Sample Sales: Close the Sale Before the Taste Begins to Fade

This is the first in a monthly series of articles about product sampling by Laurie Carlson McGrath, director of marketing with Schaumburg, IL-based marketing services firm PromoWorks.

You’re in the supermarket. While shopping, you are engaged by a demonstrator who offers you a sample and briefly shares the features and benefits of this new product.

You taste it. You like it. You think, "A nice change from my current brand." Then the demonstrator informs you that you can find this featured product over in aisle 14.

What just happened? A huge opportunity was missed to close the sale! While you continue to shop the aisles, the taste slowly fades, and so does the impulse to buy. Will it still be top of mind by the time you have picked up all the other items on your list and find yourself nearing aisle 14?

Maybe, maybe not.

When it comes to moving consumers from "try it" to "buy it," we know that getting the product into their mouths doesn’t always ensure that it will end up in their shopping carts. So how can you best capitalize on the impulse to buy before the taste begins to fade? Assuring that ample product inventory is available at the point of consumer contact can dramatically boost product sales during in-store events.

Store managers, however, have the final say on where a demo table is set-up in their stores, and it may not be near an existing product display. More often than not, the sampling station is not near where the product is merchandised.

Working with manufacturers and retailers to accomplish this easily and consistently was the key driver in the creation of PromoWorks’ PromoDisplay Kit (PDK), an in-store demo kit that transforms into an instant display unit. The PDK effectively guarantees a product display right next to the sampling station simply because it is part of the demo kit that each demonstrator walks into the store with on the day of the demo. The demonstrator sets it up. Here’s a case of out-of-the-box thinking that led us to rethink what’s in the box.

Kellogg was one of our first clients to use the PromoDisplay Kit, for the introduction of its Eggo Syrup with the new "no drip spout" packaging. The PDK was included as a test--some stores had the PromoDisplay Kit, and some stores did not. After the data was compiled, it revealed a 20% increase in sample conversion in the stores with the PDK compared with the stores without it.

More significantly, during the past two years we’ve confirmed that using the kit generated an average 30% increase in product sales on the day of the demo over and above the lift achieved from sampling alone. This performance average is consistent across all product categories from breakfast foods to oral care.

The point of sampling is to set the stage for the "aha!" moment when the consumer decides to buy. A pleasing product presentation, an informative demonstrator, and visually compelling displays appeal to the senses--but making sure the consumer can reach for the product at that moment closes the sales cycle sooner and more often. And isn’t it all about moving more product off the shelf and into the shopping cart?

Looking ahead
Sampling has changed dramatically during the past decade: Marketers demand increased ROI, there’s the continual challenge to differentiate in innovative ways, and there’s the need for total accountability throughout the entire promotion process. Manufacturers and retailers alike have benefited from it.

I look forward to sharing with you each month what’s happening in the ever-evolving world of sampling, and what we continue to learn. We’ve definitely proven that taking in-store tactics to the next level can drive better results. But in-store is just one piece of the whole sampling industry--and many nongrocery channels are now offering exciting sampling venues too. The opportunities are endless.