Consider the Free Trial Offer

You’ve probably taken advantage of an offer like this yourself, at least once in your life. The free trial offer allows the customer to try out the product for a limited amount of time to see if they like it before they have to pay for it. This kind of offer instills confidence in the customer because they can try before they buy to make sure the product will perform the way it is supposed to. Although free trial offers are often used to market software, you can use this type of pricing strategy to market a variety of products and services.

Some Free Trial Offers Require Credit Card Information

Some free trial offers require the customer to enter credit card information so that their account will automatically be charged if they do not cancel after the free trial period expires. This is probably the way most free trial offers work because marketers feel they have a better chance of keeping the customer if the customer has to do nothing for the offer to continue. Alternatively, if you do not require credit card information up front, then the customer may use the product or service for the free trial period and then never enter their credit card information in order to continue. Also, since many customers may not have a credit card or even a debit card, they won’t be able to continue with the product or service past the free trial offer anyway.

It is completely up to you as to which strategy you want to use however, with today’s economic dynamic, it is not difficult for customers to obtain prepaid debit cards that they can use to shop online. So even if they don’t have one to begin with, if they want your product or service bad enough, they can usually obtain one. You might even try split testing the offer to see how many customers you can retain by offering the free trial offer with and without requiring credit or debit card information.

Some Free Trial Offers Offer Limited Functionality

Often, free trial offers provide only limited functionality, especially if the product is a software product. Customers who use the free trial version may not be able to do all the things the paid version offers. This is also often the case with membership sites where the free version offers a limited access. Look closely at the products and services you are marketing to see whether or not your business could benefit from offering a free trial version of whatever it is you have to offer. This can be a great way to bring in new customers who may not be sure your product will meet their needs. Letting them try it for free, even with limited functionality, provides a valuable service to customers and opens the door for you to gain more customers.