One of the best ways to market a brand is through a personal interaction
with the product or service you are selling. A small sample of the brand can be
all it takes to turn a prospect into a customer. Marketing is designed to grab
your attention and get you to focus on a brand. It is meant to do more than
just make you aware, but also to provide an experience that features the best
aspects of the brand.
I was in a store today and was approached by a guy with a
banana-strawberry smoothy sample – you know, the fruity yogurt milkshake. The
store was promoting this new drink and, by handing out free samples, they were
hoping consumers, like me, would buy their new product. However, there was more
marketing going on than just handing out free fruity drinks in tiny little
cups. The small deed of offering those samples did three acts of marketing
aimed at me. First, it made me aware they were selling smoothies. Prior to this
encounter, I had no idea that the product was for sale at this store. Second,
it made it easy for me to give it a try. Who doesn’t like free stuff? By trying
it, I formed an immediate impression of the brand. (It was good!) Third, it
grabbed my attention for that moment. I was not in the store to buy a smoothie,
so it was not even on my mind. For a moment, this act of marketing got me
thinking about this one particular brand. I looked over all the flavors listed
on the sign above the counter, and I saw where I could order a full-sized
smoothie. Did I buy one? Not today, but I will be back. The marketing sold
me.
One of the hardest progressions in marketing is to lead a potential
customer from knowing about your brand to actually buying it. There are a lot
of excuses consumers use when asked to put down money to buy a product or service.
Most excuses are dissolved when you get a customer to try your brand. Once they
have tried it, they can form an opinion based on their experience. Your brand
is either good enough to buy or it is not. Most other arguments go away.
So what can you offer to potential customers that would entice them to
try your brand? What is your equivalent to the little smoothie cups? Whatever
it is, use it to effectively market to consumers. There is a marketing lure in
that free sample…it’s hard to say no. If you believe in your brand, put it out
there for people to try.