In the competitive online entertainment landscape, the freebie model emerged as a great way for businesses to stand out from their competitors. The online casino industry pioneered this concept, with the leading sites in the early days being the ones with deposit match bonuses for new players.
Free trials are now ubiquitous across entertainment, from mobile apps to streaming services. The question is, are they still effective? Could they perhaps evolve in the years ahead?
Free Offerings are Still a Great Way to Attract Customers
It’s clear from looking at the online bingo industry that free options are still among the best ways to attract players. The bingo sector has blown up over the last five years, so it’s a good idea to analyse it to see what has helped it become so successful.
Many players now play free bingo before topping up their own funds at a site. These games can give players an idea about how the ball draw works, and they often offer the opportunity to win free prizes as well. There’s also the chance to chat to other players sometimes, and this promotes the social side of the activity.
This could be the reason why the playing demographics of bingo have widened dramatically in the online era. Because players get to test out the game first to see if they like it, they are far more likely to give it a go than if they had needed to pay. Freebies still reign supreme in competitive areas like online bingo, but they may need to be adapted in other offshoots of entertainment.
Platforms May Need to Start Differentiating Their Freebies
In some areas of entertainment, free trials may not be as effective as they once were. The streaming wars are heating up now, with the likes of Netflix, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime all vying for customers. Free trials don’t make as much sense for these platforms as they did in the early days, as many users accept it and then cancel before they need to pay the monthly subscription.
Indeed, free trial abuse has become a well-known phenomenon in business, and companies need to put measures in place to avoid this happening. It may be the case that streaming platforms need to move away from the traditional free trial and introduce more innovative options.
Flexible Trial Options Could be Key
One way that entertainment services could get attention is through moving away from the norm with their free trial offers. For instance, instead of providing the traditional complimentary week or month of the service, they could go for flexible trial options. This could allow people to view a certain number of films or a specific series before they start to pay for a subscription.
Consumers online are likely to always want something for free, so freebies are going to continue ruling the roost in entertainment. However, it may be wise for some businesses to think about more innovative free trials to stand out from their competition.