the psychology of free why do people love free stuff buy one get one free apply for membership
today for free would you like to try a free sample if you love getting things for free give
this video a thumbs up if not give it a dislike we've all heard or seen these offers when we've
gone to shopping malls and grocery stores at some point they're always appealing to the eyes such
that it's so hard to resist but before we get to understand the reason behind why we're so drawn to
these offers let's have a look at the different types of free that you might have come across
one buy one get one free this is likely the most popular type of free where you buy one product
that's priced lower free of cost consumers generally love the idea of getting something
for buying certain items but end up buying a lot more than they intended to begin with
two free trials this is where the customer is allowed to sample a product or service
for free for a certain period of time netflix and amazon prime are one of these services and offer
you a free trial for a month with the option to cancel at your choosing people like this offer
because they can enjoy streaming movies and shows free of charge without any commitments 3. free
terms and conditions applied in this case when a product is offered to you for free it usually
comes with a catch that is so attractive that you as the customer cannot refuse this type of free
usually works on the principle of commitment once customers are finally enticed by the free gift
they are more often than not willing to spend money and buy things that they don't necessarily
need just to acquire the product 4. freemium freemium is an internet-based business model where
basic services are provided freely but charges are brought on additional premium features that can
enhance the user's experience considerably this is implemented mostly across games such as candy
crush fortnite and temple run among others where the game is accessible to everyone but certain
features can be purchased for a better experience 5. giveaways giveaways entice customers with free
products in exchange for subscription and people comply knowing that they'll be rewarded in return
the subscription in itself is a great way to get potential consumers who eventually enable
the business to grow this technique is often used by influencers on youtube and instagram
to widen their audience why is free so appealing for one the product received as a free sample is
something you don't pay for it doesn't cost you a single penny and the mere thought of getting it at
no charge at all makes you more willing and ready to spend money to get it just because you get more
than you actually paid for according to dan ariely's book predictably irrational people change
their behavioral patterns and are more willing to follow suit when something free comes along free
isn't simply an indicator of price it's often a very powerful emotional trigger that's so hard to
resist that it makes people bring home meaningless keychains and buy pants that are a bit too tight
just so they can get an extra pair at no cost the emotion that the word free evokes is referred to
as the zero price effect so basically when a customer pays for something they calculate the
risks involved meticulously in order to prevent any foreseeable dissatisfaction they might
encounter but when it comes to a free product you have no expectations at all free things are
considered to have a higher value because the risk of dissatisfaction and value of money is excluded
also free goods and services give a big boost to business companies like amazon often entice their
customers into adding almost twice as much or more into their carts before checking out so that the
shipping can be done free of cost this strategy often promotes the company's entire business model
all in all different reasons may account for people's inclination towards free stuff
but it is clear that emotion plays a huge role a positive charge is experienced when one is offered
a free gift and this sensation of joy is likely to have a big impact on the subsequent choice
truly the chance of receiving a freebie may seem like a rare reward in a world where people have
to pay to visit public toilets we've seen how free stuff affects you as the customer but how
does the power of free affect businesses the word free triggers a response from us that's different
than any other transaction we hear in the business world to marketers free draws a user's attention
to where they want them to go on a specific page and entice users to move forward why because our
brains are tuned to love the feeling of getting something for nothing a free product comes with
three things low expectations hey it's free natural preceptors what's the worst that could
happen positive impressions if the product proves to be great a neutral preceptor can turn into a
positive impression for a business how exactly does free bring in more business businesses are
sometimes reluctant to give something away because giving something away for free
costs the business money and that would probably keep them further from attaining their goal
however it's been proven time and time again that advertising a popular freebie can actually result
in a rise in sales the penny gap the psychology behind the penny gap explains that a consumer
will find the barrier between a penny and free greater than the same value of a product they may
declare of more value and less than a commodity an experiment conducted from chris anderson's book
free the future of the radical price a chocolate kiss and a chocolate were brought to the table
in the experiment the kiss was offered for a penny and the truffle went for 18 cents
it turned out that most of the consumers chose the truffle over the kiss however when the price
of the truffle was changed to a penny and the kiss became free the exact opposite occurred the
reason why consumers valued the truffle in the beginning even though the kiss was only a penny
was because chocolate kisses are found everywhere while chocolate truffles aren't and so the truffle
was deemed a better value it was only until the chocolate kiss became free that the consumers
found the real value a giveaway can have a similar effect for a company when it hands out giveaways
like 100 free personalized merchandise for subscribing to their newsletter the user sees the
subscription as gold because they know they will be receiving free stuff in return the cost of the
free merchandise is what the company will have to give up but in exchange what the company gains is
new subscribers who will be mailed the newsletter regularly which in turn can be shifted from new
potential customers to real ones the psychology behind free the whole appeal behind free lies
in the principle of reciprocity where one feels obligated to return the favor bestowed on them
by complying with the other person according to arieli reciprocity is an extremely strong instinct
so when a certain brand does something nice for its customers they feel a strong need to
do something for them in return if something is offered for free and there's a good reason for it
consumers will enjoy it it is for this reason that food samples go around the aisles at supermarkets
at the back of their minds they know that accepting a free sample will lead them into
buying a whole box or package and that's fine by them if they love the samples offered likewise
when it comes to offers where customers are given free gifts for spending a certain amount of money
they feel rewarded the free gift is considered a reward for spending more than the amount they
originally intended to spend this also explains why buy one get one free offers are more popular
among consumers in any industry hidden costs in consumer's quest for zero priced options people
often disregard a range of hidden costs to quote arieli we often pay too much when we pay nothing
this statement seems counterintuitive surely it isn't possible to overspend on free stuff right
however most people fail to recognize that giveaways hardly come completely free in most
cases there is a catch many marketing offers for example involve a minimum spending condition which
requires customers to purchase items in order to be qualified to get a gift other offers vouchers
for specific stores included are designed to lure you into different stores which expose you to new
products and services and thereby coax you into buying extra items while you're there
and lastly every freebie consequently requires a personal investment sometimes a signature or even
an email address is all it takes in other cases you may be required to take part in an activity
such as watching ads or commercial videos and this makes you think of one critical question at what
point do the hidden costs outweigh the objective value of the free item reverse psychology of free
it doesn't come as a surprise with an increasing doubtful consumer base that the word free has
gradually begun to lose its charm the reason behind this is that people begin to question the
value and worth of a product when it is handed to them free of charge what's wrong with the product
why are they giving it away for free what's the catch the consumers begin to become wary of the
product itself excessive advertising and defects have stripped away the appeal of a free gift it's
reached a point where even if brands do want to give away items for free that will likely promote
their business it is met with criticism this is why many brands try to make their offers come out
as exciting as possible so that their customers will enter into business with them therefore it's
important that the free product has a good enough reason to be free so that the customer is drawn to
the deal instead of being skeptical about it so what's the bottom line customers are important
to any business and they're an integral part of their success too giving away products for free
not only improves the consumers overall perception of the business but it also serves
as a great means to acquire new customers using the principle of reciprocity to the
consumers getting something for close to nothing evokes an emotion it just feels much better
free products like gifts and in most cases also positive influence their outlook on a business
inspiring loyalty among existing customers while simultaneously gaining new and potential customers
well that's it for the video if you liked it please do give it a thumbs up and subscribe if
you're new to the channel with that said have a great day guys and i'll see you in the next one