Puppy dog sale gives paws for thought
Ever come across a puppy-dog sale? You almost certainly have but possibly did not know that is what it is called. Look at it as a try-before-you-buy.
In principle these are fantastic ways to generate interest in your service. But you have to be willing to give away something of genuine value.
We offer 1.5-hour free taster sessions to prospective clients. This can actually end up being quite expensive because the organisation, travel cost and time involved is not hugely less than a paid day. But I call them our “shop window”. It gives potential buyers a chance to try before they buy.
In effect we are mitigating the risk that a buyer perceives in choosing the wrong product or service. This fear of making the wrong decision is one of the biggest “drags” to even beginning the discussions of changing supplier.
You may well be a brilliant company with a wonderful product but how can the buyer know that UNTIL they have already started using you? This especially so if your product or service is “disruptive”. Computer-related products are just such a product. Almost all the stakeholders in a company are affected by the installation of a new computer network or phone system. If the main buying unit gets it wrong, EVERYONE will give them grief!
However, you need to be careful about how you offer your “puppy dog”. It must be genuine and offer a real chance for the user to get a benefit. Nearly is not good enough.
As an example I recently downloaded some software that converts file formats for video. There is a free trial version. It differs from the full version only in that it applies a “watermark” to the video, so the marketing explains. In reality an ugly and obtrusive message sits over the image telling people that the video was created using an “unauthorised” version of the software. But you only realise this when you make your first converted video.
There is no way anyone could tolerate that “watermark”. “But they do this so you can just use it for free”, might be the response. But remember what I said before, the best puppy dog sale gives you a genuine chance to try before you buy. Software company Adobe are a classic example: they offer their PDF document reader for free. But you have to pay for the software that does the converting.
Rather than being impressed by how well the video conversion software works, I will be looking for another one. Even though this is actually irrational, I would rather spend more time finding another software that I will pay for and possibly not even use their free version at all before buying. So the first company has actually HELPED the competition.
So, think of how you offer puppy-dog sales to generate interest and ensure they are genuine useful offers: “sow, and you shall reap”!