🎓 Ask for something in return for your free offer

Requiring something small in return (e.g. fill out a survey, watch an ad), does not hurt demand for free products or offers - it might even increase it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 August 20, 2024 | [Read Online]( Ask for something in return for your free offer Requiring something small in return (e.g. fill out a survey, watch an ad), does not hurt demand for free products or offers - it might even increase it. [Thomas McKinlay]( [fb]( [fb]( [fb]( [fb](mailto:?subject=Post%20from%20Ariyh&body=Ask%20for%20something%20in%20return%20for%20your%20free%20offer%3A%20Requiring%20something%20small%20in%20return%20%28e.g.%20fill%20out%20a%20survey%2C%20watch%20an%20ad%29%2C%20does%20not%20hurt%20demand%20for%20free%20products%20or%20offers%20-%20it%20might%20even%20increase%20it.%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Ftips.ariyh.com%2Fp%2Fask-for-something-in-return-for-your-free-offer) New to [Ariyh](? This is a 3min practical summary of a scientific study 🎓 Join 28,802 marketers who use science, not flawed opinions 📈 [Subscribe here]( Today’s insight is brought to you by… [Modash]( There are a lot of things that can’t be automated in influencer marketing. It’s a relationship-based channel. However, keeping track of influencer content going live can be automated. Easily. There’s really no need to be storing live content URLs in a spreadsheet in 2024. Modash does this, and it’s easier than you think. Give it a spin (no credit card required)! [Try for free]( Want to sponsor Ariyh? [Here’s all you need to know](. 📝 Intro Imagine you’re offering a free service (or a freemium version of your product). For example, a free newsletter you can sign up to get science-based marketing insights 😉 It’s important that as many people as possible sign up, so you want to keep friction to a minimum. Still, you can’t help but think - if I’m giving this for free, isn’t there something small I can ask in return? It turns out that yes, you can - and it won’t hurt your signups. P.S.: Have you ever listened to my guest episodes on the Nudge Podcast? If not, you can check them out [here]( and [here](. I hope you enjoy them, and shout out to Phill for hosting me! Want to access hundreds more insights like these? [Explore Ariyh insights here](. Asking for something low effort in return for a free product doesn’t hurt demand - and might even boost it Topics: Promotions | Pricing For: B2C. Can be tested for B2B Research date: December 2018 Universities: New York University 📈 Recommendation When offering a free product or service, you can ask for something small in return from customers without making the promotion less effective. Stick to “asks” that don’t involve money, like asking people to view a short ad, sign up for an email list, or take a short survey in exchange for the free item. This works as effectively as giving the item without asking people to do anything, and may even increase demand, while also providing you more value (e.g. sales lead information, ad revenue). 🎓 Findings - People react as well, or sometimes better, to pseudo-free offers (e.g. a one-week trial in exchange for providing your email address) as long as the cost, in terms of time or effort, is relatively small. People also prefer these offers over promotions in which they have to pay. - As part of a series of 6 experiments, researchers found that: - 8.7% of people accepted a branded mug in exchange for completing a short survey vs. 6% accepted it when completely free - People were equally likely to say they’d use airport Wi-Fi whether or not they had to provide personal information to use it - When offered the use of a phone charging station at a mall, people were: - 13.7% more likely to use it when asked to complete a 1-2 minute survey compared to when it was simply free to use - 29.1% less likely to use it when the survey required 15-20 minutes to complete (high effort) - People are willing to accept offers where they pay through time or effort instead of money, even if the costs exceed the benefits unless they think the offer is unfair or the company is exploiting them (e.g. selling contact information to other companies). 