5 top tips to offer effective deals

It’s that time of the year again. The time when, after the Christmas holidays, it’s possible to buy the most varied products at a reduced price.

If you have an online store, I’m sure the sales season is one of the most lucrative and interesting times of the year for you, after Christmas of course.

But what would you think if I’d tell you that no matter how good you’re doing right now, you can still make a lot more out of the sale you’re having? You heard that right!

It is likely that you didn’t consider every possible opportunity when you started the sale. But that’s the most natural thing in the world: If your online business is not very big and you don’t have much help, this busy time can distract you from the global strategy you need to build and follow.

Today, we invite you to stop in your tracks and sit down to really think and plan this sale that you’ve been waiting for for months.

I’m sure you want to get all you can out of it, right? Then, take note of these 5 top tips that will help you make your post-Christmas sale truly effective.

Every story that extends over time must have a rhythm.  A cadence in which, from time to time, a new and unexpected element emerges to re-capture the readers’ attention and get them to focus again on what we’re explaining. 

Something similar happens with sales. We’re not exactly telling a story, but the cadential element does help us to give a certain rhythm to something we’re communicating over a certain period of time. 

It’s not the same to create a discount code at the beginning of the sale and offer it to everyone from January to March, than offering surprise elements, Twists and news little by little over those 3 months. 

With every unexpected element, our customers look at us again.  This is why it’s important to plan in advance the cadence you are going to give to your sales, that is, the sequential rhythm with which those twists in the script will be appearing.

 It is recommended that these items appear in the structure of any sale campaign: 

Launching: The green light to the sale, it’s that moment when we offer a unique deal or discount that the client, at face value, believes it’s the best deal he/she can get.

Additional benefits: As the sale continues, there must be some extra benefits that add to the initial offer.   Brainstorm comprehensively and think of a few ways to add a plus to your initial offer.  Then, sprinkle those ideas over time.

Extension: When the sale is about to end, or just after it ended, score some points for your store and extend it for a few more days.   If so far, your product rotation has not been as good as you expected, now is the time to apply an extra discount.

Final sale: At the end of the sale, there must always be clearance deals.  It’s the moment for the biggest discounts, deals, and bargains, ideal tactics to empty your shelves of those hard-to-move products or the remnants of the season.

 If you have a physical store in addition to an online store, make sure all your communication is consistent.   This means you must communicate your sales online, but also at the point of sale.  Don’t let any customer escape!

In the Internet, make sure you communicate your sales: 

Through social networks: Publishing statuses and visual content like cover photos and profile pictures.

In your brand blog.

Through Adwords / PPC.

Via email marketing ( Here are a few tips to have the best email marketing campaign ). 

 In your physical store, make sure to advertise your sales: 

With ads in the showcase.

With a point-of-sale display at the entrance of the store, if possible.

Through Stoppers strategically placed on counters, shelves, and other parts of the store.

With stickers glued in appropriate places.

If you have the budget and time, design and print flyers and brochures to explain your sale highlights. 

 Remember that this offline communication must include both the concept of the sale and the discounts available (20%, 30%, etc.).

When you’re having a special sale or offering great deals, it’s very important to treat your best customers as such. 

 You can not treat the same recurring seniority customers who spend hundreds of euros per year in your store, and new customers, one-time clients or people who don’t spend as much yearly. 

 It’s important that you segment all these types of customers and offer a specific deal for each segment.

 When you have clear figures, you will see that there are groups of clients that are satisfied with the general discounts, and others you’ll want to give a little extra to. 

Sales will provide an excellent opportunity to increase the rotation of those products that sometimes are hard to get out of the shelves. 

 You can choose the simple discount formula and offer those products at an extraordinary reduced price to turn them into impulse products.   If you opt for this idea, remember to place these products strategically, both in your online and physical store.

A more original alternative formula is the creation of bundle products or groups of specific products for the sale. 

 The objective is to create closed small packages that offer a better price if bought together than each product separately.

 The main point is to include in the bundle the products that are difficult to sell.  The customer sees it as a bargain, and you get to sell products that have been stuck in your store for a while.

 You can integrate the element of surprise in your sale in many ways. 

Of course, remember to use the right communication channel for every case.  Email marketing and social networks are, because of their immediacy, the best allies for such offers.