Are Free and Hope Your Marketing Strategies?

Posted by m4bmarketing under Marketing
From http://www.m4bmarketing.com 4991 days ago
Made Hot by: steeldawn on March 24, 2011 5:39 pm

They go like this: You give away your time and then hope the customer will buy. You many continue doing this and then after a while realise you have wasted a number of precious hours. These are not marketing strategies of course. Here are a couple a tips if you are using free as a marketing tactic.

Who Voted for this Story

Top BizSugar Users

This week's most active BizSugar users. Join Them!

Comments

Written by q4sales
4991 days ago

I've done similar things to Yoni and have always felt really good doing it. Often, what takes me just a bit of effort like Yoni did -- can yield the start of a great relationship. But i see your points, Susan, about free and hope. They are not strategies, but what Yoni did was focused and pointed (which you agree with, i know). Even though I have a more established client base now, I still do some of this. I often build Wordpress sites for people just to show them how easy it is for them to manage themselves. I make $100 to $150 for doing it, but the love I get back is way more valuable... And that love is often in the form of more contract work, more referrals. I helped them get out of the gate... Bravo to you Susan for a great post and discussion.

- 0 +

Written by m4bmarketing
4990 days ago

Hi TJ,

Sounds like your way also works for you which is great. The thing about providing samples of your work is not just for start ups which obviously you are not. You often see large companies that have brands that are market leaders use samples effectively. Thanks for joining in the conversation and sharing how you do it TJ.

Susan

- 0 +

Written by m4bmarketing
4991 days ago

Hi Yoni,

It was a good initiative that worked for you. It may have been risky but the worst I suppose they could say was no thanks.

Susan

- 0 +

Written by yoni67
4991 days ago

Susan,

It was risky, an act of complete desperation at a time when my phone did not ring and my inbox was empty. I knew I had the talent (said humbly) but I was not yet a proven entity.

TJ: You are right, it is about building relationships and all it takes sometimes is a bit of effort. I agree, BRAVO to Susan, for again presenting us with her wonderful wisdom!

Yoni

- 0 +

Written by GlobalReach
4991 days ago

Great info! I agree with Adam's comments -- "free and hope" can really hurt business. Many people in service/consulting don't formulate a logical reasoning or strategy for their "freebies." Your advice really helps, Susan.

And Yoni's idea was great!

- 0 +

Written by m4bmarketing
4991 days ago

Hi Ann-Christin,

You are right about logical reasoning and I think some assume they need to provide services for free without finding out if it is true for their market.

Susan

- 0 +

Written by Adam_Gottlieb
4992 days ago

Very important article Susan,

I think there is a big misconception among smaller companies and solopreneurs in particular that they have to do(or offer)a lot of pro bono work in order to a) be competitive and b) create a perception of value among customers. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, when done incorrectly, offering too much for free can hurt both one's business and it's image.

Adam

- 0 +

Written by m4bmarketing
4991 days ago

Hi Adam,

You bring up a good point about image. Some say if you provide great things for free then potential customers will think the paid for products or services must be a lot better and will pay. This is not always possible or true for all customers.

Susan

- 0 +

Written by m4bmarketing
4992 days ago

Hi Rivkah,

What Yoni did I think was a smart idea as it showed his talent and initiative. Also he showed the better result which is much easier for an owner to understand rather than talk about what it could be.

Also it paid off so for him it was a good return.

Susan

- 0 +

Written by saraib820
4992 days ago

Susan,

My Yoni, when he first became a freelancer did this to build his portfolio. He would find a website that needed better content and not even consult with the owner. He would make a word document with reworded content and send a sample of it to the owner saying this is what your website could look like. He did this four times and three of the owners bit and paid him and used the new content.

As you say working for free and hoping is bad but as a freelancer without a portfolio and customer base he was forced to use a desperate tactic. It worked!

Rivkah

P.S. Yoni is away for most of the day but I'll tell him later that you posted your article

- 0 +

Written by yoni67
4991 days ago

Ah, yes, I remember those well. "Here's your new website bucko, put the check in the mail."

It was risky, but gave me a few portfolio items and a few payouts when there weren't many customers at my door.

- 0 +