"What ROI will I see on my product sampling campaign?"
It's one of the most common questions we hear. And it’s a fair one. With tighter budgets and more pressure to deliver measurable results, marketers need to ensure their efforts are worth it.
We all know product sampling generates an immediate boost in sales.
A consumer tries your free sample, loves it and purchases the full-sized product in the days, weeks or months that follow. We see this happen time and time again at SoPost.
When we partnered with Hellmann’s to spread the word of their vegan mayonnaise for Veganuary, 36% of consumers bought the full-size mayonnaise within just two weeks of sampling.
Similarly, we saw an incredible 42% purchase a can of Sanpellegrino within two weeks of sampling.
But the true ROI of digital product sampling goes far beyond those initial purchases.
Product sampling builds trust, attracts genuinely interested shoppers and encourages recommendations. All of this creates a cycle of loyalty that keeps consumers coming back. We call this the "ripple effect" of sampling.
This ripple effect drives sales not just for weeks, but even months and years to come. How? Let's break it down…
Getting noticed in this market is tough. Offering samples gives your brand an instant advantage: it grabs attention, piques curiosity and stands out against the competition.
It's a bold gesture that says, "We believe in our product – try it, and you'll see why."
Even better, digital sampling allows you to target your Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) with pinpoint accuracy, ensuring your samples land in the hands of those most likely to fall in love with them.
An Eventeem survey found that 65% of consumers purchased a product because they sampled it first, with 58% saying they'd purchase a product again after sampling.
Your product in the hands of those most likely to love it = more people likely to become future buyers.
💡Top tip: Want to really hone in on high-intent shoppers? Use online communities! At SoPost, we partner with the likes of UNiDAYS and Marie Claire to give brands exclusive access to ultra-targeted and engaged audiences who are more likely to try and buy your product.
Our Community sampling campaigns drive 300% higher review response rates than other sampling activations, ensuring your product shines in front of the right people.
Sampling isn’t just a standalone strategy – it’s a tool that amplifies your other marketing efforts by giving consumers a tangible experience with your product. This is especially important for categories like fragrance and beauty, where traditional advertising can only communicate so much.
By physically trying your product, consumers form a stronger connection than they would from a digital ad or glossy magazine spread alone. This plays directly into the “Mere Exposure Effect” that states people develop a preference for things they're familiar with. The more positive interactions a consumer has with your product, the more likely they are to develop a lasting affinity for your brand.
💡 Top tip: integrate sampling campaigns with your existing marketing channels. Include sampling opportunities in social media ads, influencer partnerships, email marketing and seasonal campaigns to reinforce your brand messaging and engage your audience at multiple touchpoints.
Free samples are a magnet for building an engaged audience. Consumers trying your product are genuinely interested, making them more likely to sign up for marketing updates and shop future offers.
But there’s also a value exchange, also known as the “Reciprocity Effect” – they’re happy to provide their information for a free sample. At SoPost, we see average opt-in rates of over 70%, arming our brand partners with thousands of qualified marketing contacts.
For example, we helped Benefit Cosmetics generate an incredible 32k new marketing contacts ahead of their global Fan Fest mascara launch. That’s thousands of excited new consumers just waiting to shop their latest offers.
What’s even more impressive, is the incredibly low media costs we’ve seen with sampling. Benefit Cosmetics achieved a cost per lead as low as $0.01 (USD) in some markets during their launch.
Similarly, we helped Dermalogica gain 10k new subscribers at under $1 (AUD) per lead. These results are just a fraction of the cost of more traditional lead-generation methods.
💡Top tip: don’t let the conversation end with the sample. Use follow-ups like feedback requests, drive-to-purchase emails and personalized recommendations to convert these leads into loyal buyers.
When Pampers shifted from traditional to digital sampling, they gained the ability to communicate directly with parents post-trial for the first time ever. This allowed them to share educational and sales-focused content in the months after trial.
🎬 Watch the full episode to learn more about Pampers’ sampling journey.
Offering samples encourages consumers to share their experiences. These authentic reviews and recommendations become your best sales tool because, let's face it, people trust other people more than they trust ads.
We saw it with Sanpellegrino when they asked us to help grow their online reviews. Within just two weeks of sampling, 88% had already submitted a five-star review, and 70% recommended the drink to a friend.
And with partners like Bazaarvoice, PowerReviews and Yotpo, we make it easy to multiply each review’s impact by syndicating reviews across retailer networks.
The additional reach gained through word-of-mouth, user-generated content and reviews – without the need for additional media spend – is invaluable.
One sample influencing hundreds, if not thousands, of potential sales.
💡Top tip: encourage consumers to add a photo to their review to drive even more sales. Reviews with images can boost conversions by up to 5x. Plus, you can repurpose this user-generated content across social media and other campaigns to boost reach and build more trust.
Product sampling is a two-way street. While consumers try your product for free, you get to gather invaluable insights. Their feedback can reveal what they love, what they'd tweak, and what messaging resonates most.
This data is gold. It helps fine-tune your strategy, refine your product and create marketing that resonates better, ultimately driving more sales.
Take Mikado, for example. We partnered with them to reach a younger audience and collated invaluable consumer insights along the way. Consumers loved the rich chocolate flavor and perfect crunch. These are qualities Mikado could highlight in future marketing to resonate more deeply with their audience and drive sales.
💡Top tip: don’t waste your time manually combing through feedback. Use SoPost’s AI Review Summaries to instantly analyze feedback and spot key sentiment and trends to take action faster.
The ripple effect doesn't stop with a one-time purchase. When done right, product sampling is a strategic tool that builds trust, grows your audience and creates a cycle of loyalty that keeps paying off long after the last sample is gone.
So, the next time you think about the ROI of product sampling, think bigger. Whether you’re launching a new product or reintroducing an old favorite, sampling is a smart, scalable investment in your brand’s future that will continue to drive long-term revenue.
Want to know how many reviews you really need to drive sales? Find out here.