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60 Time-Tested Marketing Offers

What type of offers from marketers do you respond to?

For me, I love free bags from fashion magazines subscriptions, and free cosmetics from beauty brands. I also love free shipping and discount coupons I get from retailers. I also love the rewards program of retailers as well as all the discounts I can get. Basically, I love anything that can save me money.

As a marketer, there are a wide number of offers that you can offer your customers to increase response, average amount per sale, and increase transactions. Whether free stuff, rebates, free shipping or guarantees, here are some of these time tested marketing offers:

1. Freebies or bonus products = buy the product and get other products for free; such as ebook sellers offering 10 bonuses in addition to the ebook
2. Free gift card = typically subject to purchase of x amount of items. Example is
3. Free trial = allowing the consumer to test, try and use the product for free. Cosmetic companies do this by giving away smaller (trial) sizes of their products
4. Free subscription
5. Free downloads = software companies allow users to download and use the software for x number of times/days before the trial period expires and a paid version must be purchased
6. Complementary in-home consultation = offered by service businesses wherein the business will offer the first visit/consultation for free.
7. Free cost estimates = normally given by service companies such as contractors, they will come to the customer for free, assess the site and the work needed to be done, and give the customer a free quotation or estimate
8. Free gift with purchase
9. Free needs survey
10. Free disposal – for products being replaced such as appliances
11. Free/Instant rebates
12. No payments/no interest for x number of months = for businesses that provide financing options
13. Choice of Free gift
14. Stepped Free gifts
15. Samples
16. Free shipping = offered by online or catalog/mail order companies whereby shipping is offered to the customer for free
17. Free shipping after $X amount of purchase = free shipping only after the desired minimum order amount is reachesd ($25 free super shipping of Amazon, or Gap.com’s free shipping for orders $100 for Gap cardmembers)
18. Gift shipment options
19. Rush shipping service
20. Upgrade shipping
21. Discounts for Bundled purchase = practiced by Amazon.com, this retailer ofers a small discount for purchasing the recommended item instead of simply the original item the customer wants
22. Free keeper gift
23. Sweepstakes and contests
24. Money-back guarantee = to show the marketer’s confidence that the customer will love their products, this is a simple guaratee wherein a refund will be made if the customer is not satisfied with a product or service.
25. Long term guarantee
26. Double your money back guarantee
27. Relationship discount = discounts given to existing customers in order to entice them to order again
28. Price matching
29. Negative option = favored by mail order book clubs, this is the practice in which goods or services are provided automatically, and the customer has the option of paying for the item or service or decline it before billing
30. Positive Option
31. Reservation option
32. Quantity discount = price reduction given to large purchases
33. Limited time offers = designed to create urgency to the consumers to buy, marketers offer special discounts or freebies thrown in but only for a small window of opportunity
34. Refer-a-member or member-get-member
35. Price increase announcement
36. Price matching
37. Introductory Price
38. Last chance
39. Early bird discount
40. Trade in offer
41. Enrollment Period
42. Prepublication Offer
43. Charter membership
44. Payment with order
45. Bill me later
46. Installments
47. Lay away plan
48. Cumulative Incentives
49. Deluxe version
50. Shop till Forbid
51. Annual Membership Fee
52. Lifetime Membership Fee
53. Load ups
54. Yes/No
55. Yes/Maybe
56. Dollars Off
57. Limited Edition
58. Bounce back
59. Loyalty offers: lower prices for repeat or multiple purchase/visits/usage of service
60. Themed promotions such as special hotel packages inclusive of golf or free sports gear package for sport court installation

(Originally published on May 14, 2008)