Why Trial Is Important

Try it – you’ll like it.

Give people a chance to try before they buy, as trial reduces risk. No one wants to spend money to find out they don’t like something and wasted their cash.

Daily sampling and demonstrations can be essential to your location’s success by helping your location achieve business goals and create loyal customers. Fact: the more and better trial-building you do, the more it will drive your sales.

Sampling and Demonstrations allow your customers to try your products with low or no risk or cost. It provides an opportunity to suggestively sell, to eliminate fear, and to allow people who may be timid about trying new or different products the opportunity to do so.

Sampling increases sales by:

• Initiating trial through exposure to products.
• Encouraging customers to return to your location for a different occasion.
• Contributing to store growth and overall customer satisfaction.
• Attracting new traffic to stores through positive word of mouth.

Sampling builds the brand by:

• Strengthening what makes your company and products different from your competition – what differentiates you.
• Providing opportunities for customer and employee connections – sampling is an excellent way to begin conversations.
• Increasing loyalty through surprise and delight.
• Extending your company experience beyond your location.

Five to One

At Starbuck Coffee we knew for every 5 samples distributed, there would be at least one purchase of that item. That’s a 20% conversion rate. That was especially helpful when a customer – who typically would buy a plain latte – would upgrade (even if just for that day) to the featured or promotional beverage, just because of sampling. Those products were typically 25¢ to 50¢ more expensive than the customer’s typical selection. And, as you know, those cents add up!