Other Try it for a week!

[darksithpro]

Was thinking about phone sales and I think I've come up with a clever idea on how to boost sales. What if Apple got with the 4 main carriers and worked out a deal, where long time customers with older phones would be offered "upon entry into the store" a brand new iPhone free of charge to test out for 7 full days? The catch? You have to sign a contract that states if you keep it past the 7 days, or it's damaged it's yours and reflected on your service plan, hense you have to pay for it. If you return it before the time is up and undamaged you pay nothing. IMO most people that would normally hold off would try it out, then create a connection/bond to it and keep it. Thoughts?

 

[revmacian]

If you want to boost sales, get Apple to lower the price.

 

[tl01]

Isn’t that what the 14 day return period is all about?

 

[darksithpro]

Isn’t that what the 14 day return period is all about?

This takes it a step further. It's basically saying here: take this new iPhone for a spin for free. If you don't like it, return it. Nothing will change on your plan unless you keep it.

 

[cipher29]

This takes it a step further. It's basically saying here: take this new iPhone for a spin for free. If you don't like it, return it. Nothing will change on your plan unless you keep it.

But the return policy is literally a no questions asked, return it if you don’t love it policy...

 

[Banglazed]

I don’t think a week is long enough to test try it. Most major carriers give you a 14-30 days return window or 14-days for Apple. These free test try will only boost more refurbished devices.

 

[darksithpro]

But the return policy is literally a no questions asked, return it if you don’t love it policy...

The thing is the customer had already decided to upgrade. By offering them a new phone to test out for a week would entice people who would normally not upgrade. Lets say you have a iPhone 7, or 8, no desire to upgrade. You walk into a Verizon store for something unrelated to buying a new phone. The agent says "hey, you qualify for a free iPhone" The customer goes whhhaattt? Agent says how would you like to take home a brand new XR for free to test out for 7 days? You're like what's the catch? Agent says no catch, if you don't like it, return it in 7 days, no fees. Customer takes it home, plays with it, decides to keep it, bam, another sell.
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These free test try will only boost more refurbished devices.

If the product is sound, then more likely than not the customer will keep it.

 

[akash.nu]

This approach will not only cheapen the iPhone brand but as someone else suggested, will increase Apple’s cost of refurbishment due to rampant returns. If someone hasn’t decided to upgrade themselves, it’s very unlikely that they’ll pay for a new contract randomly like that.

It’s not a pack of a new juice or biscuit brand that requires free samples.

 

[darksithpro]

It’s not a pack of a new juice or biscuit brand that requires free samples.

It's not a free sample. It's giving the customer the opportunity to test drive a luxury product he/she wasn't considering initially, but after the test drive the customer decides they want it.

 

[44267547]

I don’t think a week is long enough to test try it. Most major carriers give you a 14-30 days return window or 14-days for Apple. These free test try will only boost more refurbished devices.

30 day trials for smart phones have faded due to extended costs to carriers. It’s 14 days almost virtually throughout the major cell providers.

 

[darksithpro]

30 day trials for smart phones have faded due to extended costs to carriers. It’s 14 days almost virtually throughout the major cell providers.

But... What do you think of the overall idea?

 

[44267547]

But... What do you think of the overall idea?

I like the idea. I think the most difficult part would be to have major carriers all be on board with this. I think what would make it attractive as well, is maybe waive any type of activation fee, or any hidden fees that the consumer doesn’t know about, because those are the things that we tend to look for in the small print versus the large bold font about giving someone a ‘free’ phone For seven days. The consumer is going to ask themselves, is it really free or is it a marketing gimmick.

 

[Achillias]

Stupid idea, those phones can't be sold anymore as brand new when people decide to return it. That would only result in more refurbished stocks.

 

[darksithpro]

Stupid idea, those phones can't be sold anymore as brand new when people decide to return it. That would only result in more refurbished stocks.

However if Apple is such a superior product, letting people experience technology they're not accustomed to might change their minds. Just a thought.

 

[44267547]

Stupid idea, those phones can't be sold anymore as brand new when people decide to return it. That would only result in more refurbished stocks.

Do you have a better idea Besides calling it ‘stupid’? You have to understand, marketing is not always meant to be practical, it has to be creative to allow the consumer to be drawn into the store, and see the value for what they’re purchasing. Don’t worry about what refurbished stocks or carriers do, The consumer should be more concerned about the ‘dollar saved’ if They wanted to upgrade an older device.

 

[JPack]

iPhone is a 10 year old product. Consumers don’t need a 7-day test drive for a mature technology.

