The Value Of Free

Free incentives to get you to stop and take a look...no harm...but what I see when I stop, should be worth the value of my time.  Example, while walking Main Street in Bozeman, MT a couple of weeks ago with a friend, a lovely shop keeper invited us into her natural gems jewelry store and offered us some mulled wine while we looked around.  Now if her product had been junk, her offer would have provided neither her nor us with value...in fact she would have lost money.  Since it was cold outside, and a girls' day out, we took her up on her offer and enjoyed the lovely beverage while she showed us her jewelry and shared her knowledge with us about the beautiful stones...and yes, she made a sale.  Our time has value...and what people are hiding behind the curtain of their veiled offers better have value as well if they expect to catch the sale.

Michael there are a lot of FREE Loaders out there.... I am sure they will miss the Free feeding at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Bristol Farms to name a few... with the virus impending I expect this to go to the wayside.... after all Free is not always Free, Endre

Yes, and great context here.  I have found that my FREE SEO course has been very helpful for bloggers and very helpful for me to bring in new targeted subscribers.  And, it's passive for me w/ sales funnel that is working.  Similar idea to Barbara's, but mine's more passive as it's automated.  I'm sure Barbara's team has their own funnel.  Otherwise, she wouldn't do it.

The word FREE attracts most consumers who are curious to what is FREE, however, if the FREE offer isn't useful or could save consumers money, most consumers after looking at the FREE offer would simply move on, wouldn't you? So, it depends on the FREE offer, doesn't it, whether the FREE offer has immediate value? It's about 20 second to determine if the Free offer is worth investing more time to get the details of the FREE offer, so IMO, FREE works with most consumers.

Hi Michael:

Intriguing post for pondering. If I don't want something, or need it, being free simpy doesn't matter, nor will it convince me I need it unless I see the value.

Jeff

The longer I live the more I understand that FREE is not free. Thanks for the insight!

It is interesting that we give away market valuations which take a few hours to prepare...still, it's one of the best seller prospecting tools I am aware of.   

I actually married my husband about a year and a half after doing one for him!

Free sometimes loses its value! So just be selective!

I wondered...how often does "free" become an incentive?  Hmm...is there value?   Worth my time to read the offer?  Worth my energy to engage and learn more? 

A great perspective as always...

Another week bites the dust Michael Jacobs 

Insightful post.   Pondering free.....hmmmm.  You're right that some just go for the "free" stuff and then their decision is 50% there.  If they like something then they'll be at 75%.  The last 25% is a waffle.  If a spouse or SO also likes it you get to the 90 yard line!

Michael,

As always, a thoughtful and insightful post. My colleague says a saying in her culture is "free is the most expensive thing".

Loving coming back and reading the comments this time, Michael. I do use the term 'complimentary' and don't feel like that gives the same connotation to readers.