Why “Free” Can Go Amazingly Viral
Little Expenses CAN Bring In Big Returns
Have you heard of this proverb: “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” ?
To a certain extend, yes.
But we love free stuffs because we don’t have to do anything to earn it, especially when there are no conditions to fulfill. It invokes a thrill inside us, an adrenaline, when we get something which we perceive a value in for free or when we buy something that we have been yearning for and suddenly there is a huge price drop.
So how do we use “free” to spread a message and let it go wild? Are free gifts a good way to promote?
Did the free word stand out above in the title? Is it the most outstanding word you noticed?
I have a friend, his name is Jacob and he is a sales promoter. He promotes and sells leather shoes to customers visiting his shop and earns commission when he hits a certain target for a day.
Jacob has a wealth of experience from many years of selling shoes. He said, when a good pair of shoe is being sold for $99, no one buys it. But when there’s a tag labeled “Usual Price $199 – NOW $99”, the shoe will be soon sold out fast.
I realize 2 things from this:
- The shoe doesn’t sell because it doesn’t seem like it’s worth $199
- Consumers don’t know that $99 is a good deal
To fully grasp the power of Free, understanding the behavior of consumer is very important.
The most important aspect we need to know is:
“Stop talking about your products and services. People don’t care about products and services; they care about themselves.” – David Meerman Scott
Right? We don’t wake up thinking “what can I do for LV today?” or “What Nike shoes should I buy today so they will not go bankrupt?”. We do think when is that bag going for a discount or when is that pair of sneakers go on a sale?
Free gifts only work when you already have something good to offer.
A good product, a good piano teacher or a good storyline movie with awesome effects and good looking actors. This is important because so many brands have bad products and they give freebies to attract people to patronise them. Yes it may work for the first few times, but what good is it if a business cannot get returning customers and eventually becomes unsustainable?
A free gift entices someone to try the brand. It works for some industries, the food & beverages industry is one good example. Tangible products basically stand a better chance than intangible products. However, we can see intangible products like airplane tickets, hotel rooms, specifically services, also find success with “free”. You can also find free softwares, lite versions of apps. There are also free apps, but with in-app purchases, so “free” actually works in more than one way.
Sometimes, free is not exactly free because it requires consumers to make the first move. Like Buy 1 and Get 1 free offers, for example.
Viral Proverbs #1: Free is only free when you can withstand the temptation.
Free is really not free, because it invokes you to try more.
Here are the 3 Reasons why FREE gifts can spread your messages fast:
1. Free is Trial
Free value doesn’t necessary mean crap value. But most of us feel that free means bad. That is why you need to offer value in your free item! This is to use free to let potentials know and try your brand risk free. In fact, free should be the best the brand can afford for.
By trying for free, potential customers will get the value without their risk and that means you can always get away with it, when they don’t like it. That’s what free can do for a brand. And as mentioned above, if the brand is really good, customers will return. And this leads me to the next point:
Viral Proverbs #2: Good Freebies MUST Have Good Value
2. Free is Hooked
Free increases brand awareness by allowing you to try (more?) and get hooked. Some good examples include
- Lite versions of apps
- Trial versions of an online service
- Cheaper package (if you buy more)
More importantly, once the potential customers find good value and quality in your free product, they will start to take note of your brand and answer your call of action. This can be to follow them on Facebook, to buy a product or to use your brand’s service.
Viral Proverbs #3: Satisfaction is required to be Hooked
3. Free is Reciprocal
This is probably the most important reason of the 3.
We all don’t like to be treated in a nasty way like being yelled at for no reason or being punched in the face for whatever reason. What is the first thing that comes to you when you find that there is no justice in your life? This may occur in your work place, school, with friends or even at home. Often we want to “return the favour”.
When someone did a favour for or to us like treating us to coffee or offering a ride home, we feel indebted and we want to repay them the next time if possible.
Don’t worry I’m not an expert at social psychology and we won’t go deep in it but the idea is that we always tend to be reciprocal, only on a level of how much. In fact, to a certain level I feel that we are made to think that way. If not, what does “tit for tat” and “an eye for an eye” encourages?
