I recently launched a product and have been advertising free samples in my target market. It’s a disposable product and my users would use 5, 10, or 15 widgets month if they liked it and it worked for their situation. I have been offering sample packages that include 2 widgets to let them try it out and get a feel for the product.
I created my web store with 2 listings. One for the free sample package and one for a package of 5 widgets (users can buy multiples to get their desired amount).
I intend to make a few more listings including a monthly subscription option.
So far we have had a lot of orders for samples and only a few orders for paid product. I don’t want to ramp down the advertising of free samples but I would like to push users to buy the product instead, if I can.
I thought about making it slightly harder to order free samples. Potentially pushing them through a few clicks to get to the sample order or asking them to fill out a survey first. It wouldn’t be out of character in my market to ask for information about their predicament before sending samples.
I can automate a email journey to send them a link to free samples…but that felt like too much friction.
What else can I do to make it more appealing to buy vs get the free samples?
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To nudge customers towards buying your product instead of ordering free samples, you can implement a multi-faceted approach that maintains the appeal of free samples while making the paid product more attractive:
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Product Differentiation: Clearly highlight the advantages of the full product over the free sample. Emphasize its quality, quantity, and how it can better address their needs.
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Pricing and Bundling: Offer competitive pricing for the paid product and create bundle options to encourage larger purchases with discounts.
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Educational Content: Provide valuable content on your website or through email marketing that educates customers about the benefits and long-term cost savings of using your product.
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Limited-Time Offers: Create time-limited promotions for the full product to instill a sense of urgency in customers.
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Loyalty Program: Establish a loyalty or rewards program that offers incentives for repeat purchases, such as discounts or free products after a certain number of purchases.
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Upsell at Checkout: When customers order free samples, present an enticing offer to upgrade to the full product at a reduced price during the checkout process.
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Customer Reviews: Showcase positive reviews and testimonials from those who have purchased your product, building trust and social proof.
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Personalized Recommendations: Use customer data to make personalized product recommendations that cater to their specific needs.
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Subscription Benefits: When introducing the monthly subscription option, clearly outline its benefits in terms of convenience and cost savings.
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Feedback Loop: After sending free samples, follow up with customers to gather feedback and gently remind them about the full product’s availability.
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A/B Testing: Continuously experiment with different messaging and strategies to see what resonates most with your audience and drives more purchases.
Balancing the appeal of free samples with the attractiveness of the full product is crucial. By focusing on value, education, and personalized engagement, you can guide customers toward making paid purchases while still maintaining the appeal of trying your product with samples.
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Seems like there’s some math to do - number of free samples who convert to customers, average lifetime value of customer, etc.
If the avg ltv > cost of acquisition, then you’re all good
Consider limiting the number of free widgets, but making people register their interest. Still give a bunch away, but use the details you collect to create a mailing list. Hit them up with some special deals in the first few months, etc.
We say we are limiting samples to 1 per order. We don’t have a specific policy on re-ordering samples. Luckily(?) no one has ordered free samples more than once. If they did I would have to find some way to respond. I would probably send out the second free sample and then follow up with an email telling them we can’t provide further free samples. I’ll have to work on a polite way to say that.
I have a follow-up survey being sent to people two weeks after they make a “purchase” but only 1% of customers filled it out. This shop has only been up for a month. I don’t have a lot of customers yet but I definitely would have expected more responses from my audience.
I wonder if there is a better way to register interest. Maybe a pre-purchase survey would be a good idea. I can get some usable info while at the same time adding a little friction.
Reading all that GPT, I came here to say:
You’re building Trust with your Alpha right now. If free gets them in the door, then devise a way so that those who have signed up and use X amount of free-tokens, don’t get to keep using them.
BUT ((and as you scale up (Free > Discount > Paid > Longterm)))
They do continue to get a DISCOUNT to keep using the service, for now.
Then you want to entice them to KEEP getting that Discount by doing Monthly/Yearly Packages.
Most of it is in how you leverage the Trust/Goodwill you’ve built while gathering your Social Proof, to cement the Value of this service in their heart/mind, and THEN how you play with the numbers to help them get the “best deal”.
What are the qualities of the Avatars that are going to want your Premium Package? Market to those. The rest can come and play; and you can help them grow to the point where they need more of what you have.
The one thing I don’t plan on doing is continuing to send free samples. So far, no one has come back and requested a second free sample. We have seen that once they try the sample they come back and purchase a product. So it seems to be working. I just want to try and convert those first time visitors to opt straight for the paid product.
I think you’re 100% right that we can offer discounts to those who have tried the product samples. We can send them coupon codes (at least the ones who have opted in for marketing).
What’s your conversion rate from free sample to paid? How sure r u that people don’t create a new account to get another sample?
And what are you doing with your email marketing?
Someone below mentioned you can:“Have them require a monthly/whatever subscription to get the sample, cancel anytime.” <- This is he first thing I would try. Obviously, just as some sort of A/B test as conversions from visitors are going to fall a lot.
How do you currently get people to come to your website? Roughly, how much does that cost? There are a couple of other things you can try, but it depends on how much traffic costs you.
Just sell the product through the store if the samples don’t convert
Set time limits how long the free samples be available (1 month or so) offer discounts and run promotions instead. I’m in ecom, and I run promotions every now and then, I usually give out free samples when they purchase something. Holiday sales too. I recommend you to read this article for better understanding of mastering client acquisition. https://www.cuppa.so/post/the-ultimate-guide-to-mastering-client-acquisition-2023