Understand all promotion-related elements

9 in 10 consumers are always looking for a deal. Promotion will be one of the most important drivers that encourage customers to buy in your e-store. But they need to be well-thought-out, so the customers actually get any value out of it. For example, some e-shops will advertise socks for $1, only to make customers pay $13 for the delivery. Promotion must be based on the trust that you’re providing good quality that is worth much more than the discounted price, and that there are no catches. Since consumers are very savvy, they will notice your promotion if you advertise it well and it might be the beginning of their relationship with the e-store.

Isn’t promotion a costly thing?

Clients often like to forget that every time they buy something with a discount, someone is going to pay for it anyway – someone else than them. But people like deals and a well-thought-out campaign will result in bringing more customers to your e-store, where they will hopefully see more opportunities to purchase.

Promotions are tricky, though. On the one hand, providing discounts too often might mean that your customers will get used to everything being on constant sale and will refuse to buy anything at a normal price. On the other hand, not participating in the Black Friday frenzy promo might mean losing out on potential income, as customers are not likely to buy anything at a normal price during this period as well.

To sum up, when deciding about the promo budget, the most important thing to decide about is the goal of the promotion. If the business aims to attract customers in a long-term perspective rather than just one-shot clients, it might be actually a wise idea to avoid advertising during busy Holidays. However, if you are selling limited edition products, then proper timing will be everything.

What are example promotion ideas?

When creating a promotion, take into consideration the profile of your clients and their needs. Is there anything that they often ask about, such as free delivery or discount on a particularly interesting product or service? Is there something that you would never provide on a daily basis but you would be willing to do it for several days?

Here are some promotion ideas:

• Free delivery (local, country-wide, global)
• Discounts on products (either top-selling or those which do not sell too well)
• “Buy one and get another one” offers
• Loyalty programs
• Extras shipped along with the product or service, such as free (e-)book, free expert consultation, etc.

What are important do’s and don’ts before launching a campaign?

1. Remember what’s your target audience and what are their goals. Carefully consider whether the discount you offer is useful to them.
2. Make sure that your server and your inventory are prepared for an influx of traffic and orders.
3. Set up a counter that will remind customers when does the promotion end.
4. Prepare extra discounts for first-time shoppers, but do not forget about those who are long-time fans of your brand.
5. If it’s possible, cooperate with external partners to prepare even better deals, i.e. a free course or a ticket to an online event.
6. Make sure to differentiate your messaging across various channels, and to adjust it to each of them. Copying FB ads to Instagram word-for-word or treating Twitter in the same way as LinkedIn doesn’t make much sense.
7. Keep track of your expenses versus consumer acquisition. Sometimes the decision to end a promotion earlier and relaunch it later with a different point of view might be the best one.
8. Try to obtain the feedback of customers, if possible. For example, you might encourage them to share their remarks in the box intended for comments on delivery.