Free trials are frequently used as a tactic to get sign ups or sales.  But how powerful are they and do they really contribute to growing a loyal customer base?

I think it totally depends on the product or service you’re selling.

In some sectors or industries you can’t avoid it, but in other sectors you’ll devalue your offer.

I’ve taken up many free offers or free trials in the past but, because they’re free, they usually don’t give me much value and my enthusiasm wanes pretty quickly.  Then, once the free trial period is up, I cancel.

Or, to be more accurate, what usually happens is that after a couple of months I suddenly realise that I’m being charged for a service I’ve used about half a dozen times and then I cancel..!

In my experience the problem with free trials is that they usually don’t offer me anything outstanding - hence my interest waning quickly.

If a free trial offered me something that I just couldn’t live without then I’d gladly pay once the free trial was over.

However, I’ve yet to come across a free trial that does that!

On the other hand services for which I pay a fee, from the outset, I evaluate much more carefully.  I’ll pay a lot of attention to them and get as much benefit as I can.

The result of that is that I definitely benefit more and, in some cases, the service benefits more because of my input, commitment and, in some cases, my promotion of it as an affiliate.

One interesting business sector to watch is the social networking sites sector.  Offering free membership is pretty much mandatory for a social network site.

But that’s a tough market - new social sites are popping up every day and, to me, they need to find a way of generating real ongoing revenue if they’re to survive and prosper over the long term.

They’re going to have to find a way of breaking free of Free.

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