Stop With The Boring Freebies - Here's What Your Brand Should Be Giving Away

It’s no secret that giving away free stuff may ultimately result in more money for your business. The freebies you give to your customers will in some way or another impact your brand. But what if all those cheap branded sunglasses aren’t actually helping?

Customer experience is a critical component in long-term business success and a big part of that experience is not just being trustworthy but giving your customers something that truly shows you care. In order to combat the notion of the traditional greasy salesman, you have to go out of your way to create a personalized experience for each potential customer, one that takes into account things that they like, and shows that you're willing to give something they want for free just to demonstrate how great your company really is.

Benefits of Freebies

There is a small cost associated with giving things away for free but that money comes with a very high return. Budgeting for freebies provides the opportunity to introduce products to new market segments and to maintain customer loyalty. Customers who might be on the fence about making a decision can be re-attracted to your business because of a freebie. However, this takes alot more than simply giving away cheap sunglasses, drawstring backpacks or branded pens like you might see at local event stands or car dealership events. Before we get into what to give away, lets talk a bit more about why to give things away.

The Buzz: Short-term Gain

In the short-term, giving away something for free creates a buzz around your brand. People are more likely to share information about their experiences on social media when they get something as simple as a free drink. It also encourages people to try your customer experience without incurring any personal risk. if those consumers have a positive experience with someone representing your brand, they'll come back again. More importantly customers are much more forgiving of your company if they think they are getting something for free -which means they are more willing to overlook a potentially destructive unsatisfied experience down the line. 

Brand Elevation: Long-term Gain

In the long-term, investing in freebies means consumers are more likely to make a purchasing decision down the line because they have a positive association with your brand. The freebies you provide are also a great way to introduce new customers to your company and increase word of mouth referrals. You have the opportunity to convert one time customers into loyal customers simply by creating a positive experience for them or giving them something free that they wanted at that time. Most importantly, by giving away freebies, you show how much effort you are willing to go through to achieve a positive customer experience. 

Loyalty Can’t Be Bought - Or Can It

For millennials, one of the most important components to maintaining customer loyalty is offering loyalty packages, promotional discounts, and freebies. Behind credibility and honesty, Millennials will choose the businesses with whom they work and purchase from long-term based on promotional products and freebies. You can keep one time customers loyal by offering them special promotions and freebies. 

So, what works best as a freebie?

Things that Encourage Risk-Free Experiences

The first freebie that comes to your mind may involve offering your service or product for free. If so, that’s a great idea! Depending on the business you offer, the coupons or passes you provide will vary. If, for example, you work in the restaurant industry, the coupon could be for a free drink or a free appetizer. Of course, no matter your industry, the idea remains the same. Give people a way to experience your brand/company without having to pay. This allows people the opportunity to see what your business has to offer without spending their hard-earned money.

If you want to encourage people to visit your hair salon, for example, you could offer a day pass where they can book 1 of 2 minimal services just to get a feel for what your customer experience is like, familiarize themselves with the features and layout of the room, and see what services you have to offer. Expenses like these are very hard to lock in the first time. Customers are much more reluctant to spend their hard-earned money on a lavish service, something that goes beyond basic necessities, if they don't already know that the quality is good. The best way to get them in to find out whether the quality is good is through passes or coupons. 

The most important aspect of these sort of freebies is that they encourage people to legitimately try the experience you have to offer. If you are a gym, give a complimentary one-day pass so that people can see what your facilities are like. If you are a dance studio, allow people to show up for an introductory class for free so that they can try it and see what they think before they commit financially. 

Things to Keep Them Around

You need to not only hook new people into trying your product, service or experience for free but you need to get them to stick around. All of the things you give for that first time trial are wonderful but they are limited. If you want people to stay around, order more food, use more services, or buy more from you… you have to give something away for free that encourages them stick around. There's a reason that restaurants let kids eat free during the week! The cost of the kids plate is minimal compared to the cost of adults. Plus people with children aren't going to leave their kids at home. So, you need to find a way to keep people around. Maybe offer a day care center on site that day, with an area dedicated to kids so that parents are free to engage in your services longer or really explore your company without worrying about little ones pulling at them demanding to go home. 

Things That Keep Customers Comfortable

Once customers show up to experience your business, they need to feel comfortable while they are there. If you get them to stick around, they will spend more time in your business which means they will need more things to keep them comfortable. 

The sort of freebie that you provide will of course depend on your industry. However, some great examples include making sure you have comfortable seating, free entertainment (such as televisions or magazines), and public restrooms. If you want to go above and beyond, consider providing usable freebies as this will show that you care enough to provide something that has to be replenished if the consumer decides to take one. For example, you could provide feminine products in your bathroom, along with nice soap and toilet paper. If you have a waiting room, consider providing free beverages and snacks (including healthy options), stickers featuring your brand or a positive quote associated with your company, and even coupons for other businesses that you might partner with.

Want To Try Giving Away Free Stuff? Here’s How To Start, Without Spending A Dime!

The Lavit Drink System is a self-serve, on demand drink system that you can leave in your office. This system goes above and beyond a simple vending machine full of sodas or sugary drinks or the quintessential unclean, overused coffee pot. It has over 25 beverage varieties -all of which are preservative-free, use natural ingredients, have fewer than 10 calories each, and contain no sugar or very little sugar. 

With high levels of environmental degradation due in large part to hand beverages and single-use bottles, offering these drinks in particular will not only serve as an effective freebie but go a very long way in helping to build your brand and image in support of environmental sustainability. There's a great deal of energy and World resources used to transport the typical bottles and canned beverages that are so often found in break rooms -not to mention refrigerate and store them. Lavit simply uses local, filtered water to create delicious, healthy drinks on-demand for anyone at your business. Plus the patented Ecocaps (drink capsules) require zero refrigeration and are simple to store.

Check out Lavit here: https://www.drinklavit.com/