What Are Sampling Programs? If you are interested in running a sampling of new products, a professional partner can help you create and maintain a product sampling program. While each program is different, all are centered around the goals of engaging users, acquiring those users, and selling products.

Customize your product sampling programs, whether you are product testing or promoting an existing product. MGA will work with you to develop sampling programs that are organized and can accomplish the following objectives:.

Boost product sales great for beauty products, clothing, personal hygiene items, etc. How Do You Create a Product Sampling Program? MGA prides itself as an expert in product sampling program ideation.

When you partner with us to determine new strategies, we will help you:. Align products to target audiences. Share your personas, regional goals, and any other research on your target audiences with us. Together, we can create a plan to mail product samples to prospects that have been analyzed and are more likely to convert.

Reach out to IBR Packaging to learn more about how our sample packaging services can help amplify your brand. Effective Sampling. HELP YOUR BRAND REACH ITS FULL POTENTIAL A sampling program is a great solution for marketing your product to target consumers.

You may have some questions, such as: DO SAMPLE PACKETS REALLY WORK? HOW CAN IT BENEFIT MY BUSINESS? HOW DO I SET UP AN EFFECTIVE SAMPLING PROGRAM? Many articles are written about sampling, and they often include facts from marketing studies. We have gathered some of the proven statistics about the value of creating those foil sample packets for customers, and would like to show you what we found.

An article on info-now. com listed some pertinent findings from a study called The Second Annual Survey Consumer Preferences for Product Sampling. This article also provides further general information about sampling, and some tips for businesses considering this marketing method.

A more recent article, found here, contains findings from several sources, including studies for the United States Postal Service USPS and the Promotion Marketing Association PMA.

It is clear that sample pouches really are effective, and many consumers thoroughly enjoy receiving them. THE BENEFITS OF A SAMPLING PROGRAM Sending out foil sample packets has been done for many years, by many companies, and that is because it works.

Here are some of the advantages of using a packaging manufacturer to create samples, along with a few more statistics from the USPS website: Highly-effective product advertising. The statistic from the USPS stating that product samples reach 70 million consumers quarterly shows that many companies use this method to market products to customers, and that is because it is proven to increase business and profit.

Sending out samples is proving the quality of your product and putting your name out among the consumers. Gain new customers.

Sending out foil pouches or cosmetic packaging filled with your liquid products, gives people a chance to try what you are selling so they will want to purchase it. By giving them a trial, they can try it for themselves and see why the product is worth their time.

Customer retention. Send them sample packets and remind them what your company is all about. Encourage brand recognition.

Hiring a contract packing company gives you quality samples of your product, which will represent your brand.

Sending your brand name and information to customer homes helps them to remember it later while they are shopping. Get customers to your website. The web is an incredibly popular and effective way to advertise products and services in this modern age of technology and connectivity. For example, French luxury skincare company Clarins revitalized its anti-aging products by using sampling to collect reviews in just 36 days.

This evolving regulatory landscape presents unique challenges, including the daunting task of resetting your review count and content collection to zero. Supercharge your next product launch with Bazaarvoice.

Collect meaningful feedback before you launch, so you can make pre-launch improvements like TIKI Brand did when launching its Clean Burn Tabletop Fireplaces.

Or, use sampling to understand how shoppers feel about products that have been on the market for a hot minute. Our sampling campaigns give community members a chance to share meaningful feedback.

Which results in in-depth reporting that aids in improved marketing messaging, product development, and discovering new market opportunities. Whether you want to expand into a new market geographically or reach a new demographic of shoppers, we can help get you there.

Thinking about expanding beyond your country? Our community and network offer a lot of opportunities to get shoppers excited, everywhere. Reach multiple locales at once. Want to reach five or six countries in a single campaign? No problemo. Our sampling campaigns can provide one seamless experience.

All thanks to our reach. Sampling is a great way to get fresh reviews and user generated content UGC for your brand. See how the health and wellness company for pets increased private-label product revenue, awareness, conversions, and SEO traffic through product sampling. increase in clicks from organic search for sampled products.

