Blog

7 Steps to Product Sampling Campaign Heaven

7th February 2023
 / 

Product sampling explained. 

Are you searching for a fresh strategy to boost your brand? To engage customers in fresh and exciting ways, businesses all over the world are increasingly beginning to implement their own product sampling/ product demonstration campaigns since the departure of COVID-19 and social distancing. 

According to the Harvard Business Review, inadequate planning, a lack of market research, and consumer uncertainty are some of the most frequent causes of new businesses failing. People won’t purchase your brand, your items, if they don’t comprehend them. And that’s where product sampling comes into play.

Product sampling is the practise of brands inviting consumers to test out their goods for free in exchange for real and honest feedback. Product sampling not only generates reviews but also raises brand awareness, which increases customer acquisition. 

Overall, product sampling is a fun interactive way to get your brand out into the market. By executing a product sampling campaign, you are not only getting your brand out there in a refreshing and interactive way, but this marketing strategy increases brand loyalty and encourages user generated content (UGC).

But, to achieve the best results, a successful sampling campaign requires more than just planning. GottaBe! Marketing is a product sampling agency expert, having run numerous product sampling campaigns for brands since our outset in 2008. We’ve compiled a list of 7 steps to product sampling campaign heaven, which are our tried-and-true essentials for creating a successful product sampling campaign.

7 steps to creating a successful product sampling campaign

Understand your target audience 

You don’t want to send your new product to just any customer. You’ll get higher engagement if you just send it to the audience it was intended for. Therefore, a crucial step is to understand the target audience of your product through research, narrowing down your audience means that you can specifically find where the best place is to locate your product sample and what marketing materials will work well alongside the sample to fit your audience’s needs. 

For example, find out about a customer’s coffee habits. How many cups a day do they drink? Do they prefer to make coffee at home or go to a coffee shop? Do they like buying a coffee on the way to work or during their lunch break? Do they prefer tea over coffee? Do they like buying coffee from instore locations or online. 

This information provides a guide to where the location of your sample will take place. That could be coffee sample in a store, on the high street, outside busy offices, train stations or online. Knowing where your audience will be and targeting them where the maximum amount of footfall will be is crucial. 

Objectives 

It is critical to understand exactly what you want to achieve with your product sample campaign; here is where objectives and KPIs come into play. Understanding your objective will make planning and organising the product sample much simpler since you’ll be able to determine how many units need to be sent to how many places. With well-defined objectives, you can assess the campaign’s success and determine its return on investment. Additionally, it’s crucial to have a brief with your expectations and your goals if you’re outsourcing a product sampling firm to assist you with a product sample so they can make sure you and they are on the same page.

Timing and Planning

Leave no stone unturned in the planning of the activity, meticulous attention to detail will ensure the campaign is a success no matter what you come up against. You should always have thorough contingency plans to cope with challenging situations 

To figure out how much time you need to plan, work backward and think about how you’re going to get the product into customers’ hands. Will you ship it to them? Have them pick it up from one of your locations? delivery? 

If you’re choosing to ship your product to customers, make sure you have a reliable distributor. Remove the burden of working with multiple shipping and fulfilment providers by choosing one product sampling agency that can manage the process for you. The product sampling agency will ensure the product delivery if correct as the leave time for mistakes. This way, you’ll be able to focus less on shipping stress and more on planning your product sampling activity. 

Brand Ambassadors

An in-person product sample campaign needs brand ambassadors, therefore it’s important to be well-organised and have the correct number of ambassadors for the duration of your campaign. The person with whom a consumer is dealing has a significant impact on their experience. Hire enthusiastic, engaging promoters, and invest time in training them. Do they match the item? Do they understand how to speak to your target audience effectively? Are they adequately attired? Do they understand when and where they need to be? It is essential to train and inform the promoters, so they are aware of their responsibilities.

Make it a brand experience 

A product sample has the advantage of allowing you to provide your target market an experience, which promotes customer acquisition and brand loyalty. Consider strategies to keep your audience interested in a longer period and to offer them a more memorable brand experience when they have the sample in their hands. But keep things simple; it’s generally ideal to engage the senses simply rather than complicating things. It is also important to determine the right size sample smaller than full-size product but not too small so someone can really try the product.

For example, Dorset Tea sample packets include three tea bags which allows the consumer to take the product home in their own environment and to try multiple times. 

Consider other options for sampling

When establishing a product sample brand experience in person, you may plan for individuals who are unable to participate on the day of the activation using a variety of strategies. For example, offering a free sample online, preparing people by providing a list of areas where you will be in advance so people can plan, or giving them the choice to purchase a product and receive a refund. These methods ensure you are creating an experience for a broader market of consumers. 

Nail a product sampling campaign by hiring an expert product sampling agency 

Product sampling is a difficult campaign to execute if your company has never done it before. Our best recommendation is to employ a product sample agency to assist with strategy, planning, hiring and managing brand ambassadors, and dealing with distribution techniques. GottaBe! Marketing has been in the industry for 15 years and have grown very adept at product sample campaigns; if you’re looking for a new way to boost your brand but don’t know where to start, we’d love to help, fill out this form to get started 👉 https://gottabemarketing.co.uk/contact/