Choosing Your Sampling Partner
Product sampling is an important part of getting your brand out in front of customers, spreading awareness and gathering valuable feedback on your products. But it can be tricky to get it right. Without proper planning or support, you can easily go over budget, miss key opportunities and even miss out on any return on investment. So choosing the right sampling partner can mean the difference between a smashingly successful product demonstration and a flop. But how do you choose the right partner to work with?
What Should You Look For In A Sampling Partner?
The best product sampling teams will work with your own internal teams, both on-premises and during off-site strategizing, to create the best plans to achieve your goals using sampling. Whether that’s increasing brand recognition, boosting demand for products or gaining more of an insight into your market, they will be there to support you at every step. Particularly, you want to find a sampling company who:
Understands product sampling psychology: The best product sampling campaigns will identify the target customer’s needs, and then position the product and the sampling to address those concerns. They will understand that the customer is looking for a product that is available, at the right cost and fits their preference. Your sampling partner will also be able to attract people to the demo with the right branding and ambassadors, harnessing all 5 senses to entice customers in. Understanding that by giving something for free, the customer will feel obligated to give something back, is another important element of sampling psychology they need to understand, as the give-and-take nature of free samples is good for the brand and the customer.
Has built a portfolio of sampling case studies: It’s easy to say you’re successful, but a good sampling partner will have data to back it up. They will be able to provide you with case studies of their successful work with customers, and share with your ideas of what might not work in your industry. Case studies are an excellent way to make complex concepts simple, and can show you how the company runs their sampling campaigns, and analyses the results. This gives you a good overview of their knowledge, success and experience in one go.
Takes methodical steps in campaign development: You want any campaign you spend money on to bring you results. But those results don’t happen by accident. They’re a result of strategic planning, and taking methodical steps in every phase of campaign development. You should look for a sampling partner who understands determining target audience, choosing brand ambassadors, designing stands, telling the product story and sharing the product with customers. Not only that, but they will be able to demonstrate that with their reporting and post-demonstration information.
Questions To Ask Prospective Sampling Partners
If you’re looking for a product sampling partner, you will likely have a few lined up to talk to. Being confident that you’re making the right decision is key, so here are a few key questions to ask to make sure you’re getting the right partner for you.
- Have you worked in my target market, or with my products before?
- What metrics will you provide me post-campaign?
- Do you have tools to help us measure ROI?
- Will you provide staff for the event?
- How do you train brand ambassadors to know my product?
- Do you provide a dedicated account manager?
- What campaign planning services do you provide?
- Do you have an in-house team to help create a fully-branded experience?
To discover how Fizz Experience can direct your next product sampling campaign – from identifying your target consumer to increasing brand recognition, contact us for more information. We run a complete end-to-end service that provides planning and strategy, boots-on-the-ground activity and full analysis and reports, so you know you’re getting the most out of each and every sampling campaign. We specialise in designing and delivering high-quality in-store demos that helps brands and retailers increase sales, footfall and customer loyalty. You can view our case studies here, or contact us to book your free consultation.