadzri Harif have sizeable followings and are well-known brands of their own that can help you explore your own potential audience target.

At the end of the day, it is up to you to decide if free trials and samples are the best way to boost your business. It can get tricky, but with a clear plan and end goal in mind, this form of marketing can truly produce the results you’re looking for!