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6/13/2010

Marketing Monday: Gift With Purchase

Many articles on promotion include lots of things a seller can do to make a customer feel satisfied with their purchase: a quality product, great customer service, a thank you card ...
The cosmetic industry heavily uses a 'gift with purchase' to entice customers to shop, as well as to come back.

photo of Estée Lauder

The practice began with Estee Lauder. In the 1920s and 1930s, she offered beauty parlor customers a dollop of free cream on wax paper. The idea grew in the 1950s, because of a tight advertising budget. The Lauders "hoped sampling would create a more direct & personal connection with consumers."

Cosmetic Counter

"The giveaways & the later gift-with-purchase that Estée pioneered created an opportunity to exercise Lauder's sales approach, encourage spontaneous buying, & increase customer loyalty."
"Competitors began to copy the innovation. By the late 1960s, most major cosmetics firms regularly used the gift-with-purchase to drive traffic to their counters, and this practice remains an important tool today in marketing beauty products."

We can use this same giveaway or gift-with-purchase practice to build customer loyalty to our own shops. What some Etsy Trashion members are giving away:
  • Jodi of tubbytabby surprises her customers with a little something unexpected.
  • Tammy of junck also likes to surprise her customers with a photo or stickers.
  • Pam of remaker adds Matchbook Notebooks, stickers, Etsy buttons, & also % off coupons for a customer's next purchase.
  • Jackie of urbanartifaks includes recycled notebooks & jewelry pouches made from recycled t-shirts for her pendants.
  • Rhonda of oddartist collaborates with other Etsy sellers to swap small promotional items. These items will then be sent out to a more diverse group of buyers.
What do you give away?

source & photo credits: Harvard Business School

7 comments:

Gussie Gurl said...

I probably give away way too much, but I love the element of surprise. And my customer always show their appreciation of the wonderful gift they have received.

kimmy said...

i try to give away a sample item from one of my shops. if a customer buys jewelry i will add a paper rose from my other shop. plus i always add an etsy promo, like a pin or bumper sticker with the etsy logo. the customer response has been very good.

www.bellavioletta.etsy.com
www.bellaviolettavintage.etsy.com
www.izzabellarose.etsy.com

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

I giveaway a voucher for 10% off the next purchase. All my packaging is recyclable and the customer also gets an awesome re-usable handsewn (by me) padded envelope/jiffy bag made out of an ordnance survey map and discarded bubble wrap. The customer feedback is always good and I like the fact that I am semi-consciously spreading an eco-friendly message.

http://www.oblue.etsy.com

BPR Designs said...

I also like to include a little surprise...like a sample bar of soap with one of my soap dishes, or a handmade glass magnet. At various times of the year, I also include a % off on next purchase coupon.

thatsmart said...

I love the coupon for % off the next purchase idea! How do you adjust the price to accommodate them?

Ginny the Sock Monkey said...

I do a coupon but haven't tried freebies. I think I'll give it a shot! Maybe some little bracelets, or a lavender satchel.