Create Compelling Special Offers to Boost Sales
Web Commerce Today, Issue 31, February 15, 2000
An important way to boost sales in your online store is to create compelling offers. While this subject deserves a much longer treatment that this brief article, it is of vital importance. Think of your special offers in two ways: (1) offers designed to get the customer into your store, and (2) offers to entice the customer who is already in your store to make a purchase.
Getting the Customer in the Door
The offer designed to get your customer into your store must be adapted to fit the particular advertising medium you use. Banner ads can carry only a minimal message, perhaps about a contest or free shipping. Text ads are better, since they allow you to tell about marked down items and inventory reduction sales. Your own e-mail newsletter e-mailed to customers is the best medium of all, since you aren't limited so much by space. If you haven't already, start sending a regular newsletter to your customers and any shoppers who wish to receive it. Each month or every two weeks, send out the newsletter to bring back your very best prospects, customers who already trust you. Here are some offers designed to get them back in:
- Price reduction sales
- Loss leaders to get the customer in the store
- Two for the price of one (though most shopping cart programs don't handle these too well, without reconfiguring the product price itself)
- Free shipping for one week only
- Inventory reduction sale
- President's Day Sale, etc.
- Sale for select customers only, put the following promotional code in the order blank to get your special discount....
- Coupon specials are similar. The coupon may take the customer to a special URL with the marked down price (easy to do), or provide a promotional code that triggers the lower price (technically more difficult).
- All prices slashed 15% this weekend only.
- Package deals, bundling two products together with a special price
In general, brick-and-mortar retail techniques can be adapted to your online store. Be creative, be innovative. And be sure to use e-mail marketing to your customers!
Enticing the Visitor
Once you get your customer inside your store, however, the nature of your offer is different. The goal is now to get the customer to check out with SOMETHING in his shopping cart.
Today only. Offers that have some kind of time limit encourage your customer to make the purchase now, rather than putting it off for later.
Sale items. Always have something on sale, and make the sale products visible on the front page and accessible from any page in the store.
Competitive everyday prices. Many customers are just nosing around, but are more likely to purchase from you if your prices seem normal. Contrary to recent media hype, all customers do NOT shop for the absolute lowest price. You don't have to match the low price leader. Other factors such as convenience are involved. But you don't want your prices to be perceived as higher than normal -- unless you are positioning yourself deliberately for quality, service, and luxury.
Bargain table. You may have left over items from the previous season's merchandise. Odd colors or sizes. Discontinued models. Make them available at a "bargain table." If you continually have something new at a bargain price, you train your customers to check back often.
An offer for free shipping over $50 (varies with your average ticket price) may encourage a shopper who found one thing to purchase another item, just to get the break on shipping. The result is a higher average transaction total, and that kind of money spends as well as any other. :-)
