AQA · GCSE · Business

    Course version: 8132 · Version from Sept 2017

    Price, product, promotion and place (4Ps): samples

    Full specification wording

    The elements of the marketing mix: price, product, promotion and place (4Ps): samples

    A sample is a small amount or trial-sized portion of a product given or sold cheaply to potential customers so they can try it before buying the full-size version.

    Checked against the AQA 8132 specification (opens in a new tab) on .

    • Point 50 of 80
    • 4 key terms

    Study notes

    From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.

    The idea

    A sample is a small amount or trial-sized portion of a product given or sold cheaply to potential customers so they can try it before buying the full-size version. Sampling belongs to the promotion element of the marketing mix and is especially useful for new or improved products, food and drink, cosmetics and subscription services, where the customer needs to experience the product before committing. For example, a supermarket may hand out free tasters of a new snack, or a streaming service may offer a free trial month. Sampling can raise awareness, encourage trial and generate word-of-mouth, but it carries costs such as producing the samples, staffing a stand and any lost full-price sales. A business must judge whether the extra customers gained outweigh those costs.

    What earns the marks

    • Defines a sample as a small or trial-sized amount of a product given to customers so they can try it.
    • Identifies sampling as part of the promotion element of the marketing mix.
    • Explains that sampling is used to raise awareness, encourage trial and generate word-of-mouth for new or improved products.
    • Analyses the costs of sampling, including producing samples, staffing and possible lost full-price sales.
    • Applies sampling to a named business or product and links it to the target market.
    • Evaluates whether sampling is suitable for a particular product compared with other promotional methods.

    Common mistakes and how to put them right

    • Confusing a sample with a free gift.

      Put it right by explaining that a sample is a small trial amount of the product itself, while a free gift is an extra item given with a purchase.

    • Assuming sampling always leads to repeat purchase.

      Put it right by noting that some customers take the sample without buying the full product.

    • Ignoring the costs of sampling.

      Put it right by including production, distribution and staffing costs in the analysis.

    Exam tips

    • State what the sample is and which product it promotes before explaining the intended effect.
    • Link sampling to a specific stage, such as launching a new product or entering a new market.
    • For evaluation, weigh the cost of the samples against the expected increase in sales and reach a clear conclusion.

    Try the lesson

    The start of the The elements of the marketing mix: price, product, promotion and place (4Ps): samples lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.

    Have a go first

    Which element of the marketing mix is a free sample of perfume given to shoppers in a store?

    Listen

    A sample is a small amount or trial-sized portion of a product given or sold cheaply to potential customers so they can try it before buying the full-size version. Sampling belongs to the promotion element of the marketing mix and is especially useful for new or improved products, food and drink, cosmetics and subscription services, where the customer needs to experience the product before committing. For example, a supermarket may hand out free tasters of a new snack, or a streaming service may offer a free trial month. Sampling can raise awareness, encourage trial and generate word-of-mouth, but it carries costs such as producing the samples, staffing a stand and any lost full-price sales. A business must judge whether the extra customers gained outweigh those costs. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Defines a sample as a small or trial-sized amount of a product given to customers so they can try it. Identifies sampling as part of the promotion element of the marketing mix. Explains that sampling is used to raise awareness, encourage trial and generate word-of-mouth for new or improved products. Analyses the costs of sampling, including producing samples, staffing and possible lost full-price sales. A common slip: Confusing a sample with a free gift. Instead, explaining that a sample is a small trial amount of the product itself, while a free gift is an extra item given with a purchase. Exam tip: State what the sample is and which product it promotes before explaining the intended effect.

    See it

    A top-down flowchart. The top node reads 'Sample: small or trial-sized amount of the product' and points down to 'Promotion element of the marketing mix'. From that node six branches lead down: three benefits — 'Raise awareness', 'Encourage trial' and 'Generate word-of-mouth' — and three costs — 'Costs: producing samples', 'Costs: staffing a stand' and 'Costs: possible lost full-price sales'. All six of these nodes point down to a single final node reading 'Judge whether extra customers gained outweigh the costs'.
    Shows sampling as part of the promotion element of the marketing mix, its benefits and costs, and the judgement of whether the extra customers gained outweigh the costs.

    Key words

    Say what each word means before you turn the card.

    Promotion within the marketing mix

    Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.

    Encouraging product trial

    Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.

    New product launch

    Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.

    Costs and benefits of promotion

    Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.

    See every definition
    Promotion within the marketing mix
    One of the elements of the marketing mix, to which sampling belongs, used to raise awareness and encourage trial.
    Encouraging product trial
    Getting potential customers to experience a product, which sampling does by giving a small or trial-sized amount so they can try it before buying the full-size version.
    New product launch
    A stage at which sampling is especially useful, along with improved products, food and drink, cosmetics and subscription services.
    Costs and benefits of promotion
    Sampling can raise awareness, encourage trial and generate word-of-mouth, but carries costs such as producing the samples, staffing a stand and any lost full-price sales.

    Label the diagram

    Some boxes have lost their names. Pick the right name for each number.

    The diagram again, with 3 boxes numbered instead of named. A top-down flowchart. The top node reads 'Sample: small or trial-sized amount of the product' and points down to 'Promotion element of the marketing mix'. From that node six branches lead down: three benefits — 'Raise awareness', 'Encourage trial' and 'Generate word-of-mouth' — and three costs — 'Costs: producing samples', 'Costs: staffing a stand' and 'Costs: possible lost full-price sales'. All six of these nodes point down to a single final node reading 'Judge whether extra customers gained outweigh the costs'.

    • 1Box 1

    • 2Box 2

    • 3Box 3

    0 of 3 labelled

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