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Product sampling is one of the oldest marketing tactics, yet it remains powerfully relevant in 2024. With an abundance of different products to choose from, consumers want to know what tastes good, smells delicious, feels right, or works great - before they buy. Your business may already incorporate product sampling into your experiential marketing strategy, or maybe sampling has not been a part of your approach. But whether you are on “Team Sampling” or not, here we share the top signs that your brand may benefit from product sampling and why a product sampling company could make this strategy well worth the investment.
Making product sampling a priority
Product sampling is an impactful way for businesses to generate interest in their offerings by distributing free samples of their products to curious consumers.
Offering free product samples helps you engage with customers on a deeper level than other types of marketing. Your brand ambassadors talk to the consumer to see what they like, give them the sample, and ask for feedback. Even if you choose a digital channel to distribute your free samples, there’s still some sort of interaction that needs to be had with consumers.
Brands love product sampling campaigns because they are highly effective, but sometimes sampling campaigns can look and feel the same. It’s important for brands to understand that they can be creative with this experiential marketing strategy too. The more creative you are, the more positive response you see from customers.
When is it time to hire a product sampling company?
There’s no harm in admitting you need help from an experiential marketing company. In the case of product sampling, you have many approaches to choose from including digital, influencer, event, in-store sampling and more. You also have to determine your target audience, identify where to find them, and understand how to best reach them.
A brand also needs to determine its campaign budget and manage challenges such as potential product waste and how the product sampling strategy aligns with overall business objectives.
You also need to design a strategy that couples a data-driven approach with the creativity to build community, stand out, and drive ROI using product sampling.
Here we will take a look at signs that you might want to consider partnering with product sampling specialists.
1. You are not an expert in designing sampling campaigns
If you want to achieve the benefits of a product sampling strategy, but don’t know how to construct a campaign that will meet your goals, an agency might be the best avenue to pursue.
This type of partnership can pay off. For instance, in a study of wine tastings, Cornell University researchers found that after trying free wine samples, customers were 93 percent more likely to spend an additional $10 buying an extra bottle of wine, and 92 percent more likely to re-purchase from that winery in the future. Investing in product sampling is immensely valuable, so ensuring that you have a campaign that is set up for success is the best way to protect your investment.
2. You don’t have local expertise
Product sampling typically takes place face-to-face in a local environment. You could be a globally known brand with an amazing product to share with consumers. Yet that doesn’t mean you have the insights you need to resonate with the audience in that particular market.
Product sampling companies have extensive experience with distributing samples to the people, and they have a deeper understanding of where they live, work and play. Your agency partner can tackle the logistics of getting samples and the brand activation kits to the right place and in ideal condition. For example, when partnering with frozen treat company Yasso, A Little Bird ensured that the brand’s frozen treats stayed cool in the heat of summer, no matter where we executed a sampling event.
An agency partner can also hire and train local brand ambassadors, saving you from the stress of staffing at every stop on your sampling tour.
3. Your current marketing efforts aren’t fruitful
Maybe you’ve invested in a marketing or product sampling strategy, but you aren’t sure what it’s doing for your brand. For many companies, product sampling can be a ‘bread and butter’ tactic to incorporate into an overall marketing mix. But it’s critical to have sampling-specific expertise to identify the most impactful metrics, establish benchmarks, and measure effectiveness.
A product sampling partner will understand how to collect the right data - in other words, the metrics that matter. They can help you measure success and determine what’s working and where you need to make adjustments. The right product sampling agency pairs data science with creativity to achieve ROI.
4. You’re busy, busy, busy
When focusing on larger business objectives and getting pulled into various initiatives, you often find yourself strapped for time. Digging into the nitty gritty of a product sampling campaign — creative, execution, logistics, and evaluation — can be beyond your bandwidth.
Hiring a professional sampling agency to manage the design and execution of your sampling campaign takes the details off your plate. Product sampling companies have teams who understand the strategies that go into product sampling, and they also have tons of experience.
A professional product sampling agency can meet your business needs by:
- Performing industry research related to your product niche
- Creating completely customized sampling campaigns that address your needs and reach your objectives
- Selecting the right sampling strategies and approach
- Incorporating user-generated content and infusing other creative into your campaign
- Integrating product sampling with your existing marketing strategy for cross-channel reach
- Analyzing campaign data to make adjustments that lead to better outcomes for your brand, whether that's to increase brand awareness or grow consumer engagement.
5. You’re in a rut
Getting an outsider look into your current product sampling approach can help you optimize and improve your strategy. A sampling agency’s expert team can provide an abundance of fresh ideas to engage with your audience, often enhancing the approach of an in-house team who is close to the product.
A fresh perspective on your sampling strategy can take you to new places or provide new channels for reaching your core audience. Plus, you know the recommendations come from a valuable perspective - people who are well-versed in the intricacies and specifics of product sampling best practices.
The product sampling company for you: Meet A Little Bird
The team here at A Little Bird offers a variety of experience-driven marketing services, including product sampling. We can help your business accomplish its goals, all while lightening the lift for your team.
Talk to us today so we can show you the difference we can make for your brands. We can’t wait to hear from you!
FAQs
What does a sampling agency cost?
This depends on a variety of factors including how many services you receive, the extent to which you involve a sampling agency, and their individual price points. Any sampling agency you consider working with should be able to provide a quote.
What product types can benefit from product sampling?
Many types of products can take advantage of product sampling campaigns. This includes: beauty, beverages, frozen desserts, protein bars, digital software and more. Some product sampling companies specialize in certain niches, while others provide support for nearly any industry imaginable. By asking the agency specific questions about this upfront, you’ll be able to get an idea of what products they have the most experience with.
Can a product sampling company help me target specific demographics?
Absolutely! This is typically part of the research process that goes into creating a sampling campaign. Whether you want to drive sales, grow brand loyalty, or improve customer engagement, understanding your ideal audience is key.
A professional agency will research your specific target demographic and incorporate insights into your campaign.
What is a typical timeline for executing product sampling campaigns?
This all depends on the length of your campaign and how involved it is. If you want to distribute more samples, say in a national tasting tour instead of in-store in a local market, it will take more time to develop and execute. Brands that want to collect reviews and gather data from participants interacting with their sample products should expect a longer campaign development and execution timeline. However, if you want to run a smaller, simpler campaign, that’ll take less time.