🧠Why it works - When something is free, it grabs our attention. We consider something free [as different from any number]( (even $1), which disproportionately attracts us to free offers. - Offers, where we pay through time or effort rather than money (e.g. watching an ad or providing an email address) are still considered “free” in our heads since there isn’t a financial cost involved and it’s [harder for us to judge]( non-financial costs like time. - This makes us perceive offers where we don’t have to pay money [as more fair]( or beneficial, making us more likely to accept them. How to Level Up Your Organic Growth Strategies - from [Ten Speed]( Here are 5 resources (free & ungated) with tactical advice to help you grow organically: - [9 Benefits of Product-Led Content Marketing]( - [Mapping The B2B SaaS Customer Journey To Improve It Phase-by-Phase]( - [Key Elements of a Comprehensive Organic Growth Strategy]( - [15 Strategies for Effective Content Distribution in B2B SaaS]( - [How To Add Thought Leadership to B2B SaaS Content Strategies]( [Explore more]( This announcement was sponsored. Want your brand here? [Click here](. ✋ Limitations - The experiments looked at relatively low time and effort costs for offers, like completing a short survey or providing basic personal information. Higher costs, like providing more sensitive personal information, would likely decrease acceptance of the offer, as the offer of a longer 15-20 minute survey did. - The products and services offered in the research were of relatively low value, like a chocolate bar or WiFi at the airport. For more valuable items, like attending a daylong sales presentation in exchange for a free stay at a hotel, people are likely to be more skeptical of the offer. - While the experiments looked at offers that benefited the company (e.g. capturing contact information of potential customers), it’s unclear but likely this type of offer can also be used to encourage prosocial behaviors, like recycling cans in exchange for points. 🏢 Companies using this - In digital products, free offers or products that ask for something in return are popular, usually in exchange for advertisements. For example: - Facebook keeps its network free in exchange for customers providing personal information and receiving targeted advertising. - Spotify and YouTube’s free versions allow free use in exchange for advertising during sessions. - Ecommerce stores often give away a discount in exchange for permission to send offers. For example, sparkling water brand Spindrift offers customers 10% off their first order if they sign up for the company’s email marketing. - At airports and public places, free WiFi is often provided in exchange for viewing an ad or providing contact information. VPN service Hotspot Shield allows customers to use their services for free, giving 15 minutes of connected time in exchange for each ad seen. ⚡ Steps to implement - When offering a “freebie” to your customers, add a small non-financial cost for your customers to increase engagement while providing you something of value. This can include: - Asking for contact information like their email address - A short (less than 5 minutes) survey for you to conduct market research - A promotional video customers have to watch before receiving the freebie - Make sure the value of the free product or service being given is higher than the cost (including time and effort) you’re asking people to give to receive the item. - When you market the promotion, clearly and explicitly state what someone needs to do to receive the free offer. When doing so, your promotion will sell better if you [mention the restriction and then the offer]( (Sign up for our newsletter and get one month’s free usage) compared to the other way around (Get one month’s free usage after signing up for our newsletter). 🔍 Study type Lab and online experiments and a field experiment (where 739 people received emails offering a free mug in exchange for completing a survey) 📖 Research [“There Ain’t No Such Thing as a Free Lunch”: Consumers’ Reactions to Pseudo-Free Offers](. Journal of Marketing Research (December 2018) 🏫 Researchers - Steven K. Dallas. Stern School of Business, New York University - [Vicki G. Morwitz.]( Stern School of Business, New York University Remember: This is a scientific discovery. In the future it will probably be better understood and could even be proven wrong (that’s [how science works](). It may also not be generalizable to your situation. If it’s a risky change, always test it on a small scale before rolling it out widely. Rate today’s insight to help me make Ariyh's next insights 🎓 even more useful 📈 What did you think of today's insight? Help me make Ariyh's next insights 🎓 even more useful 📈 [💜 Loved it!]( [✌️ Okay]( [🫤 Meh]( - 📈 Access 100s of insights and learn how other evidence-based marketers apply them, with [Ariyh Pro]( - 📘Supercharge your business with Ariyh’s Playbooks of [Pricing & Promotions](, [SaaS](, or [Ecommerce]( - 🎓 New to Ariyh? If this was forwarded to you can subscribe below for $0 [Subscribe here]( [fb]( [tw]( [ig]( [in]( Update your email preferences or unsubscribe [here]( © 2024 Ariyh Calle Bailen, 11 Barcelona, Barcelona 08010, Spain [[beehiiv logo]Powered by beehiiv]( [Terms of Service](