Home : Free for a tea party

Free for a tea party

Posted by Josef Katz on 1/6/2008 at 12:00 PM
Posted in Word of Mouth Marketing

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The word free is very powerful in marketing. Free samples and trials are effectively used to get people to try something new. The theory is that if you try something and like it you will buy more of that product or service.

The other day I was in the mall and passed by a store named Teavana. They had some tea pots with free samples in their doorway. I stopped and tasted the different flavored teas because the smell and sounds coming out of the store were welcoming (and I was a little thirsty). The tea was great so I went in to discover what else this store offered. I ended up staying in the store for a half hour. So what was so great about a free tea sample?

It was not just about the tea. In Seth Godin’s term it was the marketing lie. I told myself this was great tea because of the full experience (sounds, sights, smell, environment etc). The staff was extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and entertaining. The information available in the store was educational and interesting. The staff wanted you to taste different teas, ask questions and smell all the tins of teas. While in the store you forgot you were in a busy mall and felt relaxed. The whole experience almost had me buying a fancy tea pot to brew my own tea and I am not normally a tea drinker. I ended up buying a great cup of tea, spending time on the company website, and telling 30+ people about the store and overall experience. Not a bad return on their investment. All this ‘free’ marketing from a free tea sample.

This experience left me thinking about the free items we use at Trump U such as our free report on buying a business.

What can you give away for free? Can you make the experience remarkable in the process?

And yes I will be going back for more tea and possibly a tea pot. Got to run it is almost tea time somewhere...

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