Why Promotional Product Sampling Works

The Consumer Economics of Promotional Product Sampling

In its most simple terms, product sampling to new audiences drives sales and wins new customers by overcoming the risk of buyer opportunity cost. It is a core principle of economics; where consumers face a financial risk vs. reward decision for every purchasing choice they make when deviating from a product they are already familiar with. These tried and tested products aren’t necessarily superior, but still produce repetitive buying habits, making it harder for new product developments or less established challenger brands to secure market share, due to lack of consumer confidence.

Use Sampling to Overcome Tunnel Vision Shopping

Offering promotional product samples forces potential customers to widen their pallet and consider breaking long established buyer behaviour. Today’s busy lifestyles require most shoppers to grab and go, further engraining repetitive buying habits. Putting your brand into the hands, minds and mouths of these shoppers provides you an opportunity to present your produce in what would otherwise be a blinkered shopping experience.

Mass Product Exposure From Sampling

Intelligent selection of your sampling activity locations provides the means to tap into huge volumes of a closely defined, pre-determined audience group, for maximum long term growth for your brand. It can also introduce your sampled products to them at a time when they are both most receptive to try it and to make a purchase.

Promotional Sampling to Educate Consumers

Advancements in food packaging technology, new product developments or emergence from niche markets often require mass market consumer education for sustained sales growth. Produce which is micro-waved, tinned, frozen, dried, ethnic, low-calorie, etc sometimes also come with a negative perception. This prevents trial purchases from being made by potential customers who don’t have first hand experience and won’t risk deviating from a limited, but satisfactory repertoire. If you have a good product, promotional product sampling really does provide the opportunity to showcase benefits, change opinions and win new loyal brand advocates.

Generate Immediate & Sustained Sales From Your Sampling Activity

Give a sample to make a sale, should be the mantra to base your campaign around. Depending on strategy and location selections, you can expect your product sampling campaigns to deliver anything from 150% to 1500% immediate sales uplift. If you have a good product that’s set at a reasonable price point, a substantial percentage of shoppers will buy it immediately either during or shortly after receiving their promotinoal product sample trial. While it’s natural for a lot of these impulse purchases to be one offs, it’s also natural to expect that a significant proportion of recipients who try it, will like it; and will continue to purchase your brand long after the initial product sample introduction has been made.

Case Studies:

Drinks: Yorkshire Tea / Little Urn's Taste Tour (Video) / Caledonian Cooler (Video) / Beverage Brands / Iceni / Kronenbourg Blanc / Kronenbourg Cru / The Juice Brewery / Dooleys / Budweiser / Yorkshire Gold / Inbev Stella 4% / Frosty Jacks / Becks & Stella 4% / Cadbury Drinking Chocolate

Food: Yorkshire Tea / Aunt Bessie's / Ice Cream Cake / Milk Link Cheese / Mike and Ike / Mentos / Domino’s / British Sugar / Tilda Supermarket Sampling / Tilda-Taste Test Trail / Primula / Half Spoon Sugar / Wanchai Ferry Chinese Dinner Kits / Creme d'Or Chocolate / Bachelor's Super Noodles / Seriously Good / Real Crisps / Primula / Seriously Good Sauces (Supermarkets)

Cosmetics: Piz Buin 'One day Long' / Piz Buin Beach Event / Pierre Fabre / Boots Soltan

Other: House of Fraser / Altec Lansing

Client Testimonials:

Aunt Bessie's / Pierre Fabre / Seriously Good Sauces / James Wellbeloved / Kepak / Strepsils / Real Crisps