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What Everyone’s Talking About

Forrester study finds retailers struggling to adopt AI despite enthusiasm

A new dawn for maker tech startups

Apple watch: US upholds ban on sale over patent dispute

AI comes to higher education as OpenAI partners with Arizona State University

McKinsey’s 10 key takeaways from Davos 2024

As 2024 election looms, OpenAI says it is taking steps to prevent AI abuse

Samsung’s latest Galaxy phones offer live translation over phone calls, texts

Survey says there’s a 50% chance AI beats humans at all tasks in 20 years

The Crack In The Paywall

No one likes your product

Fact 1: Consumers hate the unknown 

Fact 2: Your product is unknown to most people

Conclusion: Most consumers hate your product (sorry 🤷)

(For a quick read on why people are scared of trying new things, check out this quick read!)

It is the ultimate dilemma for any marketer. How do we get our untapped audience to know our product and feel comfortable spending their money on something new?

Let’s look at an analogy that is a bit removed from the world of marketing.

There are a lot of unknowns when people move to a new city. As a result, they will often rent a home before making any long-term purchases. Why? Because it helps them get a feel for the city without breaking the bank on a bad decision.

But what if there was an alternative to renting? What if you could live in the city - or even the house you’ve been eyeing - for free?

While it might be hard to find someone offering that deal, it would definitely make you feel more comfortable with your decision to make that final purchase.

There’s a lesson hidden in there: people are more willing to put their card down when they know what they’re buying.

So how can we use this to our advantage?

Free. Trials.

I recently debated getting a Youtube Premium subscription, but as with any new purchase, I wasn’t sure if it was worth it.

Youtube Premium offers ad-free videos in addition to Youtube Music and background streaming. It sounds enticing, but is it really worth the $13.99/month? 

There’s no way to really know without trying it first - and since I don’t have any friends willing to share their passwords with me, I decided to look into the free trial.

The free trial is a great way of getting users to try your product and eventually become a paying customer. 

I was able to find out if Youtube Premium was right for me over the course of a month before I even spent a dollar. After that month, I felt the value it offered was great, so Youtube gained a new paying customer - me!

Execution

While they are incredibly effective, free trials have to be executed with care.

The biggest decisions you have to make are the following:

1. Will you ask for credit card info before the trial or after?

2. How long will your trial last?

3. How frequently will you notify your customer about the trial deadline?

While there’s no cut-and-dry approach to any of these decisions, it is important to consider each one in the context of your product and business model - it could cost you a potential paying customer.

Decision #1 - when you ask for payment details can make or break your free trial.

If your goal is to reach as many users as possible and get them to feel comfortable with your product, it makes more sense to not ask for credit card info. It reduces friction and makes it easier for a new customer to try your product.

On the other hand, some companies make their free trial users enter their credit card info to avoid entertaining “tire-kickers”. This way, you will generate more quality leads and have more conversions when the free trial expires.

Here you can find a good breakdown about when to ask for credit card info.

Decision #2 - The length of your trial depends on the type of product you are selling.

If there is a steep learning curve for using your product or service, such as learning a complex SaaS or software, then a longer trial is recommended. If your product and service is easy to use, then a shorter trial will do the trick. It should be long enough to understand its value but short enough to keep them wanting more!

Decision #3 - Follow-ups are the key to conversions.

There is a lot to consider when reminding your customer to actually buy the product - especially if they haven’t yet given you their credit card info.

According to marketing experts, you should send at least one email before the trial expires. This way, you remind the customer that they have an inbound cutoff date. If the duration of the trial is longer than a week, you should be sending more than just one reminder email.

Free trials are an incredibly useful pricing strategy that can multiply your revenue with one quick adjustment. If you haven’t yet integrated them into your customer acquisition strategy, it’s time to start… and if you already have, congrats! You’re one step ahead, but maybe it’s time to shake it up and get even more attentive with how you execute the strategy. Keep an eye out for next week’s edition on packaging.

Week 1: Price Outside the Box
Week 2: Tiered Pricing
Week 3: Free Trials (This week)
Week 4: Packaging

Want to discuss this week’s theme with other readers? Join LoopNation, our free community!

Our big questions being discussed this week are:

1. As a consumer, do you find free trials effective in getting you to adopt a new product?

2. What are some other ways to make your potential customers feel comfortable paying for your product?

Here’s What You’ll Love

📅 Calendar Scan - Scan in any calendar, schedule, or event directly to your phone's calendar from a photo using AI.

📈 DGM - Professional diagrams for the Web and AI.

🧠 Market Mind - Market analysis done in minutes.

🔋 Power Mode - Craft compelling decks in minutes with AI.

🤖 Resolve Bot - An AI solution that streamlines email customer service, providing faster and more accurate responses to customer inquiries especially for ecommerce.

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