Marketing
Sell More By Giving Things Awayby Don Cooper
The most powerful four-letter word in marketing is“free.” Everybody loves getting something fornothing. A story recently shared by a participant at one ofour public seminars illustrates how guerrillas capitalize on thisprinciple.
An attendee and two of his colleagues were on their way to theseminar that morning and found themselves stuck in traffic next toa Snapple delivery truck. They jokingly called out to thedriver, who was unloading the truck to make a delivery, “Hey,how about some free cases of Snapple?” “Sorry,” the driver responded, “I can't dothat.” “But,” he continued, “I CANgive you three bottles.” He quickly handed threebottles of Snapple to the stunned occupants of the car, smiled, andwalked inside the building to finish his delivery.
The result? As the attendee told the rest of the audience,“I'm going to buy a lot more Snapple from nowon!” Three bottles of Snapple costs the distributorabout a dollar. For a miniscule investment, that drivercreated three customers for life, not to mention the positiveword-of-mouth.
What can YOU give away to encourage people to buy fromyou? Here are 34 ideas:
Samples
Accessories
Last year's edition
Gift certificates
Children's toys
T-shirts
Hats
Ad specialties: pens, coffee mugs, letter openers, etc.
Photographs
Software
Music: live or recorded
Books
Magazines
Referrals (If you help your prospects find new customers,they'll buy everything they can from you.)
Community service
Refreshments
Consultations
Bumper stickers
Window decals
Publicity
Information: white papers, magazine articles, surveys,newsletters
Textbook covers
Event tickets
Candy
Pre-paid calling cards
Lottery tickets
Key tags
Stuffed animals (especially if your company uses a mascot)
Temporary tattoos
Buttons and pins
Magnets
Calendars
Watches
Bookmarks
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Don Cooper is a partner in The Guerrilla Group, Inc., and is a contributing author of CONFESSIONS OF SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTERS, published by Success Showcase Publishing. You can reach him at 800-247-9145 or Don@GuerrillaGroup.com. Get your FREE subscriptio
