subject: Planning Out Your Strategy Before Giving Product Samples [print this page] Why hand out product samples to the public and for free at that? Giving sample items is an awesome promotional strategy to make customers know the reasons and experience why your product is better than your competitors. Giving out your merchandise for free is absolutely a winning idea. The critical question though is, did your products go to your target and qualified customers?
Why do consumer companies invest further by giving away product samples? Companies do this because they know if those who tested the product and like it will be the very first promoters of the items thus the product has already been advertised even before it hit the market. Giving away freebies is a very sound marketing strategy with sure returns.
Knowing customer experience
Merchandise testing is essential for the continued production of an item. Companies want to know about customer experience with the product they are pushing and the continued production of this item will depend upon the customer response gathered through giving out freebies. If the product is not as well received as expected, this will call for a re-evaluation and the companies" think tank will make the necessary revision based on the feedback gathered from product testing.
Wasted resources
A lot of promotional materials have gone to waste because they are just thrust upon customers who are not interested. Naturally, the response you get is a lame, cursory glance at best while most of the time these materials just go straight to the garbage.
Target your customers before giving out product samples
So, how will you be able to identify your target? Find out if your product serves a purpose in a customers life and then identify if they are the primary shopper or at least have influence on what to buy in their household. These questions will let you know if your product answers a consumers specific need and at the same time let customers know the reason for your products existence.
Size does not matter
Giving out free merchandise has become standard practice for businesses. In fact, it does not matter whether you are a big and established corporation or you are just a small, home enterprise for as long as you have a product to sell, it is always best to get customers evaluate your product through free sampling first.
Find the best promotional avenue for your item
Once you have determined your target, it is time to move in. There are lots of methods of giving out product samples. You can go the traditional way, that is, approaching people in public areas and get them to test your product on the spot. Or you can utilize the internet to reach a wider range of customers who are always online seeking out the products you are offering. What is great about online marketing is that customers are always present and are actively seeking. This makes your job halfway done.
Applying the lessons learned
In every marketing strategy, production cost should always be taken into consideration. Never waste your resources and effort by applying marketing techniques haphazardly. Make sure that you identify your target customers and know if they are in the position to buy your merchandise when the need arise. After identifying your target customer choose the method of giving away your merchandise. With all these steps properly set up you can be sure of reaping the benefits of product samples.
