How many times did you come across a service that should have been free, but in the end, it turned out that there were some costs after all? It’s not that rare. A customer that sees a word “free” attached to anything will be more likely to use a service or purchase a product connected with this free service. Sometimes, they are not disappointed, but more often it’s just a marketing technique to encourage consumers. When free services are not that free as you might expect?
“Free” label as a marketing tool
Using the word “free” is one of the best magnets for customers. Whenever they see information that they will not have to pay for a service, quite frequently they decide to make use of it, even when they do not need it. It’s just the spell of this one short word. If something is free, only unreasonable people would let it go, right? Marketers all over the world know it very well and use this knowledge quite extensively. Even when their services are not that free as the customers might expect.
Why do they do that? It seems logical that a customer will find out that it’s not a service without payment. This is true, but the fact is that such activities are not without sense. Once a customer enters a website, sees the offer, chooses a product or service, they might be so satisfied with it that they decide to use it anyway. Even with the knowledge that it’s not free after all. In other words, the word “free” is often just a lure, not a standard company’s policy.
When free service is really free
Of course, it’s not like everyone’s tempting their customers with the promise of free service, only to let them down. Sometimes, a company can really allow the consumers to make use of their offer entirely for free. We wouldn't be lying if we admitted that even then it’s all about profit, as a customer that is satisfied with a free service might take the next step and pay for the other services available. It does not mean that there is a trick or scam - a free service is still a full-quality service, just of a different type. Let’s look at an example. Online casinos are now more and more popular, and they usually involve money. However, there are some money-less options like free slot games. They are indeed free, do not require payment to play, so the customers know what they sign up for. However, there is no real winning either. If a customer wants to win money, they might look up other services on VegasSlotsOnline, this time with money deposits included. A free slot gave them a real taste of the site, its safety, security and clarity, and a decision to go from free to money-based games is entirely moved to a client.
Hidden costs in free services
Free services might sometimes have hidden costs attached. Well, they're not so much hidden as simply invisible at first sight. The hidden costs of online shopping is a different topic, and here, we will just focus on additional payments in terms of services that are supposed to be free. Most often, something is guaranteed to be without payment only to some extent. What does this mean? In simple words, only a part of the service might be free, while the rest of the features require payment. Thus, technically there was no lie, so scam, no miscommunication. The service in its basic form is indeed free.
As a customer, you might encounter different offers of free trials. You see this magical word, and you go for it. However, here’s the rub. They are not meant to be entirely free, and this is the truth about free trials. What does this mean? Once you forget to turn them off, they will smoothly prolong and change into paid service. Another drawback is that you might have access to a service for free, but it’s limited in time or number of uses. It’s only a week, month or two use, and you will have to pay if you want to keep using the service. You might create as many fake accounts as you want, the costs will still be lurking from around the corner.
