We’ve all taken advantage of free trials before, and ended up never paying for the service. Although most free trials put you on a recurring billing schedule, even if they charge you for the first month because you forgot to cancel, it’s likely you’ll make a phone call and cancel as soon as possible if you only intended to get the free trial and nothing more. So what if you are a business owner on the other side of this? As much as you may want to offer free trials, you may be losing out from all the customers canceling at the end of the trial. Here are some great tips to convert those freebie-hoarders into actual customers.
1. Don’t let your Sales Team waste time on unqualified leads – There are many opportunists out there that sign up for free trials without ever having any intention to buy, and it’s highly unlikely that even the most skilled sales person will be able to change their mind. But how can you identify these people? The best way is to note the amount of time they were on the website evaluating the product or how long they spent on the phone asking questions. People who sign up without asking much or doing much research are probably just in it for the free trial.
2. Consistently reevaluate your customer statistics – What kind of customers are purchasing past the free trial? Adults? Teenagers? Women? Men? Professionals? Blue-collar workers? Knowing this will help you change marketing as necessary to draw in these demographics more often. It can also help you reach out to different demographics you are trying to target.
3. Send discount coupons regularly – This is especially important during the trial period. Make it enticing for them to continue past the free trial. Send a coupon via email for 20% off the first month, and if they cancel, offer to increase the discount to 30%. You have to keep people long enough for them to realize the value of your product, and sometimes the trial period just isn’t long enough.
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