💬 Whilst it doesn't make sense for all eCommerce verticals/categories, having a product sampling strategy in place can be awesome - especially within the beauty and skincare space (which numerous brands adopt).
And there are many benefits/pros as to why a sampling strategy can be effective for brands when it comes to revenue growth, with the main ones being:
Of course, a key consideration is ensuring it's cost-effective (or at the very least being cost-neutral) - you need to ensure to keep COGs and shipping/delivery costs in mind.
It's also why I focus many of the points below on being post-purchase or part of AOV (rather than upfront lead gen - although it's certainly worth exploring/testing too if numbers make sense).
💬 Below are various growth tests/experiments around doing sampling, to help drive lead gen, AOV/cross-selling, and of course, revenue.
A great strategy that's worth testing to help with increasing AOV is adding "free gifts" like free product sachets/items.
I've seen this with a beauty retailer I really like called Adore Beauty here in Australia. This is worth testing against upselling complementary/best-selling products. Plus, this certainly helps with margins.
I mentioned this in my customer appreciation strategies checklist, and I think it's a no-brainer idea here as well.
Why not add free samples related to the primary product item(s) that were purchased and provide an offer related to them as well if the customers like the items? Low-hanging fruit tactic here I believe.
Consider tying in offers for samples with specific campaigns. Even if existing offers exist that you want to push, adding in samples on top could be a great sweetener (awesome for perceived value-add).
I've talked about optimising/testing post-purchase offers for upselling/cross-selling - well, samples is another good offer to highlight.
Then, you could add in an offer related to the product with a coupon for a future purchase.
Not just on the thank you page, but also an email automaton sequence afterwards will help too.
Depending on whether or not you currently run subscriptions, incorporating samples as an offer for new subscriptions (or even upselling on subscriptions) is a good deal offer to consider.
Whilst having samples is great for online marketing initiatives, having them available on hand can play a big role for capturing leads at offline initiatives, and selling to new potential audiences offline, via the likes of pop-stores and conferences/events.
Even just a free giveaway strategy at large events/targeted events can really help introduce your brand's product range to new audiences.
I've spoken a lot about loyalty and rewards programs (and did a checklist on this too) talking about the importance of having a variety of low-cost perks which can be obtainable, and also play a role in received value and action for customers to uptake.
Rather than always offering discounts/free shipping type rewards, consider free samples when someone takes an action (like someone sharing a post on social media, etc).
Good way to keep costs minimal, whilst also giving away "free" value.
This is not a new strategy per se, but samples are awesome for scaling influencer outreach programs - and I personally love it as it's cost-effective too (both production and shipping).
Many brands give away actual product SKUs, which does need to happen for certain types of products. But if you're in beauty, food or anything with relatively low COGS (and ideally low shipping costs), then samples are an awesome option.
Another cool offer for introducing new audiences to your brand is getting influencers to share your samples offer. Whilst the goal should be for sales, highlighting free item giveaways to try out your product range as a potential campaign, is certainly worth testing - and a really smart strategy to build up new newsletter subscribers.
Speaking of newsletter subs, a great way to drive newsletter subscribers is combing a samples offer if they sign up to your newsletter list (where you can share deals, campaigns, content, and more).
Plus, it's a good way to capture audiences and convert via the list over time, which is usually a lower CAC than most paid channels. Of course, you'll need to take into costs of production/shipping, but it's a smart strategy initiative worth testing.
If you have products you're selling on larger 3rd-party distributors, then consider running special co-branded offers to their database - especially something to consider when launching a new product line/range.
Similar to the above with 3rd-party retailers, running co-branded partner campaigns with complementary brands is a clever initiative that can help drive results and new audience acquisition.
As an experiment to consider testing for those in competitive verticals like beauty, skincare and general gifting, consider adding samples as part of bundles during busy/seasonal sale periods, which can help "increase value" of the offer.
If you run any quizzes as part of acquisition efforts, consider adding sampling offers as part of custom/product recommendation cart experiences.
Whilst the goal of these quiz flows should be to point participants/visitors to purchase, incorporate this tactic for segments who don't purchase right away as part of a nurturing/follow-up sequence via email automation.
