Using freebies in marketing do's and don'ts

Everyone loves to get something for nothing.Many of us have signed up for free offers or have entered drawings for free prizes.Offering freebies is definitely an effective marketing strategy as it can draw a lot of attention to your company.However, going about marketing through freebies the wrong way can bring a lot of negative attention to your company that you want to be sure to avoid.The effectiveness of offering freebies is in the implementation.Below are some tips that are meant to help you as the business owner, understand the do's and don'ts of using freebies in marketing.

Using freebies in marketing do's

• If you're going to offer freebies, make them worthwhile to the user.No one is going to go out of their way to visit your website or business if your freebie isn't at least worth their time.
• From a business perspective, if you're going to offer an item for free, ensure that you also get something in return. The whole point of offering freebies is to somehow further your business as a result.Make sure that both you and the customer are happy with what it took to get the freebie.
• Make it clear to your customers that if you ask them to provide you with contact information, that you will not distribute that information to any other property.The customer will feel better about interacting with your company if they feel like they are not putting themselves into a vulnerable position.
• Offer further incentive to purchase an additional product or the full version of the product for which the freebie was offered through discounts and satisfaction guarantees.
• Inspire confidence with a money back guarantee.More people will be willing to buy a product that they are unfamiliar with if they understand that because of the money back guarantee, they are not risking as much.Additionally having a money back guarantee shows the customer that the company is willing to stand by their products.This in turn strengthens the perception that the customer is getting something of real value.
• Do create a sense of urgency.Freebies such as those offered online should work to persuade the customer to buy now rather than later.You can see this tactic on the popular Home Shopping Network when they offer special discounts or bonuses, but only if you order in the next ten minutes.

Using freebies in marketing don'ts

• Junk is junk, whatever it costs, even if it's nothing. Junk freebies only annoy people. Offering a lame freebie can reflect poorly on your business.If as a business you cannot offer more than a free pen to your customers, your other services may be perceived as cheap and half-hearted as well.
• Don't deceive the customer when it comes to requesting contact information.Explain why you need it and that you will not be reckless with this valuable information.
• Do not do anything that would lead your customers to wish they had listened to the classic caution that, "If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is."Do not offer a highly valuable product for free.Instead offer it for a discounted price and use wording such as "$100 value, but yours today for only $10.99!"
• Don't let your freebie show-up your actual product.Your freebie should work for you to entice customers to buy your product.A freebie that is too good is taken without thought, and then what was the point of having it in the first place?!Your freebie should be directly connected to your product.A freebie is an incentive.