In order to determine if your product will be a success in the market, a good idea is to start off with a sample promotional product. A sample promotional product is a product you test to see if it will appeal to your target audience. Companies create these products and give them to consumers to test out before buying. It also gives companies insight on whether their product will be successful in terms of profit.
There are some things to consider when creating a sample promotional product. If you plan on making your product from scratch, having a design/sketch should be made, consider the material your product will be made out of, and the costs such as material, labor, and shipping.
It is also important to consider how you plan to distribute your product. There are two types of sampling: direct and indirect. Direct sampling is when you build relationships with your consumers and have them try out your products by sending it to them. This can be helpful when starting out your business. Your consumers can be people that you already know and have them advertise it to other people and get feedback on whether your product would be successful. As for indirect sampling, it is when you send free samples to the consumer along with their purchase of another product. This is ideal for businesses who already have a product, but want to launch a new one or just want to incentivize their consumers to buy from them again.
There are three components to the psychology of product sampling. There is risk aversion where businesses do not have to invest a lot of money to a potential product and risk their finances. You start off small and if consumers have a positive reaction to the sample product, then more can be invested into the product to increase profit. Also, sampling builds the relationship between the seller and consumer. This builds on the second component of reciprocity. When you, as the seller, offer something to the consumer, they will reciprocate by continuing doing business with you (shopping with you). As for the third component, sentiment allows for the consumer to actually experience the product. They are able to try it out and see if they would be interested in buying it in the future if you plan to move forward with it.
Timing is also very important when sampling your product. Many stores and businesses come out with “seasonal” items that only are bought by an abundance of people based on the time of the year. It can either be because of the weather, certain holidays, and trends. Depending on the type of product you plan to sell, it is important to sample it when you think would be most relevant for the product to be most useful.
Sampling your products is less risky and can save you a lot of money. It also gives you an idea about what your consumers want from you. Being open to feedback on your products is important for success in not only your product, but also your business as a whole.
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