In addition to their acclaimed Too Many Bones game, Chip Theory Games has become somewhat famous for a genuine, goodwill-driven marketing strategy: Every now and then when someone posts on social media about a hardship (or even just a concern if the game is a good fit for them), Chip Theory responds to offer them a free game. This ends up being notable at least partially because at $130, Too Many Bones is not an inexpensive game.
Before I jump into the nuances of this “random acts of freeness” strategy, I want to share my favorite type of opportunity to serve Stonemaier Games customers, human-to-human: My heart swells when someone contacts me in an effort to do something special for someone they care about (other than themselves). Typically this results in me making a quick video to wish someone happy birthday (or something like that), but on occasion it also involves a free product. 99% of these conversations happen privately.
Let’s jump into this topic! Are random acts of freeness good business? Do they inspire loyalty, goodwill, ROI (return on investment), first-time customers, and repeat customers? Or are they in the category of “let’s be good to our fellow humans” without a business-level motivation?
My instinctual answer is that it’s a mix of all of the above, largely depending on the situation and the delivery. Just as I think it’s fine to do something publicly altruistic that also benefits you (particularly since it may inspire others), I also think it’s great to show private compassion with only the recipient benefiting from the support.
Here are some situations and examples of random acts of freeness. I’ve included some quotes from Stonemaier Ambassadors who recently shared their thoughts with me about this strategy.
- Hardship (fires/floods, medical issues, job loss): Sometimes people post publicly and privately about how they’re going through extreme, sometimes sudden hardships, and a special gift at the right time can restore their faith in humanity. As one of our ambassadors said, when a publisher steps in to provide such a gift, “it can be a beautiful way to humanize a company and highlight their values.” I just recently heard a touching story about the pet supply company Chewy–a customer contacted them to unsubscribe from Chewy’s birthday card list because their pet had passed, and a few days later they received a bouquet of flowers and a sympathy card from Chewy. That’s beautiful. I think what’s really important here is that the act is genuine, not obligated.
- Selfless Celebration: This is the category I mentioned at the beginning of the post in relation to Stonemaier Games. Sometimes these are public posts celebrating a friend’s, partner, or child; sometimes they’re private requests.
- Complaints: A customer complains publicly about a product they received. While some companies react to this by sending a replacement product, I think this is often solved by simply sending the customer a replacement for the defective component (and by replying publicly, the company teaches other customers that there is a way to request and receive such parts without making a public complaint). There are also complaints that are more difficult to address, like if a person simply didn’t like the product. For those, I agree with one of our ambassadors: “It encourages other consumers to be publicly and possibly loudly negative about your product/company in hopes of getting free stuff.”
- Doubts: Sometimes a customer isn’t sure if a product is a good fit for them, and I’ve seen a few instances where a post about “Is this game any good” receives a reply from the publisher saying they’ll send the customer the game for free to try out. Perhaps there’s a right time for this, but it seems like a bit of an insult to everyone else who researched the game and then bought it (which still comes with a risk).
- Feedback: One of the wonderful things about social media is that companies can learn so much from customers who are willing to publicly share constructive feedback. In most cases, I think it’s appropriate for a company to simply read along and express their appreciation. But sometimes a random act of freeness can be nice too. A friend recently tweeted to Bombas (a sock company) with an idea about a bundle that would let customers compare 2 different types of socks. He was surprised and delighted soon afterwards when Bombas replied privately to say that they wanted to send him a few styles for free.
- Personal Achievement: I always think it’s neat when someone shares that they just played their 20th, 50th, or even 100th session of one of our games. That’s amazing! Sometimes it’s enough just to share my excitement in the comments, but other times I want to share something tangible with them. However, if someone has played a game that many times, they probably have all the stuff for that game.
- Sales: A fellow publisher once liquidated an entire product line by offering it for free on their webstore (customers paid shipping), partially in the hopes that customers would add other products to their cart. The results were that despite selling out within 24 hours, hardly anyone added other products, nor did those customers return in the future.
One commonality I’m seeing in these examples is that the human side of these random acts of freeness works best when BOTH parties are genuine and selfless. If a customer demands a free product, even if the company obliges, the entire experience becomes uncomfortably transactional instead of an opportunity for two humans to connect with each other.
Also, random acts of freeness are far from the only way for a company to express kindness, empathy, and compassion. I try to view this as I would treat a friend. If a friend has a tough day, there may be occasions when I might treat them to a meal or drink. But I also might just listen to them, sit with them, give them a hug, or do them a favor. I think the same applies to customers.
Last, from a management perspective, I think it’s helpful when companies enable their employees to treat customers exceptionally (which sometimes includes free stuff). I’ve seen this at Trader Joe’s when an employee offers a customer a free pack of chocolates. They don’t need to go to a manager to approve the transaction; rather, they’re trusted with authority and autonomy.