A “norm” is a standard, average, typical achievement, conduct or performance of a society, country, culture or even a person. So in other words, if you are not in the “norm”, you’re not normal which can mean unique, special or weird. Some people think I am special, some think I am weird… others think I’m crazy.
A norm in a certain culture is crazy to another, because we are all so different. So when we do something to be out of that norm, some form of disapprovals and unacceptance usually follows. When that happen we usually panic and don’t know what to do. Sometimes, it’s not hard to think why we want to do what the Romans do when we are in Rome without thinking much. We behave and adopt their norm.
Certain norms are within the culture or community of people, while the Norm of Reciprocity is universal. It is human nature: When I do something nice for you, you feel obliged to return the favour. It controls and maintains exchange in a society and here is the powerful thing: it ensures the first mover will not be cheated.
Sound familiar? This is the same as creating and using free to let your target group know and try you risk free!
A study by Dennis Regan illustrates the persuasive power of the Norm of Reciprocity:
The practicality of this study was trying to explain that normally when we need the assistance or compliance of another person, say a colleague or a friend, we do not have the resources (authority) or choose not to use the resources (by force) because this will put a large amount of stress on the person. Compliance don’t increase because of liking, it increases because of reciprocity.
So, a better technique would be to have compliance in the form of favour. This study also shows that the reciprocal norm is so powerful it can even overcome the feelings of dislike:
The 81 subjects are freshmen of Stanford University and they were paid to participate in an experiment on “aesthetics”. Half of them were being exposed with a pleasant confederate and the other half being exposed with an unpleasant confederate. The pleasant confederate portrays himself of being kind and considerate, and the unpleasant one shows himself as mean and rude.
After being exposed with the confederate (either the pleasant or unpleasant one), the 2 groups of subjects were ushered into another room by the experimenter and asked to evaluate art paintings with the confederate previously. They were seated in a way which they cannot see each other, but able to communicate vocally.
After evaluating the artworks for some time, the experimenter called for a short break and the confederate asked if it is ok if he leaves the room for awhile. The subject was left for around 2 minutes.
When the confederates returned, they either have 2 Cokes or no Cokes. The one that brought the 2 cokes back said “I asked him (the experimenter) if I could get myself a Coke, and he said it was OK, so I bought one for you, too.” and went back to continue the “aesthetic painting rating” experiment.
Towards the end of the study, the confederates asked the subjects do they want to buy some raffle tickets and the results were interesting: under the scenario where the unpleasant confederate offered a Coke to the subject, on average he sold 1.6 tickets as compared to the pleasant confederate that offered no coke and sold 1 ticket. This is nearly twice the amount.
A free gift is the Coke here when you give. Your targeted group will feel that they didn’t do anything to deserve such a (valuable) gift and this established a sense of obligation in them and it invokes reciprocity.
However, I really believe this will work well only when the brand or company is perceived as good and sincere and people trust it. When the brand gives a valuable freebie, people will feel obligated in them and believe in them.
Imagine one day your favourite band/artists were to give a free concert at your local stadium, chances are you will go and at the venue, support the artist and purchase many of their merchandises. In fact, if you weren’t supporting the artist legally before (by downloading their albums for free) you may feel a tinge of guilt.
Have you come across this scenario?:
Some salesman is selling a product at a high price. He offers you a 20% cut, because it is his first time dealing with you. After talking to you (he’s probably good at talking), he finds that both of you are getting on so well, he decides to offer you a further 30% discount, making a total 50% off the initial price he is selling.
To top it off and clinch that first sale upon meeting you, he waives off certain charges that usually complies. This may be another 20% off, making it a total of 70% off the initial price.
Now how do you feel? A part you may feel that you need to return the favour by buying it. Perhaps some may feel that it’s a scam.
Usually, the Norm of Reciprocity works because it directs us to think that we need to return the favour, that we are obligated to return that “good will” instead of reasoning on whether is that really a good deal.
Basically. we want to stay away from feeling guilty from the Norm of Reciprocity.
Viral Proverbs #4: Invoke Reciprocity to Spread!
Free gifts are a good way to spread your messages. It certainly works and depending on the industry, some may require more effort than others. All in all, it invokes the reciprocate norm which is evident in all of us. Trial and error some ways and see which works for you, I certainly hope this article helps you in understanding the power of free.
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