Free samples, what's the point?

Yesterday I got a Jordons muesli sample through the post. To be honest I don't even remember asking for it, but it had a nicely written letter enclosed that explained I'd requested the sample and they have even included a 50p off token if I decide I like the cereal and buy myself a box.
Great I thought! I love freebies.

Now this got me wondering, what's the point in free samples? Will I actually buy the Jordon's cereal now rather than my Tesco's own brand? The answer for me will be yes; if I like the taste, if it's as healthy as my current brand and the most important factor for me (being a skin flint) - is it as cheap? If they can satisfy these 3 factors, they will have themselves a new customer.

Why do companies do it? Well free samples are a great tool to spread their brand and new product as long as they're confident it should increase sales, as people were so happy with the free sample. (There is a negative risk though - if it's rubbish, it can have a worse effect on the brand, than if not letting so many people know about their product!)

I think that free product samples are fantastic for us the customers. It's a win-win situation.
Thank you Jordon's, and all the other companies who give us consumers something for nothing. :)

Win4now currently has quite a few free sample offers ( look underneath the competitions for our partners offers. ) We will soon have a special free offers section for you, so that you can easily spot the freebies from our other promotions.