How to let "free" not white play?

All say "There is no free lunch", but people are yearning for free lunch, so, a variety of free promotions surging.

Free test, free trial, free beauty, free physical examination, free lottery ... The streets are full of free, and people are overwhelmed. Even the shoeshine has played a "free"-first to give you a free shoe, if you want to make another dark and pale shoes are also a new look, I'm sorry, please pay for shoe polish first.

A swarm of free, so free into a basket, everything into the inside. As if not provoke the "free" flag, it is feared that consumers do not buy accounts. So many marketing people sigh: Blame only blame market competition is too fierce, consumers have been spoiled.

However, carefully pondering, the so-called "free" everywhere, many businesses just take free as a gimmick, talk big, do small things. Slogan shout loudly, send gifts but cheap quality inferior, only a voice attracted the attention, take the opportunity cashing fast money, consumer satisfaction but left behind. They have no real power over the market. Not to mention a kind of trap-like promotion, such as a free shoe and half a face, that only spoils the reputation of being free.

So, the free, on the one hand, the consumer spoiled: anyway are worthless things, want to also white, not white don't, want to finish on the end, to buy a hair. On the one hand many consumers terrified, and some even free of the antibodies produced, a see free, immediately immune, avoid the fear.

Three characteristics of typical free mode

For the real market, free promotions, is nothing but a variety of promotional forms one of them.

discount, price reduction, buy gifts, lottery, swap, points, printing set point, send Cash coupons ... In these diverse promotional methods, buy gifts, lottery, points, etc. are required to give consumers free gifts or prizes outside the merchandise, and free promotions can be a separate promotional tool or even promotional mode exists, obviously rely on not only free.

So what does a typical free promotional model look like? I think there are three main features:

First, free promotions are not given as a prerequisite for purchase.

A typical free promotion, can be limited, limited to receive, you can ask customers to fill out personal data, but, but can not be purchased as a prerequisite or additional conditions, otherwise, and buy gifts such a regular promotional no real difference. For the real market, true free should be regarded as a non-conventional weapon, which has a stronger appeal to consumers and a greater lethality to competitors. The reason for this is that it is a free gift without purchase--the consumer does not have to pay anything, but certainly can get what, this is the source of its power.

Second, free gifts to have a certain value, can produce certain attractions to consumers.

This is not difficult to understand, in the street to distribute a bag, send a small trial outfit, you can call it a real free promotion? No 323, dare not on Liangshan. Without a little gold, free is just a gimmick, or a regular promotion of a small, and can not produce free of the explosion effect.

Third, free is usually not a single way, but with other promotional tools in conjunction with the use.

Free to send neither love dedication, nor love of support, can not earn a yell, earning a popularity loss wealth.

A free lunch is provided for the purpose of selling a meal that is not free, and the purpose of sending pies is to get customers to buy cooking and sesame cakes. And the relationship between merchants and consumers is not equal to the reciprocity between friends and relatives, the consumer received a business free of things, may not be willing to take out their wallet. Therefore, to sell well, but also through other promotional means to find ways to buy gifts, lottery and so on with the necessary. The combination punch, the sales can go, the activity data will become good-looking.

Free is not what you want to do, you can do it

From the characteristics of typical free mode, the free promotion in the real market is obviously higher than other promotional methods.

First of all, free cost more pressure, higher risk.

Why free mode The most popular industry is no more than online games, E-commerce and other pure digital areas? Because their product marginal cost is almost zero, can be free unlimited replication. and offline entity merchandise free gift, behind it is true gold and silver in kind cost, like to buy gift promotional gifts, all need to be included in the cost of sales ratio of accounting. But the difference between the two is that the gift is bought and sent first, do not buy not to send, even if the sales are not good, things still holding in their hands, and typical free but is sent to say, if not up to the expected sales, it means that this cost can not achieve the conversion of profits, has become a loss of business.

Second, the free mode of brand power requirements are higher.

Gutter oil, black-hearted cotton, poisonous floor, shoe brand capsules ... In the lack of social integrity, all kinds of quality door emerging market background, consumers to spend money to buy goods can not be assured consumption, not to mention the gift can be obtained without spending money? Market environment is forcing consumers to improve self-protection awareness, if there is no certain brand power as the backing of free promotions, businessmen dare to send, I am afraid consumers may not dare to. No ungrateful free send, like wishful thinking of unrequited love.

Again, the free mode of system marketing capacity requirements higher.

Free is just a stepping stone, the goal is to hit the gold sales, on the scale, to rely on it really pry market, free of charge, one is to full momentum, the second is to attract a large number of popular, three is to effectively create buy gas. Therefore, a successful free activities can not be separated from publicity, preheating, on-site atmosphere, vivid display, the purchase of the desire to transfer, as well as the precision of delivery objects ... In short, free activities are refined, not coarse grains, do free to play combination boxing, can not play unicycle tactics. Do not have the system marketing ability, good team execution ability, want to do free promotion, is inconceivable.

A word, free is not what you want to do, want to do can do.

Don't take free as staple food

In the increasingly popular free now, choose Free Mode, if you have the ability, conditional, also have successful experience, then congratulate you, you have a more terminal competition weapon. But, free though effective, after all, is only one of the tactics of terminal competition, do not put dry food as staple foods, often eat dry rations, there may be malnutrition.

Free of charge at least two points: first, it is easy to cause consumers to form a product of the negative association of worthless-full street, can be worth a few money? Second, may spoil the consumer, forms the anticipation psychology--you all did not have the money to give me, also hoped that I paid to buy again? Or I bought your product for free last time. Now that I have no delivery, why should I still buy it?

Therefore, for the physical market terminals, free mode in the right time, with the right frequency to play can play is a heartbeat. If the regular heartbeat too fast, there will be a reckless, bad kill 10,000, since the loss of 3,000, or even make a yell.

But if you do not play, but hit the rich and competitive competitors to play this trick, then you have to see the recruit. Any activity, has his soft threat. Penetrate the opponent free behind the mystery, find the other side of the weak points, and then combine their strengths, is your point of exerting force. The reason is like under Weiqi, although there is a formula, but no fixed winning tricks, weaknesses, Shiri, there is a useful.

In fact, the strategic commanding heights of Terminal competition is not free, but how to improve customer satisfaction and enhance customer stickiness.

Therefore, the visionary shop owner, any time the service in the first place, at any time will not blindly pursue high gross margin, because the higher the gross margin, customer satisfaction usually will be lower, the faster the loss of customers.

Similarly, the free promotional shocks against competitors also weigh on the precautionary and enhanced stickiness.

As long as your customers are sticky enough, others will not want to beat you through an event, and when you deal with your opponent's free promotions, you will be able to make four or two.

In short, improve customer satisfaction, cultivate customer loyalty, maximize the reduction of free customers, increase loyal customers, enhance customer stickiness, then, you do not do free, like success; others do it for free, you can live as well.

This is called: strong wine is good, can not drink. Free though good, don't biting.