Do Free Trials Work for B2B Conversion?

As consumers we've all become accustomed to free trials.
But does this Bottom of Funnel strategy work for B2B businesses?

For B2B companies, especially those with subscription revenue models, free trials offer many benefits. It's a great way to allow potential customers to test your product for their desired use case. It can also be instrumental for providing buying committee members with a functioning example of your solution before formal purchase processes are put in place. Typically, your free trial is for a limited time, usually between 7 to 30 days, which helps create a sense of urgency for purchase decisions.

Even when unsuccessful at delivering a purchase, a free trial can offer many benefits for your brand and marketing practice. They're a great way to accumulate positive testimonials and user feedback. Which can be instrumental when you're competing with larger, incumbent competitors.

How successful are B2B Free Trials?

Conversion rates are generally higher when free trials are offered, and even more so for B2B companies. Based on research by Recurly across 1,200+ subscription sites, 2 out of every 3 B2B free trial converted to a monthly or annual subscription sale. Buyers often need reassurance about the quality of your product and service before they can plan their purchase. As B2B services tend to cost more, free trials help eliminate the initial hesitancy B2B buyers may have to try your new solution.

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Competitive Advantages

By onboarding potential customers with free trials, you're setting yourself apart from your competitors that don't offer this "try-before-you-buy" option. Assuming you can successfully engage your trial participants, you have a significant competitive advantage for the deal, since your customer is already using your product and building a relationship with your Sales and/or Customer Success team. According to Userpilot, most B2B free trials are between 14 and 30 days long, which is ample time to secure your position with potential customers as their best option for the deal. Offering a free trial is the first step towards conversion, not the last. To significantly improve your conversion rate, you need to work with your potential customers to maximize their value and time during their free trial.

Offering a free trial is the first step towards conversion, not the last. To significantly improve your conversion rate, you need to work with your potential customers to maximize their value and time during their free trial.

What's the Downside?

If your free trial doesn’t convert, you're not losing anything - not even the deal. Many B2B purchases take 3 to 6 months, so your potential customer may still be in their buying window at the end of your planned free trial. Providing a great opportunity for you to nurture and close the deal with additional insights you've gained from their user behavior during their free trial. Finally, a free trial is only a total loss when it doesn't provide feedback or learnings for your business. If you're collecting user input from trial participants you're perfecting your marketing and Bottom of Funnel intelligence for free. Companies often spend millions for exactly this type of research to make their products more competitive.

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Free trials have become the industry norm for many B2B subscription services. By not offering one you may be putting yourself at a disadvantage. As you improve your free trial methodology, please keep in mind your free trial is only the beginning of your deal opportunity, not the deal itself. If you don't engage your free trial participants quickly and convincingly they're unlikely to convert by themselves.