Hannah Kredich Category Specialist at Petco See the case study. David Hall Head of Digital at LG See the case study. The global food company fuels product launch success by getting new Kraft Dressings Vinaigrettes, Twisted Ranch, and Bitten dressings into the hands of hyper-targeted consumers and empowering them to generate high-quality UGC and social advocacy.

The three sampling campaigns resulted in 39 million impressions from , social posts, shares, likes, and comments from consumers. Elizabeth Northrup Associate Brand Manager See the case study.

Maybelline places customers at the core of its marketing strategy and uses product sampling to accelerate review collection of new products and other priority items. Sorah Park CMO See the case study.

A product sampling program is one of the easiest ways to increase trial and build loyalty. Here's what you need to know Peekage is an online product sampling platform that helps CPG companies with brand awareness, boost sales, fetch early market feedback and build brand loyalty Sampling programs are a great way to market your product or service. There are many benefits to giving your consumer a chance to try your product prior to

Product sampling program - The leading digital product sampling platform helping brands build targeted sampling programs, deliver samples direct-to-home, and gather valuable insights A product sampling program is one of the easiest ways to increase trial and build loyalty. Here's what you need to know Peekage is an online product sampling platform that helps CPG companies with brand awareness, boost sales, fetch early market feedback and build brand loyalty Sampling programs are a great way to market your product or service. There are many benefits to giving your consumer a chance to try your product prior to

Of course, the goal is to get those creators to post about your brand on social media. Post requirements mean you will need to gift more. Below is a great product gifting example from Vessi:.

Source: with. Gifting campaigns do double duty by helping brands win new customers and build social proof at the same time. That said, gifting requires some legwork.

The process of contacting creators and sending them packages can be time-consuming. The benefits are worth it if you have the bandwidth, though.

From posts showing off your brand to glowing reviews, gifting is among the best product sampling methods for building awareness. Consider that convenience is the top driver of online purchases.

Still, some products need to be seen in person before buyers are comfortable. As noted earlier, this is common with high-ticket purchases. Even Amazon is hopping on the sampling bandwagon with their Prime Try Before You Buy program.

Below is another example from Azazie. The brand offers try-on wedding dresses and free swatch samples for shoppers. Their dresses and gowns must be returned within seven days of being received. On the flip side, their swatches are truly free samples with no returns necessary.

Source: Azazie. As an added bonus, shoppers can actually choose which products they want to try. Source: Ulta. By default, the products sampled will be more relevant to individual shoppers than random items. This increases the chances that shoppers will make a full-blown purchase in the future.

Source: Twitter. Good question! This is an ongoing trend and expectation among shoppers post-pandemic. As ecommerce grows, opportunities to build one-on-one connections with customers shrink.

And so brands that can create a unique experience for their customers have the most to gain. Recommending and offering personalized samples is compelling to consumers.

Random freebies are nice, but custom samples for individuals are ideal. Consider also that anyone that asks for or accepts a sample is high-intent. Your product sampling program can serve as a way to identify relevant shoppers ASAP.

Sampling campaigns offer a goldmine of info for brands. Specifically, how to fine-tune your marketing strategy. For example, product samples that never get claimed or talked about might be worth phasing out. On the flip side, your popular samples can highlight what people like the most about your brand.

This illustrates yet another benefit of influencer gifting. When creators post about your product, you can earn authentic and unfiltered feedback. Note which products and qualities ex: materials, ingredients, features they shout out. Then, emphasize those strengths in your future marketing campaigns.

Source: melissaamaakeup. Without getting too scientific, reciprocity occurs when a brand gives a consumer a free sample. The use of reciprocity in marketing is well-documented.

Think about how Costco has made sampling such an important part of the shopping experience for members. Well, product sampling campaigns online have the same effect. When you mail out a sample of your product, you trigger the reciprocity effect.

This increases the chances that recipients become buyers. When you offer an in-person sample, people only get a narrow and limited understanding of your product. For example, a customer might try a perfume sample in the store.

When you offer an in-home sample, people get a chance to use your product as they would if they bought it. This creates a much-needed sense of reassurance. Also, consider how some product sampling campaigns offer a taste of your checkout experience.

This is another way to get new customers familiar with your brand and products. The more time people get to spend engaging with your brand, the more comfortable they are with you.

