Monday, June 12, 2006

Fringeware anyone?

What's the new way to make money in the business world? Give your services away for free! In a constant fluctuating marketplace, there is constant pressure to lower prices and beat out competition. So how can you be assured a spot above your comptetion? Give away your quality services and you'll be amazed how many customers you get.

Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting that your company throw away all hopes of making income, I am suggesting, however, that the best way to make money might not be by selling your services!

Consider network TV stations. They show programs and shows during the day and night, and how much do they charge? Nothing. They make their money through fringe channels, namely, advertisers.

Not convinced? Consider Google. Google is a search engine and software company. They strive to provide fast results, large email accounts and quick desktop access to all internet users. How much do they charge for these services? Nothing! They make millions and millions of dollars selling advertising.

At BuildASign.com, we call this Fringeware. Offering a service or a good that is in itself free, the offering and success of which creates avenues of income on the "fringes" of your service or product that does not result directly from the sale of that service or product.

You see it more than you think, but it is taking companies like Google and Yahoo to show us how powerful it can be. From free self-serve icecream at Jason's Deli, to free TV shows, to free search engines, fringeware is beginning to show its power.

Coming up with ways to provide free services isn't always as difficult as it may seem, and there are a few ways to take advantage of traffic drawn to those free services. Both indirect (like advertising) and direct (like Run-Tex giving out free water on the hike and bike trail).

Consider a movie theatre. What would happen if they began giving popcorn out for free? Would they lose millions? Or would they create millions of extremely thirsty customers willing to buy $8.00 colas?

Fringeware is coming...

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home