This article will help you choose the suitable method of sampling for your product so that it delivers the expected benefits.
Sampling – what is it?
Sampling means distributing free samples or publicity materials. It gives you a chance to reach potential customers, build a brand, develop trust, awareness as well as a brand-customer relationship.
Customers can test your product and decide to purchase it. Thanks to sampling, even if the person doesn’t become interested in the given product, the brand is remembered as customer-friendly as it reaches to them with its products, providing them with a chance to test them for free. It may be a decisive factor in favour of your brand during future shopping. Sampling is a very good way to create your image.
In order to create an effective sampling campaign, you need to define the main assumptions and goals of sampling and adjust it to the suitable method that will allow you to reach your potential customers.
Types of sampling:
There are two types of sampling: target and mass.
Target sampling is aimed at a specific audience, singled out based on, for example, age or gender. It can also be narrowed down to a specific group based on their shopping preferences. You can do it by adding your sample to a different product, directly related to yours, for example a sample of breakfast cereals added to a carton of milk. Thus, you can be sure to reach potential consumers of your product. This type of sampling opens a possibility to reach a narrow and targeted group of potential consumers of the product. It can be used for a specific cosmetic product, such as a cream for women over 40. By sending a sample to the target group, you have the same chance to increase its sales as in the case of mass sampling (which we’ll describe in a second), but the cost of the initiative is lower.
Mass sampling doesn’t focus on a specific target group but is based on a wide distribution of samples. This type of sampling can be used for food products, such as tea, as there’s no defined group of customers among whom the product would become popular.
A well-matched sampling method translates into well-invested money
Sampling is used mainly to introduce new products or their new versions to the market or reposition your brand. It can also be part of marketing campaigns aimed at building your image. Good sampling not only brings you recognition, but also familiarises audiences with the quality of your product.
What’s also important is the choice of packaging to promote the product during the sampling campaign. Therefore, the packaging should stand out and make a good first impression on the customer who’s getting the sample.
A well-matched sampling method will allow you to limit the cost of the entire initiative compared to the advantages it offers. First, you should consider who’ll be the target audience for your product, who it’s aimed at – a specific customer or a mass? What do you want to get through sampling? Do you want to build brand awareness or introduce a new product to the market? Let’s assume you’re a new company on the cosmetics market. Your offer includes a wide range of products, but you start the campaign with samples of one specific product. You can then opt for the mass sampling – thus, you’ll guarantee your brand awareness. If you enter the market and target only one group of customers, you won’t spark interest in the products aimed at a different audience.
What should you stick to in order to run a successful sampling campaign?
Why do we like sampling? Because we can test products without additional costs and see if they suit our preferences. Thus, when we buy a new product, we’re sure that it appeals to us and we won’t spend money needlessly. It’s also a chance for the brand to get new customers interested in their product, even those who didn’t plan to buy it, but got captivated by the sample.
You now know how important it is to select the right type of sampling to achieve the expected results. Defining the assumptions is a good first step to prepare a sampling campaign. Another key element is its quality. Products of poor quality may impact the image of the whole brand and have the opposite effect.
Summary
Summing up, the type of sampling depends on the effect that you want to achieve and the defined goals. One method will be used in case of a product targeted at a specific group and another for a product offered on a large scale.
Burgopak Poland can help you run an effective sampling campaign. Contact us – for years we’ve designed and produced packaging for companies in Poland and internationally.
Sources:
https://poradnikhandlowca.com.pl/artykuly/zasady-efektywnego-samplingu
https://www.bankier.pl/wiadomosc/Jak-sampling-wspiera-sprzedaz-1515034.html
