Should I Give Away Free Stuff?

The small business owner just starting out could benefit from giving away free stuff

. Since promotional items can impact the small business budget, cost-effective ways to promote a brand by giving away free items can be explored. Here are four affordable low-cost promotional gifts that can be used in small business marketing efforts.

A Valuable Free Guide

The small business can promote a brand by offering a free guide to prospects. The small business budgetonly has to allow for the production of the marketing content once. From then on, the free guide can be given to each person that requests one via the small business blog or website.

Free Consultation

A small business service company could offer a free screening or consultation. Productivity concerns can be addressed by adding conditions. For example, the free consultation could be provided on a slower business day, or offered exclusively afterhours. Another restriction like requiring a preliminary questionnaire in order to qualify for the free consultation can be used with those requesting the service.

Teleseminar

Offering a free teleseminar is another great way to promote a service on a small business budget. Once the digital materials are prepared, the company does not need to invest in the production of the content for subsequent, identical seminars. A designated day out of each month can be dedicated exclusively to offering a free virtual seminar. The participants can be required to fill out certain information that can be used later on for market research purposes. This is a good way for a small business to gauge the needs of a targeted audience, experiment with soft sales techniques, and market expertise on a subject matter. Small business productivity isn't majorly affected if the registration processes is automated. There's also the added benefit of conducting a pre-formatted seminar with an audience at one set time; the time invested into providing the complimentary seminar is limited to the slot.

Monthly contests or drawings

Contests are another great way to control costs in small business marketing. A contest that requires that a person be interested in receiving a particular product could be a great way to limit small business budget spending on promotional items. The winner of the contest can be given a free CD or a discount for a service offered. The drawing could be on a set date of each month. The gift itself could be something of value that only has to be produced or given away once to the individual (guide, CD, e-book). A CD, podcast, consultation, subscription, guide or discount are all great complimentary items that can be given away.

Giving away free promotional items without breaking the bank is a science. By limiting the amount of resources invested into acquiring or producing the item, and limiting the quantity and frequency of items offered, the budget doesn't have to be affected much in small business marketing efforts. The small business budget that cannot afford to be stretched thin for the purpose of giving away an endless amount of free promotional items and gifts should leverage its resources. This can be done by limiting the amount of money invested into the promotional item, qualifying the prospect for the free gift, dedicating slow days to free consultations, grouping audience into a teleseminar setting, or creating a monthly drawing to a qualified lead. Remember that the complimentary items, services or content should be: (a) of value, (b) offered once, and/or (c) produced once for the individual's benefit.

Giving away free stuff doesn't have to be a burden!

Should I Give Away Free Stuff?

By: Mimi T.

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