On marketing, advertising, design … and business.

29 January 2010 | Vol 3 | No 1 | Subscribe

Give your product or service away … and make money!
By Therésa Müller, CEO, ZA Group (Pty) Ltd

It sounds counter-intuitive, but giving your products or services away could be an extremely cost-effective marketing tool. Think about it this way: How much would one week of intensive media advertising — enough to really make an impact — cost you? How much would it cost if you gave away what you normally sell for one week? Which would make the most impact? Which would generate the most hype, attention and word-of-mouth?

Examples:

A restaurant launching in a new area decided that instead of doing media advertising, they would invite the community to come and taste their food, free of charge, for a whole week. Their message:

“We’d love you to get to know our delicious food made from treasured recipes handed down for generations. Reading about it in some slick advertising campaign simply won’t cut it. So, we decided to invite all of you to come have a meal on us. Bring the family.
Tell your friends and neighbours. First come, first served. No kidding. And no strings attached.”

Of course the place was packed for one week solid. Everyone told everyone else and people queued to get in. To crown it all, the local newspaper loved the story and the restaurant got more coverage than they could have paid for in a lifetime.
Another restaurant used a tactic of “random reward begets regular behaviour.” Once or twice a month — never on the same day or at the same mealtime — they would sign everyone’s bill during a one hour period with a note that said: “This one’s on us”. Of course people told their friends and family and the place was full all the time because of the off chance that that could be the day their bill gets paid. This restaurant owner never had to advertise again and found that patrons would order more expensive items on the menu … because of the possibility that they wouldn’t have to pay for it.
Imagine getting a gift certificate for a free birthday dinner and a glass of wine … not from a friend, but from your favourite restaurant. Of course, you won’t celebrate your birthday on your own — you will more than likely take along a partner or a couple of friends. The restaurant owner would pay much less for the free meal than a media ad would cost and the resultant advertising would be infinitely more effective — creating many happy customers and excellent word of mouth.
I recently had a birthday and received, by email, a gift certificate from a local pharmacy. It was an invitation to have a free laser skin-treatment to the value of R145 at their Laser Treatment & Skincare Clinic. I had no idea that they even had a clinic. What a wonderful way to make people aware of their services, create a sense of indebtedness … and generate word of mouth.
Free product samples handed out at in-store promotions, in shopping malls, on the street, at movie launches, sent via direct mail or bundled with a magazine give consumers an experience of the product before they have to buy it. People are much more likely to buy something they feel they know, than something unfamiliar and untested. Offering free products via the web provides an excellent means of building a mailing list and, with it, the opportunity to stay in contact with potential clients.

Share your knowledge … free of charge. This works on the same basis as giving away your products or services. Giving away useful information will attract attention, generate goodwill and position you as an expert in your field. It goes without saying that if the information is genuinely valuable, people will hang onto it, refer to it again and pass it on to friends and colleagues — giving repeated marketing exposure to your business. This is called viral marketing.

I have written a number of things that you can download, free of charge, from our website. Go to http://www.zamarketing.co.za/branding-e-book.php and sign up for: Branding: How to differentiate your business in a crowded marketplace or go to http://www.zagroup.co.za/free-gift/ and sign for: Planning: A basic marketing strategy for any business. These e-books have generated thousands of Rands worth of business for ZA Marketing — because of the goodwill generated and because the information presented in it is sound and valuable — positioning my company as an expert leader in our industry. If I had sold the information, I guess I would not have made nearly the same amount of money.
If you don’t have a book in you, you can put together small tip sheets, booklets or reports to give away — instead of flyers that simply tout your services. An accountant can, for instance, put together a short report entitled: “Ten things you can legally do to save on taxes.” A pre-school could hand out a pamphlet entitled: “Twenty tips to ensure the safety of your child.” A beautician could put together a booklet entitled: “Everything you need to know about maintaining a youthful skin.” Make sure that the communication includes your contact information along with a brief, but compelling description of what you do.

When confronted by the need to choose a supplier, wouldn’t you automatically choose the one that has demonstrated that they know what they’re talking about, rather than an unknown entity that has not proven itself to you?

What can you give your clients that will generate goodwill, as well as additional sales?
Do you need help researching, writing, packaging, promoting or demonstrating it? Take a look at how
ZA Marketing — a division of ZA Group can help you »