With an increasing number of pitches, offers, “try me” pleas, and what-nots, marketers and product managers are finding it increasingly difficult to stand out from the pack. The best single tool to help them? Empathy.
Think about it: How much spam do you get every day? How many messages do you just delete without even finishing reading the subject—let alone opening the message? And then which ones do you actually open? What compelled you to read it? It’s a challenge to offer up something different, and if you’re not, then you’re just part of the crowd.
One way to offer something different is to show that you have something different. Let customers and prospects try something for free. Some of you may already know this and get this. But for others, this is new, and it may seem … odd. ”Give away something? For free? That erodes my margin!” But how else do you expect people to trust you? To trust your products and services? On word of mouth alone? Sure, in an ideal world. But letting people try before they buy is the best item possible to get someone off that fence.
Here’s a real example to prove my point:
A professional organization contacted me recently, asking me to be a member of their private community, They extolled their benefits, explained what I would get with my (hefty!) annual fee, and the connections I’d make as a member. It all sounded good, but the price was steep. I was honest. I said, “This sounds great, but I’m not sure if I can secure the budget for that. Is there a way to attend one event for free so I can see what it is like? Or can I try a 6-month membership instead of a 12-month membership? This would go a long way for (potential) ‘management justification.’” They let me plead my case, and ultimately and politely said no, they don’t give away anything for free when it comes to that. I thanked them for the offer and declined.
I’m not suggesting that if I attended one free event, I would’ve definitely been hooked. But I definitely knew I wasn’t joining if I couldn’t see what I’d be getting.
Tags: customer experience, Marketing
[...] have a new post up over at the Marketing Profs Daily Fix blog, titled “Give It Away, Give It Away Now’. You can jump to it by clicking on that [...]
Alan, if the professional organization to which you refer is a nonprofit association, then it surprises me that they didn’t allow you to attend as a guest. Most professional and trade associations have a higher non-member price structure for participation in meetings and events to encourage them to join. Then, it’s up to them to demonstrate their value proposition with benefits to membership.
Of course, if this is a private business group, then they get to make their own rules. And in today’s economy, who wants to take a large discretionary financial risk on something that has yet to prove itself? Perhaps they have an inflated opinion of their worth.
Thanks for the comment, Elaine. It’s a for-profit group. And I get that margins need to be minded and such. But with such a large price tag, and me (and others, I presume) clearly on the fence about joining, offering a taste or glimpse seems almost like a no-brainer. I’m not suggesting to give away everything for free, or a free membership for a year, or something like that.
If you can afford to give things away, great. Just remember not to cheapen the value of your product by giving it away to someone that will not value it’s worth. Some consumers take the approach ‘if its for free, its for me’. You don’t want those consumers accepting your product!
Another option is a value add offer. Buy 1 month subscription, get 1 month free. Or something tangible with your purchase. This can add more value to the original purchase also.
[...] by listening to understand (This is exactly what is at the heart of Alan Belniak’s recent post, when he mentions ‘empathy’ as a tool to stand out from the [...]
I tell you what, Alan – you’re dead on, and it’s not rocket science that we’re asking solicitors to perform here. It’s fairly straightforward: Think before you ask me to do something. Would you want to be asked to do what you’re asking me?
I suppose it’s similar to the Golden Rule, but with a twist: Do unto me what I’d like you to do (http://ow.ly/3wHEa).
What does it tell me about your product or service when you won’t let me look behind the curtain without first paying? To me, it sends the signal that you’re not that confident in your product to begin with.
In the end, it’s not about a free trial or test or period. It’s about how much you want to build a relationship with me and my business, and how confident you are that our relationship will be worth it to both of us.
Well-stated, Peter. Your last two sentences sum it up nicely.
I absolutely agree with you. Companies that are unwilling to show us why we would want to use their services should not be surprised when we decline to invest our valuable time trying to figure out how it would benefit us. Every company needs to make it clear how what they offer benefits specific buyers instead of expecting their potential clients to figure it out.
When what they offer is complex such as Social Media Monitoring or Web Analytics or an email marketing solution they should be seeking out the influential bloggers and Social Media users who can most intelligently apply their solutions and giving them unrestricted, indefinite access to use their tools.
I know they’re going to think that is crazy (their representatives tell me so regularly) so I want to tell them why – because a blogger who can actually use what they offer, will continually recommend their solution, share how-to information on how we implement it and the benefits that are derived from that implementation are extremely valuable TO YOUR USERS.
We offer free tech support that takes the demand off your people. We encourage people to use what works and help them install it and learn to use it. Companies that expect us to invest our own time to get through the learning curve of using their product and then pay for it every month so we can write about them are asking too much of us. The teaching bloggers who have the most time have that time because we do NOT focus on making money maximizing client work.
What I am saying to them is this: we choose to give away more of our time to promote what others need and teach them why they should be willing to pay for it, how to install and implement it, how to use it – and we do that consistently over time. We have to actually USE your solution regularly in order to stay on top of what you’re changing and to learn new effective ways to benefit from it.
Businesses who pay for your solution because they need it are highly unlikely to consistently share what they’ve learned with others because they are busy running their business OR they do not want their competitors to benefit from their investment. Make no mistake about it – no one is going to learn your solution just to write about it once. Influential bloggers would be foolish to go through that learning curve for your limited time trial knowing that they can not justify the monthly expense.
There are a few influential, teaching bloggers like Kristi Hines who can write about your solutions because they work for a Search Marketing company that has a reason to pay for your solution. They are the exception. Most teaching bloggers are independent and write about what they believe in. They aren’t going to be writing about you if you are not willing to allow them free access to your solution. How much could that really cost you compared considering the value they have to offer.
Eventually companies may actually start paying influential bloggers to use their tools on top of giving them access; however, that raises a conflict of interest in many people’s minds. I see that differently. This is a which came first: the chicken or the egg issue. If there is a solution that I sincerely wish to recommend, solicit access and write HONESTLY about both the pros and cons of that solution I do not believe being granted free access is indicative of any kind of bias.
What I am saying is that as long as we, as bloggers, are completely honest about our connections, provide full disclosure, and tell our truth there is no reason to believe that what we report is any less reliable than what you hear on the news or read in the major media. Contrary to popular opinion, most coverage today has been purchased – if not directly then because what is being covered buys advertising.