Partly this has to do with giving them a more active role in the process. They aren't just taking whatever is handed to them but instead choosing what they would prefer to have the most.

Use this when it comes to your marketing to accomplish a variety of different things.

The first thing you get is what I mentioned above: customers who are naturally going to be more interested in what you have to offer. You aren't just giving them a sale but giving them something they can choose between. The more options they have the more interested they'll be, and the more involved they'll be in the process.

This also helps you when you have different types of customers that you're trying to appeal to. Many stores cater to a more diverse crowd of people, and a single sale might not be enough to gain the interest of all of them. Now you can tailor make different sales to appeal best to different segments of your customer base. You not only get them more interested by giving them a choice but also appeal to all of your customers at the same time.

There are a number of instances when this can come in handy. Let's look at for a prime example. Most companies are just going to get a single calendar made to give out to all of their customers. But what if your customers don't like the images you chose or the theme you picked out for your calendar?

If they don't like it they just won't bother to take it. However, if you instead made two different calendars, and split up your between the two you're now able to give the choice between the two of them. Obviously let them take one of both if they really want to. Many times people might take the calendar only to then give it to someone else. They'll be spreading your marketing for you.

Doing something like this helps you avoid the risk of all that your customers won't like whatever topic you chose. You're giving yourself better odds of making what they like.

You can use this principle any time you want to hand something out for free to people. Even at tradeshows you can bring multiple items to hand out rather than just one. It is true that doing something like this will cost you more money, but you're also able to achieve stronger marketing results with it, and you have much better odds of people taking home your material.