It is believed that product sampling is the most effective way to increase your retail sales. Through this approach, clients genuinely get to see the value of your products rather than hearing about it through marketing or advertising campaign.
Product sampling may just be the most effective way to make customers buy your products, but it is also an expensive option. In order to manufacture products for sampling, you have to plan the packaging, pricing if any, and it requires a lot of toil on your part too.
Prevalent e-commerce strategies
Here are the things you need to keep in mind while planning a product sampling campaign –
– What are the issues to accomplish? Brand popularity, product outreach, etc.?
– Who are the target customers?
– How many people to include in the group of sampling
Keeping this in mind, here are a few popular strategies for e-commerce –
Sampling for reviews – One of the reasons for product sampling is looking for reviews. If a brand is sure that the product sampling campaign will yield results concerned with reviewing, they should surely invest in it. So, determine a ratio of results to investors and only go for it when it seems profitable.
Releasing a new product – Building the right buzz for your product when you are launching is the most important thing to do. Sending products out to customers, influencers and brand advocates help you make an opinion around your brand and product. Doing this will help you gain some criticism, constructive feedback and foster brand loyalty.
Social media love: The industry of social influencers has come upto around $1 billion. The rise of social media and its influence in shaping opinions around brands and products is undeniable. Social media has become a soapbox for everyone to stand on and shout out their opinion regarding products, social issues and general happenings. Find social media celebrities that cater to your chosen target consumers. This is one way of ensuring the right product reach.
Getting your samples into shopper’s hands – useful tips
- Get your timing right
Many brands think that sampling campaign should take place right after a product launch happens. Contrary to popular belief, sampling should be done before that, so the launch of the product happens with positive reviews and a lot of word-of-mouth advertising.
- Transparency and visibility
If you are seeking reviews from customers, the only way to ensure their active participation is through transparency. You have to show the right data about what consumers liked and which did not. The data would also help you understand your consumer better. Once data is gathered, find innovative ways to incorporate your client reviews so that consumers feel positive about reviewing your products.
Post buying and reviewing emails –
A rather important aspect is maintaining a connection with your customer. After they have reviewed your products, take their email and contact information. Send them a thank you email and send them a notification the next time you have any campaign. This will build up brand trust, brand appeal and improve customer experience with your brand.
Product sampling can take enormous efforts to plan because of the scale of the activity. It takes not only an impressive strategy but also impeccable execution. As long as you do both well, your product sampling campaign is bound to reap fruits!