A friend of mine and I were discussing a small craft business that was closing its doors this year.  Of course, we started speculating on the causes of their demise.  One issue that seemed prominent was that they were charging groups of knitters to meet at their location while other places, say the library or a local coffee house, held such gatherings for free.  I’m not sure that this was the only issue with their business plan, but free services are an important part of any business and should be well thought through. 

The most important reason to offer free services, or advice as in our case with this blog, is to draw in customers and show your expertise.   You see this most frequently with free consultation offers from designers and remodeling consultants.  A lot of spas, medical offices (elective medicine, like plastic surgery) and other service establishments offer a free consultation service as a way to tell their customers why they must come to them.

Here are some pointers for making the most of your free services:

1. Don’t be stingy. Make sure that you give the potential customer as much attention and time as a regular customer.  Remember, they have lots of friends and can offer referrals besides the business they bring.
2. Make it relevant and appealing. Be sure that your free service is relevant to your business line and to your customers, for example a free knitting group for a knitting store.  Knitters love to get together in groups to knit, so this offer is relevant to the customers as much as it is to the business of selling yarn.  Consider the sandwich/bakery shop that offers free wireless connection.  It’s not relevant to their business but it’s relevant to their customers who are going to go to them so that they can work during lunch.
3. Create a clear action plan. We’re big on this point because this is key to getting your customers to come through the door.  If you’re offering a free consultation, give the customer some free samples, if applicable, and perhaps even a coupon.  For example, if you’re consulting on skin care, give a coupon for 10% off a facial.  If you’re consulting on a remodeling project, give a coupon for 10% off the cost of your service to any project that is started in the next month.

We hope this helps formulate a part of your business plan.  Send us an email (info@browncouchconsulting.com) for more help.