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Ben Davis

145. The Benefits of the ‘Try Before You Buy’ Model

 January 10, 2023

By  Will

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This weeks episde discusses the "try before you buy" model and how it fits into the customer journey.

Ben Davis, founder and CEO of Try Now, a platform that allows businesses to offer a try before you buy model to their customers, explains how this model eliminates the need for sampling or paying upfront. It is suggested that marketing messaging should be used in ads, email ads, and retargeting to drive customers to click this option.

The conversation then shifts to finding other ways to uncover extra revenue without assessing a penalty to the shopper such as renegotiating rates with 3PLs and carriers, changing packaging, or increasing prices by a dollar. Additionally, it is discussed that if customers return their first product but still make a second purchase, brands should waive the restocking fee for an exchange.

Lastly, it is noted that there is always going to be some imperfections when it comes to product imagery online due to different monitors and browsers used by customers. This podcast conversation emphasizes the importance of providing a good customer experience in e-commerce in order for brands to recoup costs from rising return rates. This podcast conversation discussed the issue of rising return rates and how to address it.

The advice given was to either solve the problem or change it, such as retaking a picture of a black t-shirt so that it looks more accurate in reality. It is also suggested that businesses should provide user-generated content, reviews, great photography and other stamps of approval to give shoppers confidence.

Free shipping and free returns are becoming expected models from customers, so not offering them can lead to lower conversion rates due to people not wanting to take risks with their money. The goal is to digitize the online experience as much as possible so that it mirrors the brick and mortar experience, where customers can try on items in fitting rooms before deciding which ones they want to purchase.

Two tools mentioned were Wear and Try Now which act as a sales associate and put a living room into the shopper's sitting room respectively. Shoe AI was also mentioned which recommends similar products if one size or product is out of stock. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) was highlighted as a bellwether for businesses, with costs of acquisition increasing.

The speakers discussed how offering a free experience such as "Try Now" can help reduce costs while increasing customer loyalty, ultimately driving up net sales after returns and contribution margin. This podcast conversation discussed the importance of removing barriers to ordering for customers in an apparel business. Strategies to increase order frequency, such as sending emails and offering incentives like gift cards, were discussed.

Additionally, the try before you buy experience was discussed, which is a trial program that allows customers to test out products before committing to purchase. It was noted that this type of program does not typically lead to an increase in returns and extending the return period from 14 days to 30 days does not usually make an impact on returns either.

Returnmates was also mentioned as a product which offers customers doorstep pickup and label printing for their returns. Amazon Prime's launch in 2005 and its success in increasing shopper loyalty, reducing customer acquisition costs (CAC), and increasing conversion rates was also discussed.

Lastly, Nick Sharma and Kyle Goldman were mentioned as two people influential in the DTC marketing space, Zapier was recommended as a tool for remote companies to foster communication throughout their organization, Superhuman was suggested as an email client that has transformed life, and Ben from Try Now.io offered his services for allowing customers to purchase products without spending any money until they have tried them out and decided to keep them. 


If you'd like to reach out to Ben you can find him on LinkedIn or head over to https://www.trynow.io/

Will


W.Laurenson

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