Lately I’ve been thinking about how giving away things can help make a business profitable. Over the weekend some friends and I went to Earth Fare (a grocery) and the folks at the deli were desperate to give us samples. One guy came out from behind the counter to make sure we all had some of the butternut squash. One friend wanted chicken salad and they gave her samples of all the (many) types they had so she could choose the best one. And we all ended up feeling like we got great food. We were happy with our choices in large part because we had been given the option to try before committing and the folks giving us samples made us feel good about the business.
I’ve seen it with music, too. Bands who give away some music (maybe one MP3, or a few) often get fans who are more eager to support them at concerts or are willing to buy later albums or songs. I have always attributed this to the fact that people got to try it out for free to find out if they like it in a no risk (cost) environment.
And of course, we see it all the time in libraries. People check out a book and fall in love with the story or find the resource invaluable and end up buying a copy for themselves.
I think it’s something to do with a low barrier for entry, and feeling like the folks providing the resource or service really are there to help you make the best decision.
I guess that’s why I’m still so dumbfounded with the Kindle’s starting price. Ah, well.
(immediate) update: that’s not to say that I think the Kindle is ethically clean… I certainly am not happy about some of the DRM and privacy issues that come along with it. I just think that if it had started at a much lower price point, I’d at least be interested in playing with it and might be won over. Right now, I have no interest in investing in it at all (between the price and ethical issues).
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Another great example of this is TechSmith offering a free, older version of Camtasia. Now that I’ve downloaded it and tried it, I’m more likely to shell out for the full version – when I can afford it, that is. And until I can afford it, I’ll be recommending the software to others.
The problem with the Kindle is that I can’t head down to a store and see it in action. I could do that with the Sony Reader, at least (and I still kinda want one). $400 is a lot to spend on a product sight unseen. Of course, the DRM stuff would keep me from buying anyway, I’m kind of hoping they’ll ease up a but in firmware updates.
Posted 04 Dec 2007 at 10:27 am ¶Thanks Karin! Your Camtasia example is exactly what I’m thinking about! I, too, am a much bigger fan of Camtasia now.
Another good point re: seeing the Kindle. Sadly for Sony, since there was a Reader at the local Borders, I had seen e-ink which actually made me more interested in the Kindle. If I hadn’t been able to see a working example of e-ink in person, I wouldn’t have been interested at all. But I think you’re right; the interface is much different, and it’d certainly be good to see the annotation features and ability to buy over wireless first hand. Let’s hope they get the DRM stuff figured out soon!
Posted 05 Dec 2007 at 12:53 am ¶Post a Comment