The current situation is one where consumers are holding on to iPhone 6 and 7 that are working and simply don’t need to upgrade.

 

[cableguy84]

I think they just need to release competitively priced devices.

 

[44267547]

The current situation is one where consumers are holding on to iPhone 6 and 7 that are working and simply don’t need to upgrade.

Right, but, isn’t the whole purpose of the OP’s ‘seven day trial’ to try to entice those to upgrade with older devices by experiencing new hardware? Again, it’s all about creativity. Offering something new that’s different minus hidden fees is rudimentary marketing 101. It has to be clever and tactful, even if the consumer doesn’t keep the device for the seven days, they still were drawn to the store to see if the value was worth their money.

 

[JPack]

Right, but, isn’t the whole purpose of the OP’s ‘seven day trial’ to try to entice those to upgrade with older devices by experiencing new hardware? Again, it’s all about creativity. Offering something new that’s different minus hidden fees is rudimentary marketing 101. It has to be clever and tactful, even if the consumer doesn’t keep the device for the seven days, they still were drawn to the store to see if the value was worth their money.

Enticing isn’t the problem, the price of the product is.

No one is confused about the advantages of the new iPhone models. I’ve not heard anyone question whether or how iPhone X is better than iPhone 6. Many consumers being interviewed are simply reluctant to pay $1,000 for a new iPhone with a better camera.

 

[44267547]

Enticing isn’t the problem, the price of the product is.

Enticing is marketing tactic by gaining attention for something ‘Different’, it’s not a problem and never was. I don’t disagree the price of the iPhones is the root cause for slower upgrades, aside from the battery upgrade program, but what does Apple and carriers all have in common? Marketing. You have to be able to draw the consumer in the store first, then sell them on the product one way or the other. And you do that through Ways incentivizing new upgrade plans. The OP’s idea is creative enough to spark interest to ‘Find out more’, but it doesn’t mean it wouldn’t sell the consumer either.

 

[YaBe]

Was thinking about phone sales and I think I've come up with a clever idea on how to boost sales. What if Apple got with the 4 main carriers and worked out a deal, where long time customers with older phones would be offered "upon entry into the store" a brand new iPhone free of charge to test out for 7 full days? The catch? You have to sign a contract that states if you keep it past the 7 days, or it's damaged it's yours and reflected on your service plan, hense you have to pay for it. If you return it before the time is up and undamaged you pay nothing. IMO most people that would normally hold off would try it out, then create a connection/bond to it and keep it. Thoughts?

Yeah like Apple needs a new wait to chaet its customers.... :S

 

[akash.nu]

It's not a free sample. It's giving the customer the opportunity to test drive a luxury product he/she wasn't considering initially, but after the test drive the customer decides they want it.

Luxury product market doesn’t work like that though. Do you see a Rado or a Tag Huer Watch being given out for a “test drive” or Samsung handing out a couple of their 4K TVs for users to try.

Bottom line is that smartphones are consumer tech market and that type of trial stuff doesn’t work with things like that.

 

[darksithpro]

Yeah like Apple needs a new wait to chaet its customers.... :S

I don't think they're cheating customers. I think they should give opportunity to those who would like to upgrade.
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Luxury product market doesn’t work like that though.

Why not? If Apple has something to offer with perks and the consumer agrees to pay the price that's healthy.

 

[JPack]

Enticing is marketing tactic by gaining attention for something ‘Different’, it’s not a problem and never was. I don’t disagree the price of the iPhones is the root cause for slower upgrades, aside from the battery upgrade program, but what does Apple and carriers all have in common? Marketing. You have to be able to draw the consumer in the store first, then sell them on the product one way or the other. And you do that through Ways incentivizing new upgrade plans. The OP’s idea is creative enough to spark interest to ‘Find out more’, but it doesn’t mean it wouldn’t sell the consumer either.

At the end of the day, the consumer knows they’re signing up to potentially buy a $749 or $999 iPhone. This isn’t a risk free trial and consumers know it.

What small percentage of consumers can’t afford to try a new iPhone on a credit card? The Apple Store has a return policy. So do carriers.

Samsung ran a similar 30-day test drive promo during the Galaxy S6 days. They even included 30 days of free wireless service. The idea of a test drive isn’t anything new. Even T-Mobile tried it with the iPhone 5s. If the strategy worked, I think either company would have repeated the promo.

 

[44267547]

This isn’t a risk free trial and consumers know it.

Exactly what is so difficult to understand about returning a phone before the seven day period is ending to avoid any charges? It’s the same thing that would be offered if it was a 14 day trial, except the OP’s seven day proposal offers different advantages to the consumer.