I shared with you yesterday about the coupon book we received when we stayed at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas last weekend. Well, in addition to the free bottle of wine we received for eating dinner at the hotel's buffet, we also got another completely free gift.
One of the coupons in the book was for a free gift from the hotel's souvenir shop. Now, I have been to Las Vegas so many times, I never buy souvenirs. So I never even bother to go into the hotel gift shops when I am there. BUT, since they were offering me a FREE souvenir, I figured why not check it out.
So we stopped by the gift shop on the way back to our room Saturday night to pick up our free souvenir: 3 strands of brightly colored Mardi Gras beads. And they were totally free - no purchase required. I noticed when we were in the gift shop, a lot of other people were also picking up their free beads, AND while they were there, they were looking around at the merchandise available.
I also noticed every time we walked by the gift shop, there was a line of people at the register. I'd be willing to bet many of those people were like us and would never have stepped a foot inside that gift shop were it not for the free gift. And many of those same people ended up buying something.
Just like my daughter. She went down to the gift shop to cash in her coupon for her free Mardi Gras beads and ended up buying a small souvenir for her boyfriend.
Once again, I was reminded of the power of the free taste. And, this is a great example of a tangible free gift in the offline world, that probably costs the hotel next to nothing, and is generating business for them.
How could you use this marketing strategy to increase sales in your business?