Sampling, demos: Key differentiators

Given the array of products and brands available to the customer, it is imperative that marketers innovate
With more brands entering and mushrooming across all categories, companies will try and use innovative ways to demonstrate and sample their product offerings.


From the traditional method of sampling by way of free sachets, free tasting, and so on, clients have become more dynamic and have brought in a new dimension and thinking to generate trials and sales by sampling and demos. They have devised interesti ng ways of bringing the customer close.
A few years ago, a battery brand participated in a toy exhibition to generate awareness and increase trials of its product. One would wonder what the battery brand was doing at a toy exhibition. But it was clever strategy as the brand connected well with the exhibition and succeeded in generating awareness about the product. One could come up with more such exciting examples. For example, a glass company participating in a furniture exhibition. The glass brand would stand out as the odd product at the exhibition and as a result could generate good traffic to the glass products. With a competitive market environment it is time for marketers to look at newer means to touch the customer. Sampling, demos cut across product categories
Sampling has, over the years, become a powerful marketing tool that allows the customer to try or feel the product. When one goes to a sweet shop during festivals, the salesman invites his customer to taste the range on display and then make a decision to buy the sweet of one’s choice. Basically, this reassures one that he or she has made the right decision in buying a certain product. Here the customer is happy and the sale is closed.
Today, sampling has moved ahead of the times. While planning to buy a house or a flat, one goes through various brochures and leaflets. While such literature gives the prospective buyer some idea about the flat, the customer will be more comfortable if he or she could actually visit the site and inspect the apartment or flat. This is where the builders have effectively created sample flats to bring the customer close, so that he or she knows how the final product would look.
The customer gets to know everything starting with how big the flat is, to the kind of amenities and material that would be used in the flat.
The same also holds good with home textile brands. Given the array of products and colours available in home furnishing brands, sellers are trying to demonstrate their products by actually displaying furnishing brands in a room, complete with all the accessories, so as to show the customer how the products really look in a bedroom or living room. Today’s customers are seeking more value for what they buy and they want to be 100 per cent sure before buying a product and a brand.
Today, if you want to change your floor tiles, or the tiles and fittings in your bathroom, you should visit the nearest showroom. Tile and sanitary fittings showrooms of many leading brands actually display sample bathrooms with the right colours and fittings, to give the customer a first-hand look and feel of the product in terms of colour, design and aesthetics. At the end of the day, the customer gets enough time to mull over the options available before deciding on what to buy. At many book shops, customers are given a cosy space to browse through the selection available before making their choice. Marketers take sampling and demos seriously
In the good old days, automobiles were purchased purely on the strength of word of mouth. As there were few brands and the waiting period was long, there was never any question about the need to test drive or demonstrate the automobile, be it a bike or a four-wheeler. Today, buyers in this category insist that they test drive the brand. Especially when the investment is high, the customer is keen to get to know more about the product. Exploiting this trend, some airports have rented out display space to automobile brands. This is good strategy, as one is able to tap the right audience.
In fact, the other day, I had gone to buy a bicycle for my eight-year-old daughter. While she was aware of a few brand names, my little one was keen to ride the bicycles available before she made her decision. Believe me, she tried out three brands before making her choice. That quick trial and test ride basically reassured my daughter that she had made the correct decision. The customer today seeks complete satisfaction before buying.
New ideas and innovations will drive sampling
With more brands entering and mushrooming across all categories, companies will try and use innovative ways to demonstrate and sample their product offerings. Especially with the advent of malls and luxury malls where the customer has to shell out good money, the role of demos and sampling will spur the sale of brands. If kids can be so intelligent as to ask for a test ride, then brands and companies will have to bring in newer methods of sampling and demonstration to attract all types of audience across product categories. Some insight for cycle companies: Cycle brands should sell their brands at school grounds after the final exams so that kids get to test ride and pester their parents to buy one.
There are enough new opportunities and vehicles for sampling and demos, be it snack food or luxury products. The Deccan Odyssey, the luxury train, has served as the venue for a fashion show. What an opportunity to demonstrate the latest trends in fashion clothing and accessories! The beautiful bar inside the train could be a great opportunity to launch a premium champagne or Scotch.
The Saturn Aura is a new car that recently launched in the US. Instead of just allowing potential customers to test drive a single model, the manufacturer had the three leading competitors also available for a test drive and comparison alongside. Now that’s truly daring and a brilliant strategy to demonstrate your product.
To be successful, marketers must keep the customer engaged with sampling and demos. With more malls and shopping complexes coming up across the country, the retail space is getting crowded. In this scenario, it is innovative demonstration and sampling that will differentiate products and brands in the consumer’s mind.



V.GANAPATHY