You’re working to gain customers, and you’re scratching your head trying to figure out what will entice your customers to choose your company over the competition. It’s a difficult scenario for every business to be in, but it’s also one that has a clear answer: offer promotions.
Yes, top-notch customer service and a product that is superior to the competition will work well.
But when it comes to many consumers, they’re also looking for the best deal. Even if your product or service is more expensive, the right promotion may put your price on par with your lower-priced competitors, and consumers will still view your offer as superior.
Coupons have even been shown to be a major deciding factor when choosing a restaurant, for example.
How can you start using promotions to bring new customers to your door?
1. Cross Promotions Work Very Well
If you want to make more money with each purchase, try and use cross promotions to your advantage. The idea of a cross promotion is simple:
- Offer one product at standard price
- Cross promote another product for a discount
Amazon is a great example of a company that does this well. Known for being the world’s largest online retailer, you’ll often find Amazon promoting another product alongside the product you’re buying.
Let’s say that I am purchasing a book about promotions.
I may be prompted, with an attractive image, that other customers have bought another book as a bundle. Amazon often goes the extra mile and claims “buy both, together for 20% off,” or something similar to get my attention.
You can do this with products or services that are beneficial to one another.
Cross promotions can also be done with another business involved. This is a common practice in commercial plumbing or at restaurants and hotels. You may have a restaurant, and you may cross promote a great coffee shop for breakfast.
The coffee shop may then hand out promotions for your company.
It’s a way to cross promote products with a company that may also offer your target market a product or service that they would enjoy.
2. Offer Manufacturer Rebates
A common promotion tactic seen across many marketing channels is offering a manufacturer rebate. This rebate, one I just took advantage of gave me a near 25% discount on an expensive supplement, encourages consumers, both existing and new, to purchase a new product.
Manufacturer rebates that offer the industry’s best price tend to work well.
You’ll be able to use rebates to attract both regular consumers and businesses. These manufacturer rebates are a powerful promotional tool that can’t go overlooked.
3. Referrals and Reward Programs
Businesses can turn their current customer base into an army of marketers, and this army’s task is to refer a business to their friends and family. I am seeing this done with beauty products extensively on Facebook, where friends are recommending products left and right.
They either earn commission from most of these recommendations, or they’re able to receive free products.
Referrals are great for business because little money needs to go into the acquisition of a referral.
You can receive referrals by:
- Asking for a referral directly.
- Dispatching an email asking if the customer liked your product or service, to refer it to another person.
- Creating a rewards program.
A rewards program is an additional incentive for customers to actually refer you to others. Through a reward program, the person may receive:
- Free products
- Steep discounts
If you offer a reward program, you’ll find a lot of customers are more than willing to spread the word about your company.
Loyalty programs are another great idea. If you have ever been to a barber shop, you may have received a little punch card. When there are five punches, you can pick any number, you may receive a free haircut or something else.
The idea behind a loyalty program is that it is a way to say “thanks” to your current customers.
When you show customers that there’s a reason for being loyal, they’ll often keep coming back and feel like they’re part of an exclusive club. Everyone relishes in the fact that they’re “exclusive,” and this can be used to your business’s favor.
All you need to do is follow the Small Business Association’s recommendations linked above to get your program started.
