I’ve been watching Mad Men lately. I must tell you that it has practically become an obsession.
Thought sterling cooper was a traditional ad agency, from time to time he would come up with some good ideas for his clients. One example was the use of coupons.
Although this article does not discuss the use of coupons per selet’s talk about sampling to increase your response.
Depending on your type of business, sampling can take many different forms. You’ve no doubt seen the use of samples in grocery stores.
In fact, I was at the grocery store the other day and this guy had his grill going and he was grilling up some chicken and some vegetables. And the tasty aroma practically transported you to the cooking zone.
So the guy was promoting his new line of homemade barbecue sauces and marinades… He gave customers fresh-off-the-grill samples of the chicken and vegetables marinated in his sauces.
And bro, let me tell you… that was a woooow thing! And did the sampling work? I immediately bought all the favors he offered me. And there was a long line of others, bottles in hand ready to buy.
But there’s the thing. Sampling does not apply only to food. Let me share another sampling example.
If you’re in the information business, you could offer a “sample” of your information product, such as a sample audio, free report, or kit course chapters/sections or whatever.
I could offer samples of just about anything… clothes, music, tools, you name it.
According to Claude Hopkins, “The product itself should be its best seller.” Do good, produce a great product or service, and give people a “taste” of the goodness.
Samples are great for several reasons. First, you can use the word “FREE” in your ads to entice prospects to request a sample. And friends, the word free they still have convincing power in advertising. It’s still a great attention grabber. And this leads to action and capture of prospect names and contact information for later follow up.
A word of caution: Use to give samples casually. If you use distributors to sell your products, don’t just casually hand out these samples at will. Make sure they show genuine interest and are qualified.
An easy way to qualify dealers is to ask them to fill out a short application and make sure to enter and track applications.
Now you have some new, low-cost advertising tools to try. So give it a try.
Do you have a sample idea? So share it with me. I enjoy learning what works and what doesn’t work for other companies.
So until next time, I wish you success, wealth and happiness!