If nothing else, social media product sampling is a brilliant way to get more user-generated content. This includes customer photos and videos, reviews and more. Source: lewendyy.

Real-life product reviews and visual content are among the most important factors that drive purchase intent. You can earn both at the same time by offering samples.

Whether you can realistically build your own program depends on a few key factors, though. On a high level, brainstorm whether or not your brand has the following:. Note: for companies with limited resources but time to spare, small-scale gifting campaigns are an option.

To calculate your retention rate in product sampling measurement before and after a product sampling campaign, you must have previously calculated the retention rate of your users. This means you must know what percentage of your customers come back to make a second purchase in a certain period of time.

For this purpose, you must have kept a detailed list of your existing customers to cross-check after running a product sampling campaign to see if the retention rate in the same period of time has increased or not. While calculating the retention rate of your existing users after running a product sampling campaign might sound like an ordeal, it is pretty easy if you choose to run your campaign with a product sampling platform that analyzes the data for you.

Read more : 30 Ways to Actually Increase Sales Online – Proven Methods. If your goal is to make your returning customers buy more of your products, or buy products more often, you can measure the frequency or the interval of your purchase before and after running the campaign.

To be able to measure the frequency of purchase, you must have calculated this metric before running your product sampling campaign. For example, in product sampling measurement you must have recorded how many purchases an average loyal customer makes in a year or month.

After running the product sampling campaign, you must keep recording the number of purchases during the same period to measure the success of your campaign. To measure the interval of purchases, you must have previously recorded how long it takes a returning customer to make a second purchase, and after that, how long it takes them to make a third purchase, and so on.

While the purchase interval is a great metric, it is mainly used for products that people regularly use, like cosmetics, shampoos, and clothes. The interval of purchase is not an excellent metric if you offer a product or service with a long sales cycle.

For example, suppose you have an online medical counseling service, and you give out free counseling sessions in your product sampling campaign. In that case, it might not directly affect your user interval of purchase, as your users only use your platform as they need it.

Regardless of your goals, it is always good to get user feedback after a product sampling campaign to see what is working and what needs improvement. You can measure the feedback itself to see how many users are willing to give their opinion on your product or measure their positive or negative response towards your product.

With traditional sampling methods, you lose access to samplers, as they can walk away, and you don't get to hear their opinions, and thus it breaks the product sampling cycle. Some people may even come and collect a bag of goodies with no intention of giving you any feedback.

By using online product sampling platforms in product sampling measurement, you can make sure you always have access to your samplers, and the platform makes sure you get feedback as well. Giving out free samples is a way to test new products before a full-scale launch, but it also helps keep the customers happy.

Customer satisfaction rates can be measured before and after a product sampling campaign. Measuring customer satisfaction with traditional sampling methods has its problems, as mentioned above.

Still, in product sampling measurement it is important to note that the feedback you get in a traditional method might not even be sincere. People may give out compliments and smile to the person who gives them the sample to show politeness.

Moreover, you need to ensure that your sales rep records people's reactions and comments with exact details. Using a digital product sampling platform, you can make sure that you get feedback and be more certain of their sincereness.

Studies have shown that people are more honest online and are more open to sharing their real feelings without the fear of hurting anyone's feelings. An increase in the amount and number of sales is the end goal of every business. With simple bookkeeping, you can easily measure your sales before, during, and after your product sampling campaign.

However, it gets tricky if you have other active marketing campaigns. For example, suppose you are active in social media or aired a TV ad while running your product sampling campaign.

In that case, there's no sure way to know what percentage of sales came through which channel unless you have thought about differentiating them beforehand. If you choose to run your product sampling campaign through a digital product sampling platform, you can precisely calculate the number of sales generated by this channel as these digital platforms track your users.

Saving the most important KPI for the last! Increasing ROI or return of investment is the ultimate goal of every marketing effort, and that's the same for product sampling as well. Product sampling helps brands and companies increase their ROIs by tweaking the sales funnel to get the best results.

To be able to calculate the ROI of your product sampling campaign, you must know precisely how much you are spending and how much money you will get back afterward.

This can be easy if you track your samplers.

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