Promotional offers are also not cheap, which is why they need to be effective in order for them to produce good ROI (Return on Investment).
So, how effective are your online promotional offers? There are three major elements that can make a promotional offer effective, especially when offered to online customers. We are going to discuss those three elements in this article.
The Right Offer for the Market
Deciding the kind of bonus or the amount of discount to offer is very similar to developing a product in the first place; you have to fully understand your customers in order to know what to offer them. Sure, offering a 50% discount on your latest items will create a huge buzz, but there is a big chance that sales will die down as soon as the offer is over; this is something we don’t want.
Take your time to review market data and do a bit more research into the target audience you are aiming for. Ask several questions and find out more about the decision making process of your audience. Are they price-sensitive? Do they prefer cash bonus or bundled purchase? Will they be willing to try the product at a discount?
The last question is a particularly important one. The goal of a promotional offer should be to attract repeat customers. This means getting them to try the product – and to like it so much that they would buy it again at normal price.
The gaming industry is one of the best at this type of marketing. Take a look at leovegasblog.com and some of the promotional offers they have in store and you’ll quickly notice how well they balance between offering just the right amount of bonus and creating a promotional campaign that will get new players trying their platform.
Delivery Matters
You can’t just advertise a big discount on your online store and expect thousands of customers to come instantly. That’s not going to work, especially in today’s competitive market. It is still necessary to deliver the promotional offer so that it reaches the right target audience.
There is one approach that you should integrate into your campaign the next time you want to create a promotional offer: storytelling. Create a build-up before the big day (the day when the discounts are up for grab). Tell stories about why the promotional offer is put in place. Use social media and other delivery channels to reach a very targeted audience.
On the actual day, you will have no trouble at all getting customers to come. Many brands are using this approach and getting a lot of positive responses. When OnePlus used an invite system, for instance, they create a big hype around their new product weeks before the actual sale. The new phone is usually sold out in minutes when it is eventually launched.
Stay in Budget
The most valuable promotional offers are still the ones that give you the best returns on investment. This means staying in budget is just as important as getting thousands of new sales. Measure how much you can actually afford to allocate on discounts, bonuses and other offers. Set a target at the beginning of the campaign and make sure the amount of money you spend generates the right amount of sales increase. Combined with the previous two elements, good budgeting will help you launch effective promotional campaigns for your business.
