I have had many people ask me the question why do businesses give out free samples? From curious marketers and fresh business graduates to the everyday consumer, this often puzzles people. But as you will see, the giving away of freebies is actually a cost effective way to get potential consumers to try a product at a targeted audience. Giving free samples to promote their products is one of the key ways marketers are now using.

Given the current economic crisis, many are burdened with high debt and so anything that allows them to get by on the cheapest low cost expense is most welcome. Businesses can take advantage of this opportunity to promote and boost sales after getting customers to try it for free. Here are the reasons why free samples are good for business:

1. Increased chances for selling the item – Although there are particular expenses associated with free samples like the manufacture of trial sized samples and distribution costs, the long term advantages that is provided far outweigh the cost. Until and unless companies invest, they are not likely to gain any long lasting fruitful results of their products.

2. Discover new market – Only by giving away free samples by mail along with other approaches,can the business realize if there are any other untapped segments of the market that had not been included in the current marketing strategy. Free samples provide a good opportunity to introduce new market segments and target more customers.

3. Retain existing customers – Many customers switch brands based on cost. By providing free samples, the customers are offered an incentive to become loyal customers. It's all about retention as it costs less to retain existing customers as opposed to find new ones.

So change your attitudes towards free samples and take advantage of them today.

Lamo Damo runs the freebies blog FreebiesBlogger.com. He aims to help readers save money by finding online coupons and combining with sales to get them FREE!