Her Magazine

.............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. Free has no value .............................. ............................. but complimentary does .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. ............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. .............................. ............................. The value of free? Zilch! Let's be clear, there really is no value in free. If you saw a sign outside a café offering free pies, what would your immediate perception of the food on offer be? You probably wouldn't want to eat one, so even the fact that you won't be each ???, you may be more likely. Now if that same sign said "Gourmet Pies $7.00 each", you may be even more tempted to purchase one because $7 for a pie is a little steep so they must be good, right? It's the perceived value of something that you are giving away that is important and free doesn't appeal to everyone.Take a seminar that you would like to attend. Free tickets could make you think that the seminar might not be that good, or if you don't actually turn up at the given time, you haven't lost anything so there is less commitment from you to attend. Think about if the tickets were $10 each, what would be your reaction to that? Mine is that the organizer is simply trying to cover the costs of the curled up sandwiches they might provide and is almost as bad as free. The same seminar at $75 per ticket has my interest; there is definitely an expectation of real value at this price and going even higher to over $200 my expectations are extremely high. You can make giving something away as a freebie a lot more special if you position it correctly, and by that I mean the wording. If you were to receive theatre tickets complimentary from a supplier say, you would feel like you have been singled out, something special just for you and a select few others, and whilst it is actually free, the value of the event is still intact. Complimentary works. Also, if you do decide to offer something for free, make sure it is appropriate to the original product or service. For instance, $800 worth of complimentary fuel with your new car is a much better match than say a free iPad that has no relation to the original product. Free has no value, but complimentary does. Linda Coles www.bluebanana.co.nz www.h e rmagaz in e .co.n z | 27

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