14Jul 21 Is “Free Trial” Bad for Your Business?

The words such as giveaways, freebies, free bonanza, attract people and also announce your brand. Try us out!

Free Trial is an investment, and like any investment, it could be a good one or a bad one. And now, it depends upon you which way you want to flip it.

Free trials alone can never guarantee sustainable growth. But is winning customers enough for your business growth? Indeed not! You need to add value to their life and work and retain to flourish your business.

The word trial means— a test of the performance, qualities, or suitability of someone or something. The Oxford Dictionary says so. It originated from the Latin word “triallum.” This word also shows the relationship between the sounds and similarities of Latin and Sanskrit.
Words evolve naturally, turning triallum to trial and Shivam to Shiva. We have dropped the sound “am and um” with time. Anyway, enough etymology!

We all should keep the standard definition of trial in our minds while offering a free trial. It’s not a tool for temptation.

The word “free” creates curiosity in our minds – as if we were special. But, if you only generate heaps of curiosity, you will soon see your customers going away.
A successful trial is the one that delivers value and satisfaction. And make them come on board or associate with you. You can’t hook them! A trial reveals the difference you can make. If you fail to deliver on these expectations, your mission moon will perish soon!

An old proverb, “curiosity killed a cat, but satisfaction brought it back!” always fits in this context.

Companies are getting more active online than they were ever before. Modern marketing cannot succeed without the involvement of digital marketing. Every company strives its optimum to get maximum engagement and traction online. In a highly competitive era, data is always at hand. However, when it’s come to gaining first-hand experience, nothing can beat a free trial.

It enables you to display a 360-view of your business or services. A free trial helps you demonstrate vital attributes such as attention to detail, flexibility, exceptions, customer service, and work improvisation to your clients.

Indeed, online reviews and testimonials do help a business to present itself excellently to its clients. But, the integrity of reviews is depleting with time. It’s because reviews can be purchased, influenced, and manipulated. Therefore, the advances of the free trial will bear fruits for you in the time ahead.

Your trials provide you with an advantage if your rivals don’t offer them. If they do, check their strategies. Outline your free trial accordingly. Make it transparent, easy and hassle-free. It should smoothly lead your customers to foster a long-term relationship.

Besides, you can also offer Freemium, where you provide basic products, services, or features that will be free; however, your customers need to pay more for additional features. Many companies, e.g., Canva, Grammarly, etc., have this sales strategy.

Indeed, you will need to deal with idea scoopers, scammers, and free-trial hoppers; however, you paint every potential customer with the same brush. It’s part and parcel of the business. To minimize spam, you can set up a minimal authentication verification cost.

Example — Our usual hourly subscription is USD 8/hr. Enjoy 5 hours of our premium trial @ US$ 5 (original cost: US$40). We have some other plans, too, wherein the higher your subscription plan, the more discounted rate you get. But this is our premium trial structure.

Pure intent of assistance

Often people go for a half-yearly or annual subscription without predicting their upcoming workload or requirements. Later, they want to roll over or don’t know what to do with the subscription. They get drawn to offers instead of service quality.

If your majority of clients feel so, then you must look into your sales funnels and promotion. Otherwise, you may see some pitfalls in your business soon. It’s a toxic situation for any client and company to work together.

Allow your clients not to squander time, money, and neurons in vain.

After paying, customers should enjoy ease, not hassle. They shouldn’t ponder endlessly over whether to delegate or not. These clouds of doubts shroud the prospect of any fruitful business association in an ambiguous shadow.

A tempting deal can make clients act fast. But “Free Trial” or any trial enables you to build trust, confidence, and coherence in any business association.

Summary: Free trials can prove to be a boon or a bane for your company. It depends on how you plan to design the trial. Customer experience regarding the product or service plays a major role. Offering the right experience decides whether the trial is good or bad for your business. It’s a first step towards the possibility of a significant business association but not the last step.

Want any assistance setting up a free trial? Write in the comment section or contact us at [email protected]