March 2005

Free Samples By catherine Evans

Everyone loves free samples; admit it, we all travel the trade shows and walk booth-to-booth looking for all the free stuff our bags can hold. However, we are not the only people that love to get freebies, your customers love them too. Giving away freebies is a great way to show customer appreciation and a good way to find out if a product will sell in your store.

Has a key distributor/manufacturer been hounding you to carry its new product, but you are unsure about it? Give your customers a free sample, and see if they come in wanting more. This is a good way to work with your distributors/manufacturers, do some market research and show customers that you care.

Take advantage of the time of year. Pick something that customer desperately need, like the slug and snail bait/killer that Portland Nursery, Portland, Ore., gave its customers and see how it works. Every year, when people have that same problem they will know to come to your for the solution.

There are a number of ways this can be done. Put a basket by the cash register or by the door on the way out with a sign that says “Free Samples! Please Take One!” Or, just throw the sample into the bag with the rest of the purchases, and let the customer know it’s there. There are so many opportunities to show your customers that you care and want them to come back, and this is definitely one way to do it.

It also shows that you are an expert in the field. Many people feel that if you are recommending a product then you must know a lot about it (because why would you give a piece of garbage away and ruin your reputation). It puts you at the top as an expert, and people like to feel that what they are buying comes highly recommended.

The merchandise does not have to be snail or slug bait; it can be candle samples at Christmas, bath items during the summer or a pack of seeds that was recently introduced. There are endless possibilities. FREE is the key word! Everyone wants something for nothing, so why not give it to them… they might just realize that it is a great product and come in again and again to get it from your store simply because you recommended it.

— Catherine Evans