Image Credit: www.flickr.com

Image Credit: www.flickr.com

Amazon provides a complimentary 30-day trial for their Prime service. A gym gives one-week passes to prospective new members at no charge. The grocery store leaves out food samples for patrons to taste test before they buy. What do these scenarios have in common? Freebies!

 

From a marketing standpoint, giving away free items isn’t a new concept, yet when executed effectively, it can elevate your business. Providing free content to consumers allows you to attract an audience without expensive ad campaigns. Check out four benefits to providing free content and how it can help your business.

[tweetthis]Free content to #consumers allows you to attract them w/o expensive ad campaigns. @ChamberOnline [/tweetthis]

  • People can test out your product/service. People are more likely to try something they normally wouldn’t if it’s free. This allows you to showcase what you have to offer and demonstrate what sets you apart from the competition. The benefits of your product can be displayed for a limited time to entice your audience. The goal is that by offering a chance to test out your product free of charge, consumers gain exposure, completely risk-free. A limited time offer to test out a service is a popular route. However, partial access to some of your services or a “starter” product may also be offered. Ideally, a new user will enjoy what your product so much, they decide to continue purchasing and become a repeat customer.
  • Peaks interest. Getting people to notice your business is the difficult part. By offering freebies you entice people to check out what you have to offer. A popular tactic is to provide a “freemium,” which is a strategy in which a product or service is offered free of charge with features or membership available if a premium is paid. There are several ways to provide free content beyond the freemium, including e-newsletter or magazine, blogs, as well as the membership model. The hope is that your freebie is so appealing, consumers stick around and ultimately make a purchase.  If you want to attract customers, provide quality, engaging, complimentary content. Some might take the freebie and bolt, but most will be interested enough to at least learn more about your business.
  • Positive brand association. Everyone loves free, especially when there’s no strings attached. Securing freebies makes people happy and happy people are more apt to make a purchase. By providing something for free, you’re developing a positive connection to your brand. Consumers will recall this feeling and think highly of your business.
  • Develops purchasing pattern. By providing freebies, people are more inclined to give your business a try. Once consumers try out your business, they will be more likely to become and remain loyal customers. People tend to be creatures of habit and stick with what they know. If you’ve hooked them with a freebie, it’s likely you’ll have a repeat customer on your hand, assuming they’ve had a positive experience.

 

As you can see, the are many benefits to offering freebies. Free quality content can help to drive traffic and increase sales for your business.

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