Get more business with sampling

I know sampling isn’t new. But lately I’ve been thinking that such an effective marketing tool, with the ability to get lots of people trying your product or service, is not used often enough.

Let’s start with the obvious - bakers. There shouldn’t be a baker in this world that doesn’t have a free sample of something on their counter.

Then there’s the coffee shop that offers shots of different flavoured coffees.

And the ice creamery that’s only too happy to hand over a small delicious sample.

But surely these are the obvious ones. After all, sampling was made for food manufacturers, in fact it was most likely invented by them. A bit like Valentine’s Day being invented by florists!

But I don’t think sampling needs to stop there. Nor should it be the domain of product marketers alone. What about these for sampling ideas:

An illustrator who’ll do you a quick sketch of your pet to show you her style.

A butcher who has a BBQ going out the front of his shop.

A plumber who offers to do a health check on leaking taps.

A dry cleaner who offers to press your tie or scarf whilst you wait.

A nursery that offers free seedlings.

A website developer who offers a free concept layout.

A transcriber who offers to transcribe a document for nix.

A masseur who offers two-minute neck rubs.

A hairdresser who offers free eyebrow trims.

Sampling is definitely not limited to products, either. Service providers can sample their wares, too. For example a coach can offer a free session or a proof reader can offer to check a short document.

Whether you are selling products or services, the keys to effective sampling are:

it’s offered free and without obligation;
it’s done in the spirit of simply allowing people to trial your product or service; and
the sample should be a replica of what is offered for sale, just on a smaller scale.

This said, be mindful that the reason you are doing the sampling in the first place is to get sales. To give yourself the best chance of ensuring such a commercial outcome, have prices clearly displayed close by. You could even include a brief description about how the product or service being sampled may change the customer’s life.

Remember, too, to ask the customer for feedback.

So, can an Ideas Guy use this tool? Yes, I practice what I preach and I’ll offer a free idea or two to businesses who are keen to attract more customers, in hope they’ll become a full client.

Has sampling worked in your business? Add a comment and let me know.

Tim Reid is the original Ideas Guy having founded the business in 2003. He believes all businesses today must 'innovate or depreciate' and runs innovations workshops nationally to help them do just that.

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I utilise "Yahoo Answers" to provide advice to questions regarding my speciality topics. I have been contacted by people all over the world using this service. You can add a script to your website, to show other people the questions, and answers that you have provided. I instead cut & paste interesting answers and place them in my blog - another example for a sample in the service based industry. People will also contact me thru my blog, and so the adventure goes on. Heather Smith from Brisbane
People who make products like Bakers, constantly have overs to sample. Creatives do not, as each project is an individual.
I'm sorry, but I disagree re sampling of creative services including illustration and concept layout mockups. These take a lot of time to do. People then think it is worth nothing, then they shop around and go elswhere for whatever is 'cheaper'. I have tried sampling a number of times, and not one of them ever came back. I then found out that most didn't think they should have to pay for creative serviecs, just for the printing. Or were just shopping around for the cheapest price. Our online portfolios should be enough to show style and versatility to a prospective client.
Until we put a value on creative services, no-one else will. It then gets back to the article "a question of money" that Robert Gerrish wrote this week.
By all means give out a reminder token for free - like a pen, bookmark or the like, but that is virtually advertising - not giving away your services for nothing. Karen from Springwood NSW
Thanks Karen and Heather for your comments. Both interesting and valid. Karen, I agree that the creative services industry is often expected to give away their ideas for free...this is most unreasonable. However Karen, maybe there is something to learn from Heather's approach using Yahoo Answers or similar. Or maybe you could offer to provide a brief written or verbal overview to a potential client detailing how you would approach a particular job, where you would get your inspiration from and maybe show a couple of example reference points. Cheers...Tim. Tim Reid from Melbourne, Autralia | Read my articles
Tim - an overview sounds more like a good idea and would explain the process clearly. I think the difficulty for creatives too is that we all provide different services and perhaps that should be clarified more in an overview. I actually set up a complete subwebsite as a section for students or people looking for information, which is accessed each day by visitors. This was because of the constant questions on 'how do I do what you do?' etc. Will think more on it. Karen from Springwood NSW
I rarely give free advice now because if you give it for nothing, that's what people think it's worth! Grant Hyman from Sydney | Read my articles
as a trainer/presenter/facilitator I have found success by (selectively) offering large potential or ongoing clients a "sample" presentation i.e. first session for FREE...I have always been invited back for $$$... let's face it..professional musicians and other performers audition for free all the time. peter hornhardt from melbourne

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