How to create effective sale promotions
Sale promotions are so closely linked to e-commerce that it’s hard to imagine what it would be like today without them.
All e-commerce marketing managers fall back on different layouts and strategies and users watch for them too. This is so common you could almost say that we expect brands to do this.
However, not all of them are effective, which is why we’ve dedicated this article to considering some useful tips for you to create your next sales promotions more effectively.
Types of promotions
As we said, we’re facing such a familiar concept that we don’t need to explain it too much. Simply remember two basic characteristics of promotions: a sufficiently attractive advantage in the eyes of the customer and that the deal is limited to a specific time-period (has a start and end date).
With this as a baseline, we have practically unlimited strategies. You can create a host of different promotions because the only limitations are your creativity and the budget available.
Still, we can differentiate between various types of sales promotions. Let’s look at them closely.
Fixed Direct Discount
The most common and most used since the beginning of marketing. It basically consists of offering the user a percentage discount on the sole condition of making a purchase, regardless of the ticket amount.
For this to be effective, the most important aspect is that the user thinks they’re getting considerable savings.
Direct discount by volume
From our point of view, this trend is much more attractive. If the amount of the discount is subject to the size of the purchase, we can count on the client increasing their ticket value.
In terms of effectiveness, without a doubt, they convert much better and are more profitable for the business.
Reimbursement with credit
Sometimes it’s more appealing to translate the discount into “store credit for future purchases” rather than legal tender.
For the customer, it’s not as attractive as a direct discount, but there’s an important aspect in our favor: it generates return. Customers with credit at our e-commerce won’t spend money in another store if they can find the same item in ours.
For the discount to be effective, it has to be substantial, no one is motivated by 50 cents if the product exceeds that price by much.
Discount based on actions
Discounts are often used to push other goals; it’s a way of defining a synergy between them where both benefit.
A simple but effective example is a discount offered conditionally on the first purchase or when registering for a newsletter. This promotion creates an entry in our contact database that we can tap into via email marketing later or it can be a catalyst for first purchases.
Both work extremely well, but we can invent thousands of different dynamics conditioned on other actions or micro-conversions.
Shipping costs
Discounts don’t always have to be associated with a direct price cut. One of the most common sticking points in e-commerce is shipping costs. In fact, any additional cost not reflected on the product sheet can hinder the sale at the time of “checkout“.
Promotions can turn a weakness into a virtue; we can offer a discount on shipping costs (or assume them completely).
Here you can duplicate the fixed or volume discount strategy and, like direct discounts, we recommend going by volume for effectiveness and value of the conversions gained. You can set a minimum amount for free shipping and the customer ends up spending more than what they initially planned.
Packs or bundles
Another example where the offer isn’t based on a price discount is with packs. Here we can differentiate between packs of the same item (the classic 2×1) and packs of different products.
Packs of the same article work well when we talk about consumable goods (food, cosmetics, office supplies, etc.) or items that are otherwise appealing to share or even give away.
Packs of different complementary products are a good opportunity to put out items that are selling less than anticipated or, simply, to make an offer more persuasive.
How do you communicate effectively?
This is the second part of the tactic and strategy: communication. The deals will of course be present throughout the web in different sections and on product sheets but can also be on banners or other resources.
The company’s different promotion channels will also be used: PPC campaigns, Social Media, Email Marketing, Influencers, blog articles, press releases, etc. Here we recommend using codes to redeem offers so you’ll be able to track the effectiveness of each channel better.
To finish the article, we invite your customer service team to participate in these offers. Promotions are an exhausting sales pitch but they can also be used to attend a sale via livechat. Furthermore, if you use a chatbot, don’t leave them out of the strategy, you can use sales promotions with them too.
