Why do consumers love freebies?

The cases above make clear that the “free trick” (“freebie”) has nothing to do with saving money, but it is more of a psychological aspect of human behavior.

Some of the most frequently used types of freebies are:

• The extra free product (for example 250 ml more milk for the price of 1L, or 1+1 Gratis promotions)
• Gifts attached to a product (for example a free cork opener attached to a bottle of wine) or stand-alone gifts (for example a branded magnetic photo frame that you can stick to the fridge that is given for free to the people in the target group)
• Free service (for example free delivery for online orders)

A particularly important freebie is the free sample of a product. The activity is called “sampling” and it is a widely used strategy to drive the trial of a brand. If properly planned and executed, sampling may have a significant positive impact on a brand’s sales. To share only two examples:

• Mary Hanbury, Senior Retail Reporter, while commenting on Costco’s decision to distribute free samples in-store, stated that “free samples are actually a brilliant business strategy” (Business Insider, 2018).
• According to The Atlantic (2014), there was an increase in sales, after the distribution of product samples, with products such as frozen pizza, lipstick, and wine performing the highest sales results.

However, as Mark Dent, The Hustle author, recently mentioned, the behavior of consumers won’t be rational, when something free is involved (The Hustle, 2022). We can’t always predict people’s reactions toward freebies. Brands and marketing experts should study the consumer’s behavior before making up their minds. The media used, the product itself, the brand awareness, the target audience, and the market’s needs could influence the outcome of a free sampling campaign. Then, the key question that brand managers must answer is:

”Should my brand use a freebies strategy in the marketing mix?”

As in the case of many tough business questions, the answer is “it depends”: it depends on the marketing objective that the brand wants to achieve:

• If the brand wants to gain trial, then freebies might help, especially in the form of sampling. Sampling can be a great tool that will give the consumers the opportunity to try your product, in a risk-free way for them, and can lead to a long term relationships between the brand and the consumers (like in the case of properly done Point of Market Entry Programs). Yet, it is not for all brands and in all circumstances! There are some prerequisites for a successful sampling activity, and we will detail the “do’s and don’ts” in the next article, so stay tuned!
• If the brand has a fundamental value proposition issue (i.e. the consumers believe the brand is not worth the money they have to pay for it), then by using freebies (gifts/free stuff) you will not solve the problem. A freebie in this case will only balance the value equation (which is represented by what the consumers feel they receive for the money they pay). But this is not sustainable long term and, as soon as the freebie stops, the problem comes back, and the sales will drop. Moreover, trying to solve a value issue with a freebie is a dangerously “addictive” and escalating tactic! In our experience, as time goes by, you will have to increase the incentive (freebie) to get the same effect because consumers will get used to it and the impact will be lower in time. Therefore, in the situation of a value issue, fix it, and don’t use freebies, as they will only work temporarily!

Our experience with high-quality brand trial activities samples

For over 26 years, we have helped thousands of brands across 3 continents tell their story and connect in a quality and meaningful way with their target audiences, at the right moment. Our direct experience approach is based on high-quality product trial and education. We give the opportunity to consumers to touch and use relevant products and services through our special sampling programs. The result was always the same: people recognized and recalled easier the brands they had the opportunity to use as samples (Mumsvoice research, 2022).