When Estee Lauder first began growing what would today become one of the largest retail beauty companies in the world, she was met with much resistance. Managers of department stores turned down her persistent requests for store space, while advertising agencies rejected her business because of the company’s small size – the two-person operation of Estee Lauder and her husband Joseph were not enough to convince people of their legitimacy. However, those years of rejection served as the impetus for the Estee Lauder Bonus, which would help the company grow to new heights both then and now.
Enough people had told this beauty tycoon ‘no’ that she set out with renewed drive on a mission to prove them all wrong. Against conventional wisdom, she established this marketing ploy and began literally giving away her company. Through free samples in the mail and free gifts with the purchase of her other products, the beauty entrepreneur began to quickly build up a base of loyal customers. While this custom has become standard in the beauty industry today, at the time, it was a novel practice.
Today, the company and all its subsidiaries continue their founder’s original idea of the giving away samples. A quick visit to the official company website is evidence of this trend. A recent promotion advertises that with the online purchase of any of their products, customers can select two free samples of a range of other company products. From their Pure White Linen Eau de Parfum spray to their Sparkling Clean Purifying Mud Foam Cleanser, customers can have a trial size sample – or a five day supply – of a wide array of other recently introduced products.
There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but with the Estee Lauder bonus, the company became one of the first to defy tradition. Today, it has become a trend setter; millions of dollars of free samples are given away by companies big and small in order to drive their sales. The original risk taker, Estee Lauder understood that by taking a long term perspective, free samples could actually help boost the bottom line. She believed that by giving people a free slice of cake they would soon be willing to pay for the whole thing. And, if it meant people would stop using her competitor’s products and switch to hers, that was always a good thing too.
This marketing strategy has been one of the company’s key secrets to success in its 60 years of business. Lauder understood that no matter where in the world they were located, most people had one thing in common: they could never get enough of something that was free. And, she believed in her products so much that she felt if people could only try them, they would be hooked. It was a marketing strategy that worked and keeps on working to this day, as the company continues to rake in billions of dollars in revenue each year.
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