Discounts are a great way to see higher conversion rates, but making a special offer to your list can get tricky fast. There are so many sales out there, it’s common for discount offers to go unnoticed or ignored.
If you want to see your special promotions succeed, you need to set up your discounts strategically. It’s not enough just to slash prices—you also have to ensure that your marketing technique speaks to the benefits of your products and engages your list.
Follow these three guidelines the next time you offer a special promotion, and your efforts will pay off in a big way.
- Don’t bluff. Customers are more likely to hit the purchase button when there is an urgency to buy. When you set the cut-off date or a limited quantity, stick to it. A definite time frame or amount in stock not only encourages prospects to buy, but it also ensures future offers are taken seriously.
Delta Dental runs one of the most successful discount offerings out there. This insurance company has experienced outstanding results from offering specials. 95% of their email list utilizes their vouchers for discounted dental care! They pull off this conversion rate by ensuring that the customers know they have a limited time to use discount offers.
- Offer a bonus. To further encourage your customers to buy, offer a bonus with purchase. Leveraging your discount with a bonus works in two ways: it not only ramps up the urgency factor, but it also promotes other products and services.
Best Buy is a great example of how to implement strategic bonuses. Through the company’s Reward Zone campaign, shoppers are offered discounts when they purchase. In addition to the discount, customers rack up bonus points they can use to buy other items. If the customer buys a washing machine, extra discounts can be applied to anything in the store.
- Let it be a surprise. There’s the traditional Black Friday sales and the Halloween candy that’s slashed 75% on November 1. Try making your discount offer completely out of the blue to not only surprise customers, but also to eliminate competing offers.
Banana Republic serves as a shining example of the benefits of surprise discounts. Their technique seems random, but it is a strategy that works. It’s not uncommon for me to receive an email on a Sunday morning telling me of a special that only lasts for a couple of hours. Try an unannounced approach like this one, and see what happens to your conversion rate.
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