The golden rule of marketing is that you are performing a value exchange. There is risk on both sides of that contract, whether you are B2B, B2C, B2G, or any other configuration wherein resources are being exchanged for some good or service. It’s your job as a marketer to reduce that friction—whether it be value perception, lack of awareness, cost, or otherwise—in order to get your product to its best audience.
Free is a powerful tool. It’s the ultimate in lack of risk. For the consumer, you are receiving a product at no financial expenditure. In fact, the only downside of free for you as the recipient is that the vendor may not be serious. That means whatever product or service they offered you may never materialize, or could be incomplete or otherwise shoddy. This certainly is a risk, and should be weighed as you make your decision to enter an agreement for anything labeled “free.”…
