Giveaways are an excellent marketing technique because they excite your prospects but also take advantage of the law of reciprocity. In other words, when you do something nice for someone, they will be compelled to do something nice for you.
The big advantage with giveaways is that even small, inexpensive items generate a big return. Below you will find some strategies involving giveaways that will really boost your customer base and increase your sales.
Product Samples
Giving away a sample of your product – or a free trial of your service – is a great way to attract new customers. Supermarkets, for example, are masters at this technique and they’ve discovered that people will spend between five and 10 times more after receiving a sample.
So, consider providing prospects and customers with a sample of your product. Even if you don’t have a brick-and-mortar store, you can provide samples at special events or even have someone wandering around in high traffic areas providing samples. This approach will not only attract more customers, but it would also create a positive impression of your brand.
Promotional Items
Giving away promotional items to prospects and even the people that you do business with is an excellent way to make sure they don’t forget about you. Of course, to really make this work, make sure to provide them with something that they will find useful and fun.
So, maybe instead of the classic pen, try some high-quality, die-cut stickers. You can either print them with funny messages, and make sure to include your brand and contact details, or you can go with useful and educational information.
The advantage with stickers is that people actually place a higher value on them than on pens and other similar items. There’s also the advantage that people tend to display them in prominent places, which means that not only will they see your brand constantly, but there also endorsing it, so that when others see it, it’s just as effective as word-of-mouth marketing.
Giveaways at Tradeshows
If you want to attract people to your booth at a tradeshow, your best bet is with smart giveaways. Remember, everyone else will also be giving stuff away, so you need to get creative.
For example, a great idea is to provide a charging station, where people can charge their mobile devices. Most people spend quite some time and tradeshows, but they still have to stay connected, so this means they often end up needing to charge their devices.
Just to make sure they don’t forget about you, also provide them with some promotional items, like a mug, or a few
good quality stickers, or a variety of other creative items that will make sure they remember your brand.
Run Contests
You can run contests and provide giveaways as prizes. Yes, people will actually have to do something to win, but contests are highly engaging in people often value the prize more as a result. And don’t worry, because even something as cost-efficient as a set of attractive, die-cut stickers will be more than sufficient to make your customers happy.
Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes another great way to engage your prospects and customers, in a style similar to contests. However, all your prospects and/or customers have to do is to register. This could be done via website, via text message, or even in person. Again, sweepstakes attract people because everyone wants to win something, but they can also attract attention from other sources, like the media, leading to further brand exposure.
Provide a Gift with the Purchase
People love getting stuff for free so, when you put out an offer that your providing a gift with every purchase, it’s generally irresistible to most people. The more impressive the gift, the more likely people will be to make the purchase.
However, this doesn’t mean you need to throw all your profits away on a gift. Stickers, for example, have a high perceived value and people feel an emotional attachment to them, in large part due to their childhood. So, a set of stickers would be a great option to entice people to make the purchase.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs are incredibly popular with both customers and businesses. Customers love them because they are excited to earn the rewards, especially with the program where the prizes are creative and attractive. Companies love loyalty programs because they generally generate a lot more business on a relatively small investment.
The key to a good loyalty program is making sure that people actually can earn the prizes and that the latter are on par with expectations. For example, if you own a café, your lowest level of reward shouldn’t be after someone purchases 100 coffees. This would seem insurmountable to most people, even if it might only take them a few months to get to that point, even if you are giving away a high-ticket item.
Instead, structure your loyalty program so that people have access to the rewards quicker. For example, you could offer a die-cut sticker for every five coffees somebody purchases. Then, on their 10
th coffee you can give them a free drink, on their 20
th coffee you can give them something a little more expensive and so on.
Giveaways are great way to attract new customers, but also to earn their loyalty. It’s a technique that boosts sales because of the law of reciprocity, but it also builds loyalty because your customers feel valued.
The great thing with giveaways is that they rarely have to be expensive – unless it’s for a big contest you’re running or your loyalty program – as small items are great way to start building a relationship with new customers. Cost effective items like
stickers are also an excellent way to build loyalty because they have a high perceived value. There also a great way to gain greater brand exposure because when people display them on their personal items, they are effectively endorsing you.
