There are numerous benefits to an effective product sampling program. As Babbitt discovered in the 19th century, when consumers are loyal to a particular brand, it can be extremely difficult to get them to try anything else. When you offer free samples of your product, you remove the risk for the consumer.
Think about a customer going to a grocery store. Many of them already have a list written down of their needs. Conversely, handing out a sample of your product in the middle of the store instantly gets you noticed.
Giving your customers the chance to experience your product first hand before purchase gives you a much higher chance of boosting your brand awareness.
For example, Snack Factory ran a product sampling program for a brand new product: Flat pretzel crackers. Generating more customer reviews for your product is critical. A product sampling program provides the perfect opportunity to generate more ratings, reviews, and additional user-generated content.
A product sampling program is particularly helpful when launching a new brand or product within a brand. By providing potential customers with your products, you begin to build the foundation of trust and loyalty.
You might not get it from everyone, but for many, the option of trying a product and getting to experience it first hand before purchase is the ultimate form of brand trust and relationship building.
Although many types of product sampling programs exist, they can generally be divided into two categories:. Traditional product sampling is the in-person or event-based sampling method.
Think of when you walk through Costco and you see the vendors handing out free samples. Or when beauty brands offer free skincare samples. Traditional product sampling provides an immersive experience by allowing potential consumers to experience your products.
It also promotes brand awareness and gets your product in front of people who may have never heard of you. However, with traditional product sampling, audience targeting is usually out of reach since your samples are handed out to whoever is there, rather than a targeted audience.
And remarketing opportunities are largely non-existent since samples are typically handed out in passing with little chance for a follow-up.
Digital product sampling is far more in-depth than traditional product sampling. It starts with creating profiles for your potential customers, gathering data through questionnaires and other consumer insight-gathering tactics. This data can include everything from age and location to more targeted questions, such as dietary preferences and shopping habits, depending on the industry.
Once profiles are created, potential customers receive relevant samples or digital offers that match their profile, creating a highly personalized product sampling program.
Digital product sampling, contrary to traditional product sampling, offers many opportunities for both laser-focused audience targeting and for remarketing.
It allows you to reach customers in their homes instead of relying on in-person meetings and catching them at the right place and right time. One of the biggest benefits of digital product sampling is the ability to capitalize on what product sampling programs are all about—collecting more ratings and reviews.
Your online brand community can be used to create an effective product sampling program from start to finish. Digital product sampling programs require effective audience targeting. The TINT platform creates progressive profiles of members, continually collecting and adding zero-party data and first-party data.
Once targeting is accomplished, UGC, testimonials, and reviews can be generated in real-time within the platform as community members receive their samples. Short on samples? Consider that convenience is the top driver of online purchases.
Still, some products need to be seen in person before buyers are comfortable. As noted earlier, this is common with high-ticket purchases. Even Amazon is hopping on the sampling bandwagon with their Prime Try Before You Buy program.
Below is another example from Azazie. The brand offers try-on wedding dresses and free swatch samples for shoppers.
Their dresses and gowns must be returned within seven days of being received. On the flip side, their swatches are truly free samples with no returns necessary. Source: Azazie. As an added bonus, shoppers can actually choose which products they want to try.
Source: Ulta. By default, the products sampled will be more relevant to individual shoppers than random items. This increases the chances that shoppers will make a full-blown purchase in the future.
Source: Twitter. Good question! This is an ongoing trend and expectation among shoppers post-pandemic. As ecommerce grows, opportunities to build one-on-one connections with customers shrink.
And so brands that can create a unique experience for their customers have the most to gain. Recommending and offering personalized samples is compelling to consumers. Random freebies are nice, but custom samples for individuals are ideal. Consider also that anyone that asks for or accepts a sample is high-intent.
Your product sampling program can serve as a way to identify relevant shoppers ASAP. Sampling campaigns offer a goldmine of info for brands. Specifically, how to fine-tune your marketing strategy.
For example, product samples that never get claimed or talked about might be worth phasing out. On the flip side, your popular samples can highlight what people like the most about your brand.
This illustrates yet another benefit of influencer gifting. When creators post about your product, you can earn authentic and unfiltered feedback.
Note which products and qualities ex: materials, ingredients, features they shout out. Then, emphasize those strengths in your future marketing campaigns. Source: melissaamaakeup. Without getting too scientific, reciprocity occurs when a brand gives a consumer a free sample. The use of reciprocity in marketing is well-documented.
Think about how Costco has made sampling such an important part of the shopping experience for members. Well, product sampling campaigns online have the same effect. When you mail out a sample of your product, you trigger the reciprocity effect. This increases the chances that recipients become buyers.
When you offer an in-person sample, people only get a narrow and limited understanding of your product. For example, a customer might try a perfume sample in the store. When you offer an in-home sample, people get a chance to use your product as they would if they bought it.
This creates a much-needed sense of reassurance. Also, consider how some product sampling campaigns offer a taste of your checkout experience. This is another way to get new customers familiar with your brand and products. The more time people get to spend engaging with your brand, the more comfortable they are with you.
If nothing else, social media product sampling is a brilliant way to get more user-generated content. This includes customer photos and videos, reviews and more. Source: lewendyy.
Real-life product reviews and visual content are among the most important factors that drive purchase intent. You can earn both at the same time by offering samples. Whether you can realistically build your own program depends on a few key factors, though.
On a high level, brainstorm whether or not your brand has the following:. Note: for companies with limited resources but time to spare, small-scale gifting campaigns are an option. The process of engaging with creators one-on-one to send products is still time-consuming.
Still, this method is more manageable than trying to ship out dozens or hundreds of samples at once. Sampling should be treated like any other marketing tactic.
Without getting too much into the nitty-gritty, below is a quick rundown of what needs to be done:. Offering samples of your products is a proven way to engage interested buyers and build brand loyalty.
Anything you can do to make a strong first impression on shoppers is a plus. Combined with strategies like influencer marketing, brands can cover more ground and introduce their products to relevant audiences at scale.
If you're struggling to maximize your influencer marketing strategy in-house, Statusphere can help. Unlike other platforms, we help brands earn guaranteed content.
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