However, the results of offering free product samples are primarily positive if applied effectively for the sales of your products. The reason for this is the psychology behind giving free samples.

If your brand or store provides something free to the customer, they feel a strong sense of reciprocity. It makes them feel obligated to return for more and order other similar products from your brand. Thus, it is unusual for product sampling strategies to fail if executed properly.

This process is mutually beneficial and yields good results for both the store owner and your customers. As the store owner, you can test new products, promote services, increase sales, and publicize your brand and WooCommerce store.

On the other hand, the customers get a good deal, their confidence about a product increase significantly, they receive product samples and build a positive relationship with your store. Additionally, the overall performance of your store, brand, and individual products may improve because your customers have benefited from using your free products.

Free samples may initially cost you money, but the resulting profit will eventually outweigh the initial cost. Now that you have observed the positive effects of product sampling in detail, you may want to start offering free samples at your WooCommerce store.

However, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. A product sampling strategy that is not effective can ruin your campaign. It can also result in ambiguous results like massive expenses, lack of exposure, little to no customer response, or people may misuse your free samples. Conduct thorough research and know the type of audience you want to target.

It will help you get a closer perspective on what your audience wants and then later deliver on it. For example, if you are offering a beauty product as a free sample on your store purchases, ensure that you offer it to people interested in beauty and wellness.

The success of any campaign is determined by its goals in the long run. Therefore, it is essential to know why you want to offer free samples on your WooCommerce store. Is it because you want more customers? Or Is it because you want to draw focus to a specific product?

Maybe it is because you want to expand into previously untapped audience sections? Determine why you want to offer free samples and outline a strategy accordingly.

Not all customers on your websites are going to have good intentions. Some of them may even try to cash in because you are offering free samples. They may use this opportunity to order multiple samples from different accounts rather than paying full price and ordering the product. Therefore, you have to beware of such people.

There are several Product Sample plugins for WooCommerce that enable you to limit the number of free sample products you provide. It also allows specific customers to order samples from your WooCommerce store.

To develop a bond of mutual trust between your brand and the customer, you can ask them for feedback. Loyal customers will surely share their experience with your product samples. You can make upgrades to your samples accordingly to show your customers that you care about their opinions.

Additionally, your free product sampling strategy will work only if it is noticeable to a huge chunk of people who interact online. Therefore, ensure that you leverage the power of social media and other digital platforms and promote your WooCommerce store along with its offers like free sample products.

Now that you know why you should offer free sample products to your customers, you can effectively launch your WooCommerce store. Home - Blog - The Science of Free Samples. Nimesh is Product Manager at theDotstore. Ever wonder if your landing page is designed for success?

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Companies and eCommerce stores need to update their resources as technology keeps upgrading. For example, your WooCommerce store website needs to have Search Engine Optimisation to rank higher and get more sales and conversions.

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Skip to content The Science of Free Samples By Nimesh Patel 24 Nov 10 min Read. Table of Contents. Free Sample. Introduction to product sampling. Brand awareness with product samples. Increase Sales with samples. Generate more visitors. Product Sampling and an increase in sales. Benefits or offering free samples.

Know your target audience. Limit the number of samples on your store. From posts showing off your brand to glowing reviews, gifting is among the best product sampling methods for building awareness.

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.