Free Effect. A new ice cream company in India has set up free ice cream vending machines on the streets to promote its brand. Result? People lined up at a very long distance in front of the vending machine. It was raining then, and the people in line went to a convenience store to buy umbrellas, then lined up again. Umbrellas cost much more than ice cream. However, people kept lining up. Cheap and free are two completely different concepts. When the price is low, sales increase slightly, but when it is free, an extraordinary dimension of the problem arises. It’s a privilege, so consumers are willing to pay a higher price to get something for free. Free is not a matter of reason; it is a matter of emotion. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
The reorientation and expansion of a business should be planned and decided in terms of customer synergies, not company synergies. It may be more successful to offer a customer who buys apple jam an extra slice of bread to spread it on than to provide a customer who buys apple jam an extra jar of peach jam. It's easier for the jam seller to give away an extra jar of jam, but for the customer, the bread is more valuable than the jam. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”