Debbie Fields was only 21 years old when she opened her first Mrs. Fields Cookies store in Palo Alto, California in 1977. Seven short years later, in 1984, the marketing “novice” had 160 stores selling more than $45 million worth of Mrs. Fields Cookies.
There are a lot of lessons we can learn from Debbie’s marketing success. Her passion and determination caused her to succeed even though she had no experience, and was told by friends, family, bankers, and others that her “idea” would not succeed.
The marketing campaign that drew customers to her stores consisted of simply going out into the streets with trays of free cookies for people to sample. If you have a great product, consider finding a way to offer free samples to your customers.
Car dealers know the value of the free test drive, and vendors at local farmers’ markets have learned they sell more produce by offering free samples.
Advertising that you offer free trials or samples also speaks volumes about the confidence you have in your products or services. Mrs. Fields did not wait for customers to come into her store to offer them free samples, she went out into the streets with trays of goodies.
“Free” is one of the most powerful words in advertising and giving samples of your product engages “psychological reciprocity” in the minds of your prospects.
Psychological reciprocity is defined as “a deep-rooted subconscious need to do something for those who do something for us”.
FREE! If you have a product that customers will love, read the 8 Keys to Successful Sampling.
We are experts at helping businesses like yours organize and promote relevant and targeted events to generate psychological reciprocity with your prospects. At Titan Broadcasting and Digital Group, we believe our responsive, on-going communication with our clients is one of the biggest reasons why our partnerships are so successful. Whenever you need us, we’ll be there by your side to answer your questions and help your business grow in any way we can! Contact us today.
