“Freebies” is a term that is relatively new in German colloquial language and comes from English. We explain here what it means and when a freebie is no longer a freebie.
The term “freebie” already contains the English word “free”, which already indicates what is actually meant. In German the word “Kostprobe” is used for this. The English word has now also established itself as a Germanized term, especially in online marketing.
What are freebies? Meaning and translation
A freebie is a free item or service. For example, if you can try some pieces of cake for free at the bakery or a piece of sausage at the butcher, then these are freebies. They are intended to draw your attention as potential customers to a new product or brand. From the seller’s perspective, freebies have achieved their function if you buy or consume the corresponding product regularly from now on.
From the seller’s or provider’s perspective, a freebie is a sample of his offer with which he solves a problem for his customers. This can make his customers feel better, follow a certain process, or change their habits. This allows the seller himself to reach new customers, strengthen existing customer loyalty and maximize his profit.
Ultimately you can also use freebies as Lockmittel for customer acquisition rewrite.
Examples of freebies
Freebies can be physical or digital. Here are some examples of freebies:
Samples (at the baker or butcher)
Consumer products and promotional gifts (T-shirts, mugs, …)
A download (PDF file, eBook, video, check list, …)
A service (Online course, webinar, workshop, …)
Payment with contact details – When a freebie is not a freebie
As already suggested in the word “free”, freebies must always be free. Some providers want personal data such as your own email address in order to receive a freebie. According to the legal situation, the Disclosure of data but an official payment method. This means that freebies for which you have to provide contact details in any form are not freebies! Ultimately, free means that you basically have no effort at all and just get the freebie – without any conditions. So anyone who advertises freebies as such but only releases them in exchange for data can have one unfair commercial act (Section 3 Paragraph 3 UWG) or Misleading about pricing (Section 5 Paragraph 1 Sentence 2 No. 2 UWG).
Exception: If the contact details are necessary to send the freebie, they can still be advertised as freebies. This is the case, for example, if it is a link or a digital file.
It becomes critical, if the email address acquired in this way is later used for other purposes such as sending newsletters. Because then the customer would have paid for the freebie with their data. Additionally, companies require prior consent from customers before using any type of contact information for purposes other than those originally intended.
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