Everyone likes getting something for nothing. But free doesn’t just mean no charge. Free can sometimes be associated with a trial, test, or sample period.
In sales, free trials can be a catalyst for boosting business. Giving something small away in the short-term can lead to big rewards in the future, as a skeptical buyer can be swayed once they see what a product can truly do for them.
This is especially true with technology. Even as the digital revolution has changed the world, some people still think twice about switching to the latest and greatest tech trend. People are smart to wait until they understand a product to purchase it, but sometimes the best way to get them acquainted is with a free trial.
Whether a person is getting a small amount of storage for free or a complementary web domain, there are many ways tech companies can help people try before they buy.
This marketing strategy has proven very effective for tech companies. It helps them overcome some of the primary barriers to making a sale such as consumer uncertainty.
Why Buyers Are Skeptical of Technology
It can sometimes seem counterintuitive that people would be skeptical about new technological breakthroughs. The number of ways technology has improved human standards of living are impossible to count, and every new breakthrough adds something to the collective pool of knowledge and innovation.
However, for a technology to offer this type of benefit, it must usually be somewhat complex. This makes it valuable, but it also means the potential buyer will usually have plenty of questions. They may list the risks of the product, and wonder how they’ll be addressed. They also want to know the product is easy to use.
Software is a bit different, as it is not something tangible a customer can come in, pick up, and examine. Some buyers have trouble trusting advertisements, and even take the opinion of experts at face value. For instances like these, free trials can be a great choice.
A free Windows server trial or Adobe Creative Cloud free trial can help a skeptical buyer get their concerns addressed, making it more likely they’ll see the value in the products and move forward with a sale.
The Benefits of a Complementary Trial
Free trials are about much more than letting a person use a product, in this case software, for a period of time at no cost. They’re about making sure a customer is comfortable using a product.
It is easy to list the features of a piece of software, show its specifications, and even provide videos of the software in action. However, most people need to know that they can find their way around the program and that it is user-friendly before they consider purchasing it.
There are plenty of software developers out there, meaning a buyer will have choices no matter what type of software they’re in the market for. Even if a product claims to do the things they need, a buyer may want to test it out first.
This can give them a chance to decide if the UI is comfortable, to find out if there are any bugs, and to weigh the software against any other options they’re considering. Consider the cloud storage industry. For a free trial, capacity and read-speed may vary. However, the notifying the user they can get more features by making a paid upgrade can be a very effective sales strategy.
Upselling the Customer from a Free Trial
For a business or professional organization, a free trial is a gift. However, it is more than a way to show their customers they want them to feel confident in their decisions. It’s a way to show customers what they have to offer them.
Every business is about meeting some need of a customer. When customers are able to see and confirm themselves that a product can help them solve a problem they’re having, it is much easier to convince them to commit to a sale. This makes free trials some of the most effective tools in the field of marketing for technology.
In some cases, a company may offer multiple paid versions of a product. This can come in the form of various packages or plans, each offering something the others don’t. In order to help sell customers on the higher-tier packages, it is necessary to show them the basics of the product first.
A customer using a free trial of a cloud storage service may like the features, but wish it had more memory or organizational capabilities. Show these off in one of the paid packages, and it is likely the customer will be more inclined to buy.