What’s your take on random acts of freeness? Have you seen (or experienced) a company do something like that in a way that was a win-win-win for the recipient, the spectators, and the company?
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14 Comments on “Random Acts of Freeness”
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Have played a few of your games for a while, mostly Wingspan.
Something I have seen mostly in Europe at coffee shops and some restaurants was adding a pending to an order.
Say a group buys 4 coffees they may say 4 coffees and 2 pending.
They pay for 6.
If someone in need comes in, they can ask if there is a pending coffee, or meal, and get it for free.
Was thinking something like this for schools where we the buyers could add a few dollars up to the cost of a game to a pot that every quarter or 6 months SM then sends out to groups where a game could make a impact.
Perhaps keep a tally that pops up when someone adds to the program.
I would suspect you to sell these games at retail to help cover the overhead.
As an old gamer and now about retired, I would lend help in anyway I could.
Just a thought.
Thanks Joseph! We send games to schools and various programs on a regular basis. I would say that you could take out the middle man with your idea–if there’s a school or organization you think would benefit from a game of ours, you could buy it and give it to them.
Precisamente me ha pasado un caso muy curioso y que me lleno de alegria hace tan solo tres semanas . Precisamente con Tapestry, soy de Sevilla y mi tienda de referencia es “jugamos una” , el caso es que no soy un gran comprador de juegos pero me encantan y tapestry es uno de mis juegos favoritos , la cuestion es que al volver de las vacaciones de verano, habia guardado una miniatura que me habian regalado hecha en resina y se derritio dentro de la caja de Plans and ploits manchando TODAS las losetas de Espacio del juego base y la expansion , asi qeu con pesar pregunte a MALDITO GAMES si podrian tener esas losetas de repuesto indicando que estaba dispuesto a pagarlas sin problemas ya que fue culpa mia . Pues bien su respuesta fue inmediata y a las pocas horas recibi un mensaje en el que me habian enviado ,TODAS las losetas a mi tienda y podia pasar a recogerlas ese mismo dia. No tengo una economia muy buena por circunstancias personales, pero mi forma de agradecerlo fue diciendo el gran gesto que tuvieron conmigo en mis redes sociales y grupos de amigos jugadores mas cercanos . Ni que decir tiene que tienen mi apoyo mas absoluto desde siempre pero esto lo refuerza aun mas.
In 2020, I did a hardship giveaway as the pandemic was really ramping up in the summer. I gave away 30 free copies of one of my card games including free shipping anywhere in the world. The response was very positive and almost all of those who requested a copy were new customers and all were very appreciative. Some shared stories privately of tough times and how this was very uplifting.
I remember this one!
I have replaced a mech with a bent piece through you guys. Had a set of attack cards for Gloomhaven sent to me that were missing in my box. Had a replacement “punch” board sent from Broken Token because I accidentally glued a piece wrong and they graciously agreed to replace it for me. In each case I offered to pay for shipping but was told to not worry about it. In each case the company in question garnered a huge amount of loyalty and good will not just from me, but within my gaming group.
I’m glad to hear that! I view replacement parts as just a standard (but important) part of customer service. :)
When we say “free” people usually think of a product – a thing. I like your example of recording a video. The cost there is your time and I’d argue that’s often more valuable than anything else. So, for me, the willingness to take the time to engage in dialogue (of some kind) with a customer is one of the best, most fundamental practices to build and foster goodwill for any business.
I like how Portal Games made available scenarios during the COVID pandemic, so even though I didn’t use them, it makes the company look more human.
I was trying yo decide if I should buy Too Many Bones several months ago and was asking questions online. The marketing manager for Chip Theory Games responded and offered me a promo code to get an add on for the game for free if I decided to purchase the base game. I ended up getting the base game and two expansions, one for free.
Last year GMT was offering a giveaway for people who had lost jobs or suffered economically in the early part of the Pandemic. They offered two free in stock games without requiring a lot of the person other than to request the giveaway. Now you’d think people ight take advantage of that, but it mostly did not seem to have been the case. I had not specifically been affected by the pandemic, but I had suffered a serious injury to my right hand. I leaned against a window pane, which shattered and nearly cost me my hand, if not my life. It kept me out of work for awhile and seriously impacted my gaming. I learned to sleeve cards one handed, which is not something many people can do :). But in all seriousness, it was a bad time for me, and still is in many ways. I took the liberty of contacting GMT and explaining my situation and asking if I could participate. The didn’t ask for anything from me other than my address and the names of the games I wanted. Perhaps I was asking for favors outside of the generous offer they were already making to others, but I was very clear that I understood this was supposed to be pandemic related and that if they chose not to allow my request there would be no hard feelings. I meant it. They went out of their way to help me get through one of the roughest times of my life and I will never ever forget that.
Thank you for sharing that, Marc, and I’m so sorry to hear about your hand. I’m glad that GMT’s generosity was able to help you through a really rough time.
I saw this one as well.
It was great to see them do it.