Marketing - Written by Tanisha Sakhawat on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 13:03 - 0 Comments
Freebies give competitive edge over rival companies
Consumers take well to free samples, giving these companies the competitive edge over rivals. UK marketing news reveals that a new study has found that companies which offer freebies to customers, are more remembered and around half of consumers who sample a product, are more likely to purchase the sampled item in the future.
Online review site, Freebielist.com found that 25 per cent of the people who sampled the free product, will purchase it again later on. Freebies make customers remember the brand and recognise the product on the shelves during a shopping trip - this makes them subconsciously drawn toward the familiar product.
Founder of Freebielist.com, Andy Varley said: “Companies offering free samples can gain competitive advantage by increased brand awareness. Over the past eight years, we’ve witnessed steady growth in the uptake of these methods and experienced first-hand the powerful effect samples have on consumers.”
The study also found that the beauty industry is among the top companies who are particularly generous when giving out freebies. Olay, Garnier and L’Oreal all use this marketing strategy when they have new products coming out. They then tend to stick on a promotional offer on the product which makes consumers grab it quickly, thinking it is a bargain they do not want to miss out on.
Marketers need to utilise all available mediums and channels when promoting a product and the internet is a platform being used more often. Freebies are usually mentioned on advertisements of a product, then people tend to go straight to that website to claim their sample.
A recent report published by Econsultancy and ExactTarget, said UK firms will boost their digital marketing budgets by an average of 17 per cent in 2010.
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