Howdy from Minneapolis! My arrival here (I’m speaking tonight for ASMP-MSP) brought to mind something marketing-related (but then again, almost everything does that, in m head).
When was the last time you got something for free, really free? And when you did get it, did you value it? Not did you appreciate the gesture–did you value the object given for free? Probably not.
These days there are lots of things being called “free” that aren’t. For example, some condos are now offering “free” vacations or cars if you buy a condo. Those items aren’t free. You are paying for them, amortized over the life of your loan. But they look like their free. They are, in fact, no gift.
My “free” cookie I got when I checked in to my hotel here in Minneapolis? Or the shampoos, etc.? It’s all figured into the hotel’s CODB for each guest–you can bet on it. Not free.
But even as “free” to me, do I value the cookie or the shampoo? Nope. Nice to have, but they add nothing to my trip. The fact that I have to sit in the lobby to get “free” wireless internet (or pay $9 to get wired in the room) completely wipes out the “warm-fuzzies” I got from those so-called “freebies.”
If you’re going to offer something “free,” figure it into your CODB and make it something your clients will value. Don’t go broke or reduce the value of your services by doing freebies–“give” in other ways like really cool tshirts or something.
And, importantly, make sure that you don’t wipe out the effectiveness of a “free” gesture by doing something to frustrate/annoy your clients…like not offering free wireless.
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Another note about my travel–I may not have internet access at all from 10/25-28. If you email me in that time, or post a comment (they are moderated for spam), don’t expect anything in reply until after that.
One thing I learned many years ago as a restaurant server: If you goof up a client’s order/service, they walk away happier with a free, tasty dessert than a free, bad meal.