12/4 Class Discussion- Sales "You can't give away the store"

I want to expand my customer base. Are free trials worth the investment?
Absolutely. A free trial is a great marketing tool and a solid step toward establishing good will with new customers. Trials with products aimed at particular audiences are effective, such as chewing gum geared toward people with dental work, tasty protein bars for athletes or eye shadows that complement certain eye colors.

''Very few people are going to give you a bunch of money to try something if they are already using a product that works,'' says Kenn Devane, president and CEO of MineTech, a consultancy that helps companies find patterns in customer data. "I think you have to do a free trial."
Having a big marketing budget helps, of course--that's why small companies have to execute with precision. "The hard part is knowing where to draw the line," says Devane. In other words, don't give away the store.

The first step in setting up a free trial is finding the right audience. ''Identify people who are category influencers and will spread the word,'' says Paul Rand, founder of Zócalo Group, a unit of advertising juggernaut Omnicom Group (nyse: OMC - news - people ). ''The average person tells 16.5 other people about a product they like.'' (For more on market surveys, check out Six Marketing Tactics Worth Paying For). For more info check out http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/entresales/