Promotions are a proven way to attract customers, increase sales and build brand loyalty. But did you know that there are countless ways to cleverly place promotions and create different types of offers?
In this blog post, we take a closer look at the art of strategically placed promotions and how you can use 5x5x5 promotion ideas for 125 different promotion combinations to delight your customers.
5 placement options
When placed correctly, a discount coupon encourages purchase by promising a price reduction. The following types of placements can be taken into consideration:
- Homepage – first impressions matter:
Your homepage is the showcase of your online store. Use teaser areas to present general promotions as hooks. At the same time, you can offer personalized deals for specific interests. For example, show general offers for clothing and/or create personalized offers for men’s shirts. This allows you to effectively target different audiences. - Category Pages – targeted offers:
Offers on category pages should be displayed only for relevant products or categories. If a customer is browsing a page of T-shirts, an offer such as “Buy 5 T-shirts – Get 20% off with this coupon code” could be displayed. This increases the likelihood that the customer will notice the offer — and ideally make use of it straight away! - Search Pages – optimize search results:
If a customer searches for a specific product and does not see any results, you can display a cross-category offer to draw attention to other products. Alternatively, display an offer that matches the search category to increase conversions. - Cart pop-up – the last chance before purchase:
When a shopper adds products to their cart, you can display category-specific offers, if available. This is a perfect opportunity to up-sell and cross-sell. This can encourage additional purchases and increase the average order value. - Checkout – highlight “missed” offers:
At checkout, you can alert customers to a category-specific offer they may have missed. A clear reference to the promotion and the benefits to the customer in the order summary could encourage the customer to take a closer look at the promotion before making a purchase. This can encourage impulse purchases, similar to the displays at the checkout counter in a supermarket.
5 types of promotions
In addition to placement, there are several types of promotions you can offer to grab your customers’ attention:
- Free shipping:
A real promotion classic! If you only offer free shipping above a certain order value, you can simply encourage customers to add more items to their cart with messages like “only € xx until free shipping”. - Percentage discount:
Offer your users a percentage discount. By using a user-specific discount code, e.g., via e-mail vs. print mailing, you can find out exactly which measure works best here. The rule for your customers is: buy more, save more. 😉 - Fixed amount discount:
This is not a percentage discount, but a fixed amount of money that is deducted from the total order value. - Coupon for next purchase:
Offer your customers a coupon for their next purchase. A promising way to turn your buyers into loyal return customers. - Free gift:
Let your customers choose a small gift as a thank you, such as a product sample, which they will ideally add to their shopping cart as a full product with their next purchase.
5 different messages
In addition to different types of promotions, you can use different messages to increase impact:
- FOMO – Fear of Missing Out:
These promotions show how many customers have already taken advantage of the offer to increase the pressure. Also known as “group motivation”. - Countdown – Valid for x days only:
Countdowns create a sense of urgency and pressure the consumer to make a quick decision for fear of missing out on the offer. This often results in immediate action. - Only in combination with…:
You can attach conditions to promotions to encourage customers to buy additional products. - For you and a friend:
Allow your customers to share offers with their friends to attract new customers. Win-Win-Win! - Exclusive to newsletter subscribers:
Limit offers to a specific audience and encourage users to subscribe to your newsletter. You will gain subscribers and the user will be happy to receive offers that they will see sooner as a loyal customer.
The result: 125 different promotion combinations!
By combining these five tips and the five types of promotions with the five different messages, you have at least 125 different ways to delight and motivate your customers.
Keep in mind that not every promotion may be right for your business. Analyze your customers’ behavior and experiment with different combinations to see what works best. A well-placed and well-thought-out promotion can not only increase sales, but also improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
If you would like to implement promotions in your online store, we would be happy to help you! Simply book a demo here.