Executing effective end-of-year sales is a matter of choosing which sales promotion, or a combination of promos, would drive up your company’s sales. While any promo would pique a consumer’s interest, what you’re after should be promos that would make a huge impact on your bottom line.
Buy One, Get One, better known these days as BOGO, is best done when you have a big inventory of leftover products, and want to make the items fly off the shelves faster. A BOGO bundle for the price of one is definitely attractive to consumers, but this is best done for perishable items, products for everyday use, or for products with a looming expiry date. Check your inventory prior to implementing a BOGO to make sure you can accommodate all sales.
Freebies, giveaways, or the gift with purchase promo, are rarely the main reason why a consumer purchases an item; the freebie is usually more of a “good to have” product. A freebie only pushes a consumer to buy when they perceive the freebie to be equal or more than what they’re buying. For example: Companies in the beauty and wellness industry, especially online stores, make freebies as an incentive, and the consumer gets to choose which item they would prefer to receive with their purchase.
Make freebies more effective and push sales further by choosing products in sample sizes that you would want to highlight. Or better yet, freebies that come in full size will capture your customer’s attention, and perhaps create a lot of returning customers, inspiring brand loyalty.
Personalizing products, or a value-added service, is also very effective in boosting sales. While these are more for brick-and-mortar stores, it can also be done by online retailers. Choosing your brand’s free service or customization depends on your line of business. Clothing stores can offer free alterations or personalization on the spot, or beauty and wellness companies can offer free services such as a free facial or consultation with a cosmetic specialist.
Creating a distinct discount coupon for your business’ end-of-year promo will be successful when it’s for a wide range of products or services. Customers get irritated when the discount coupon is for obviously slow-moving items that you’re eager to get rid of.
Whether you choose to release a discount coupon on a daily basis or to have its validity good for three hours or three days, what would matter here is that your sales won’t be in the red just to make a sale. The ideal situation would be that you’ve more than broken even in sales, and you can sell your products at a discounted rate because you’ve already recouped your expenses.
Also, be wary on how deep you go with your discount for your end-of-year promo — too small a discount won’t urge your customer to purchase anything, while too big will make your consumer question why the items are practically being given away. The sweet spot for discount coupons would be around 25% to 40%.
For your end-of-year sales event, consumers would stay up or wake up at midnight if it would mean getting the best deal! The thrill of “battling it out” with other customers to score products at a lower price, and that sense of “get it before time runs out!” urgency is unlike any other promotion. Flash sales can also be done as an in-store promotion, but only customers who are already in the store would benefit from it. Marketing flash sales ahead of time for your physical store will bring in more customers, and more sales.
Bear in mind that your website or online retail platform should be able to withstand the traffic and won’t crash while customers are shopping — an unreliable website will only lead to annoyed customers! If you want to drum up buzz or heighten demand for certain products, announce the schedule of flash sales ahead of time, so your customers will know what day and time they would need to be online.
When it comes to the end of the year, it’s not necessarily true that consumers don’t have any more money to spend. Consumers will gladly shell out the money for a good deal — so it’s up to you and your end-of-year promos to make it worth their time and pesos!
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