Everyone gets excited when it is mentioned that something is Freebies!
By default, we expect that it wouldn’t cost us anything if it’s freebies. But should we worry about if freebies are superior(or inferior) to sold version of same products or services?
Hmmm,I once posted on what freebies are, why you should not worry but now,my focus in this post is to answer the question:
“Are Freebies superior to sold products?”
Freebies have been in existence for long , as early as the early time of trade by barter.
In this our current civilization, companies use freebies for freebies marketing.
Companies use freebies to impress existing customers and target new customers. So,in short, first aim of freebies is to get the attention and goodwill of customers who in turn buy the products.
Identifying Freebies.
These freebies may carry an emblem or a company’s marketing information. Some have signs like “not for sale”, “free sample” and “not transferable” embossed on them or on their packs. These signs distinguish freebies from sold products not difference in manufacturers or batch.
So you may need to find out if the freebies you desire carry such signs. I once had a freebie of an expensive electronic gadget that carries a bold advert of the company. A few people who saw it were pleasantly surprised and had kind words for the company.
For some freebies, find out if you are on ‘freemium’ or trial version. This is very common with digital products.
One good thing about freebies is that,it brings in more sales for businesses. Businesses use it at any stage of their business growth. If you see big corporations like Amazon or Emirates still giving freebies,you need not worry.
Giving freebies is a great way to get clients to trust and test the quality of your products or services.
So freebies marketing can be of huge benefits to businesses. That is the main incentive for them giving you freebies.
So freebies will continue to exist and freebies offer can come in different ways or names. Just understand that once you have not paid for that product or service you use, it is a freebie.
Are freebies the same as 1+1 deals?
You must have seen or heard about ‘buy one and get one free’ promotions. It refers to the “1+1 deal” or “BOGOF” in marketing parlance.
The argument that it comes with a condition that you make a buy to get one extra for free does not mean that you paid for it. This and other conditional freebies out there come with condition that you buy one and get free. So if you have not paid for that extra,it is free!
How about Coupons?
Since the advent of online commerce,coupons have changed in meanings but not in use. They used to be a small printed piece of paper that entitles the holder to a discount, or goods or services for free. While coupons like birthday freebies coupon need you to print ,others are electronic.
There are many popular sites offering coupons;hunt4freebies , theKrazycoupon lady and others.
To get some coupons, all you need to do is register and fill some forms while for some,you earn it as rewards for a task done.
For example, if you download the app of Ace Hardware, register and make a rewards account, within a day, they’ll load an offer to your account to get $5 off $5 at Ace Hardware, so you can get something free or nearly free. They also give you 1,000 rewards points for joining.
This is actually for entertainment and leisure. These days of virtual slot machines, you can play for free with free coins and absolutely nothing to lose!
You can download their apps and use the free coins to play on the go and even on facebook.
If you are getting out of gambling addiction to slot games,go for slot freebies!
It’s like vaping without the nicotine!
You still get the pleasant feeling of playing but you are saving money you would have spent and lost.
You still have your money intact in your wallet.
I do not personally recommend gambling as a way of life choices. I have seen gambling addiction ruin lives of very promising individuals/homes, so for me, use of slot freebies is my idea of compromise.
Other freebies come as sweepstakes,rewards,loyalty cards and bonanza!
Are freebies of more quality than sold products?
Most times, there is no difference especially when it comes with a production batch or there is a free trial.
When we buy a certain product, and we earn gifts, research shows that our brain creates a belief that the gift is either of the same quality with the item purchased or even more. The case might be different. There are times free stuffs have more quality than the actual product bought; this could be because the company is trying to make a
name. Although it is a marketing strategy that can backfire,some businesses still do it. So you may come across such occasions and if you already do,please share your thoughts below.
From my experiences, companies, businesses, and brands don’t give a lesser quality freebies. This is because they are attempting to gain the interest of clients. If their free product
is not of great quality, no one would be willing to try the real product even if the quality is a hundred times better.
So,most businesses and brands stick to having freebies at par with the actual product or service.
These freebies could come in smaller quantities or brief but they almost always keep the same quality and standard of the real products.
Companies can’t risk having an inferior product/service as freebie. And if they have freebies products superior than sold ones, customers may later find out. You can fool people sometime but not all the time.
So why won’t any company risk having a phoney freebies?
The answer is in: why do companies use freebies?
They will lose the following valuable opportunities for ;
Client Database Growth:
When companies give out items without charging, they are most likely doing it to grow their client database quickly. This act is very effective for cold and warm leads. Clients who enjoy their product have a greater chance of returning to get more. When giving out these freebies, companies get contact information of those they give. So when you request for a freebie,you may need to provide your email address and other information. These email address serves as a great marketing tool for email marketing.
Creating Awareness:
Promotion of a new product or service can benefit highly from giving freebies. The freebies will promote the brand in a new location or locations with low patronage. It is also a great advert choice for companies instead of traditional advertising. Companies can incorporate it to gain one-on-one prospecting and product evaluation for feedback. When a product has recorded, companies can gain the interest of clients by using freebies.
Assess Customers:
When customers fill forms after using freebies, information supplied is a treasure trove. These information are very useful in research and development.
Also, when companies give free products, they study customers interests. These evaluations come in handy in detecting what clients like or don’t like and how well to improve product or create new ones outrightly.
It is also a way to detect how clients grade your product when competitor products are available.
Trust building:
When consumers test and prove that a freebie is of great quality and value, they trust it.
The have proven that it is and will feel the urge to tell others about it and buy. At this point, they know that the product works.
Gaining loyalty:
Trust does not necessarily lead to loyalty. Loyalty from clients comes when they believe that the freebies is better than others.
Some clients find it difficult to break off connections. With a freebie,they now have a reason to switch their loyalty.
And once a company has loyal clients,they want to keep it so and their sales rating keeps growing.
More purchases:
This is a psychological reasoning. People tend to buy more if they know that they will get something else free for making a buy. This is even more when the value of the product is similar or half the value of the other items they wanted to buy before. The feeling of getting something free creates an impulse to buy if freebies come with the buy. The stronger the incentive,the more purchases the buyer will make.
Other products promotion:
This happens. Companies gain success through their freebies also tend to have other products promoted. Paying customers believe that if one product can be good, then the whole brand has to be of equal standard. In the end,businesses also get a promotion for their other products.
Repairing customer relationship:
Clients will have disputes with service providers or manufacturers once in a while. These disputes can put businesses in a negative standing with existing clients. Giving freebies may be cheaper than even the cost of PR campaigns on the traditional media.
For companies that have experienced some negative publicity, giving freebies to customers has helped them to rebuild and repair broken customer relationship.
Conclusion
No study has concluded that freebies worth more in value and quality than paid ones.
In this post,I have only expressed my personal opinions from my experience.
What is you own experience?
