| The adage goes, ?The best things in life are free,? but on the Internet, free things mean more than just good things. In this age where everything has to be paid for, getting something for free can mean happiness for a customer, a greater web presence for a company, and perhaps profits in the long run. Some companies might look down on giving away free things, thinking that it cheapens their name and takes away their profits. However, giving away free things has its advantages, which include the following: - If you notice, most of the free things that companies give away will be useful things that have the company?s name on them. These things might include key chains, notebooks, ball pens, gift boxes, gift bags, or even umbrellas. But the point is, the free things will have the company name on them. This can foster name recall much faster than an advertisement on TV that very few people can see in comparison with someone who walks around with a company?s name on something that they own. This person can literally be a walking billboard for the company! - Who does not like free stuff? As long as it?s not a free shot in the arm or a free dose of poison, people actually like freebies, be they as simple as bookmarks or as useful as golf umbrellas. If you are able to meet this need for free things, you might be able to endear yourself faster to customers than by showing an ad on TV that can end up with them getting exasperated that you are interrupting their favorite show. - Despite popular opinion, free things do not cost a lot. You can carry out bulk orders on different items such as knickknacks or key chains, have your name printed on them, and worry only about items getting damaged during shipment. Bulk orders mean profit for companies that produce these giveaways or freebies, so be sure to haggle and bargain for a lower price on your large orders. In the world of the Internet, however, it can be much harder to give away freebies, and simply because you have to spend a lot on shipping things to your customers. There are, however, different ways that you can get free things to them, and still have your name up in lights and noticeable. - Give your customers a chance to download things for free, such as wallpapers or screensavers. You can place your name on these wallpapers or screensavers, but make sure that these items are attractive enough to be used. That way, your customers not only have pretty desktops, they get constant reminders about you and your company name. - If you want to stretch the desktop idea a bit farther, you can also have software specialists design desktop widgets. These little software programs can sit on a person?s desktop and act as clocks, search engines, computer speed monitoring devices, and other things. Place your name across these widgets, and you not only make yourself useful to your client, you have your name on a client?s desktop constantly. - If you have a large enough budget, you can mail in free samples to a lucky few, say the first fifty or one hundred clients who visit your site and fill out a survey. The samples are free and you can satisfy your clients. You can have a marketing survey that will give you a glimpse into your market. Turn it into a win-win situation, and you may have greater profits in the future. These are only a few tips that you might want to follow when you consider what to give for free through your site. If you play into the need for freebies, you not only make your clients happy, you can have a happy bank account too. |