Know-How Exchange : Advertising/PR

I have to disagree with your socio-economic opinions regarding who is cynical about the word "FREE".

It is purely subjective as even the "rich" look for "free stuff" (people don't get rich by blowing all their money or paying for EVERYTHING).

Even surgeons who make millions of dollars a year will JUMP at a free meal, free trial, free consulting, etc. In contrast, I think the poor are the most cynical; as a result of people assuming they will jump at anything free.

I am neither rich nor poor, but still respond to the word "free".

So does free mean free? Logically, no. Everything is an exchange. Is the word still effective? Absolutely!...whether or not one perceives it as being misused or not. Some of the greatest business empires in the past decade have been built on givng away a service or product. The exchange? exposure to ads, emails, etc.

Good question! I could on and on, but I think the above summarizes my opinion.

Thank You!

I'll use the helpUhire service as an axample. We give the first applicant prescreen for free. We do this so that companies can see the value we provide and realize that we are worth the price for any future prescreens. This is legally correct - we don't charge anything.

But we also know that it isn't necessarily free for the customer. They may not pay for us, but there is a cost (mostly their time) involved with using our service. So is it really free?

"Do people require laws for ethics to happen in a society?"
Ethics and laws are different. Ethics are learned set of principals of right conduct for an individual. Ethics vary from person to person.

I see laws as the set of rules provided to keep an individual's ethics from negatively affecting the community. Ok, I guess that is what laws are supposed to do - I can think of many times they do not do that.

As we say about our socialized medicine here in Canada, "If you think health care is expensive now, wait until its FREE". Meaning, if you think paying something out of pocket is expensive, wait until you see how much its going to cost the taxpayers when they give it away!

To be serious....Free still is a powerful word. Try doing a split run test to a mailing list. In the headline of your direct mail piece, include the word FREE...Like Free cup of coffee when you buy a meal. Compare how many people respond to the "FREE" offer verses the "non free" offer. Free still pulls.

Yes, free has certain connotations and skepticisms attached to it...but it still works. I say, if it ain't broke, why fix it.

Use the power of free when you have to, but if you can get away without having to use it...do that too!

Darcy (Customer Loyalty Network)