Thoughts about Free

Recently I have been to a number of “expo” events. The hair expo, jewelry expo and the glamour expo. Each specializing in a specific area, designers from all around Second Life display a sampling of their creations and we, the lucky visitors, get to wander around exploring the new fabulous-ness.

Every one of these events has at least a few, if not mostly all, exhibits offering a freebie or two. I’ve discovered some interesting things from this practice. I think all businesses should offer a freebie, a regular give away as a way to encourage new customers, or even past visitors to come by and check out what you have to offer.

Here are the things I have discovered…

1. Always have a free gift to share. If you are at an event, and I have taken the time to visit the event, I may not have time to stop and browse your entire collection. However, if you have a give away… something for free or very little ($1 – $10L), I will pick up your item and possibly visit you later. Absolutely free, zero, is the best price because more people are able to pick it up regardless of their spending budget.

This cute little dress is from Bliss Couture. I thought they only specialized in long formal gowns, so I was surprised to this short and sassy outfit. Sure enough, I headed back to see what else I could find!

2. The freebies should be treated as a special sample. The included items don’t need to be a huge quantity of things, but they should absolutely be a high quality and something I am likely to appreciate having. Don’t throw in the crap no one wants or the test items that no one likes. Give me something that I am likely to love and when I do have time to shop or have more money to spend, I will be more likely to come to your store.

I love this necklace from CCD – Caithlin Carter Designs. It came with matching earrings and the entire set is completely customizable through an options menu. Just click the jewlery and choose the color, texture and bling options. Awesome!

3. Don’t call your giveaway a gift or free if I have to spend any money on it. Even $1L means it’s not free. So either make it free, and don’t charge me a dime, or charge me but call it what it is, a special bonus item for visiting.

This pretty pink outfit from Nova also came with the shoes and a separate pink ribbon especially for breast cancer awareness.

4. Do not require me to be a member of your group or put your shop in my picks so that I can get your freebie. This is how this works… you require the visitor to be in your group. I join your group. I get my free gift. I leave your group. I’m willing to go through all this to get your free gift, but now you’ve managed to irritate me, so even if I like the contents of the gift, I am going to remember the hoops I had to jump through to get it. I’m the customer, the shop owner is the hoop jumper, not me.

5. Make sure to include valuable information that will allow me to find you later. If you are giving me a free gift (or any product for that matter), make sure to include:

• A thank you note, something personal that gives me a bit of info about what you specialize in, why you sell the products you do, what groups I can join, or where I can find you.
• A landmark – if you have more than one location, give me the location that has either the products similar to what you just gave me or the location with the most options for product choices
• any other items that would help me to stay connected to you and your products which hopefully I now love.

This sweet butterfly dress is from Agnes Finney’s My Precious. It’s rare, from my experience to find such a pretty and unique dress.. for free. I love the color and the pattern! After visiting the shop, I found more and more than I love. This freebie is a great example of the quality to expect, and it only gets better from here.

This is another Agnes Finney design… also free at the same event. Awesome!

6. Remember that not everyone owns a home location they can open a package in. So if you want the most exposure from your freebies, make sure the largest number of people can use it. See “How to Stuff a Box” for suggestions on your packaging.

7. Do not make it difficult to find your freebies. Make it obvious! If I am out looking for freebies, I’m going to hunt until I find yours and the more I have to hunt, the less attention I will pay to your regular items. If you make the freebie obvious and I had planned on looking around, you haven’t wasted any of my time I planned on devoting to check out your store and your for sale items. Respect my time as much as you’d like me to buy your items.

This bracelet is from Earthstones Jewelry. I puchased a necklace and earrings when I picked up this freebie, which then reminded me to go check out the store. I expected jewelry but I also found windchimes. Yay! That’s a big surprise, I adore windchimes. Had I not purchased anything, but still had this freebie I liked, I still would have visited and discovered more items I love.

8. If possible include something I can share with friends. A small token item like a bracelet or scarf that is wonderful enough to share, than I can tell my friends about you and give them something to remember they want to know more as well.

Bonus Idea: One of the coolest things I’ve seen lately is the monthly freebie from existing shops. Not only do I like what I have been given, I now know I can go back once a month and pick up something else, hopefully just as fabulous. I love these items enough, next month when I go to pick up my freebie, I’ll probably stick around to see if there is anything I’d like to buy as well. Hint: If you are going to offer a gift every month, add the date in the name so freebie collectors can tell when it’s time to return.

You can get a Gift of the Month at Haute Style, and these are fantastic gifts, I love them!

Freebies are a difficult concept to adjust to. We work hard to create the things we offer, and just handing them out for nothing in exchange, makes it a hard concept to take hold of. When you do start to tackle this issue, just remember, a freebie is a gift to a potential customer. A freebie is also a reminder and a thank you to current customers that already appreciate your work.

Freebies Goal: give buyers a reason to come back… eventually most will buy.

Tagged as: business, merchandising, shopping