We welcome you once again to another installment of our blog series titled Future-Proofing Your Business. For today’s blog post, we’ll be talking about must-try promos to attract customers.

So, promos… what about them?

Promotional offers influence the decision-making process of customers. They appeal to people’s fear of missing out. FOMO, as it’s called, makes customers want to grab on to limited offers before they slip through their fingers. It’s kind of a psychological trick if you think about it.

And before you get any ideas, promos aren’t self-destructive for business. Sure they can squeeze your profit margin a little bit, but they’re as beneficial to your business as they are to customers. With promos, you make more profit than you would if you were doing business as usual. You can also catch the eye of new customers and keep existing customers engaged all while increasing product awareness.

If you’re a business looking to try out promos for the first time or if you’re seeking new ways to do it, keep reading!

1. Holiday Discounts

Launching themed discounts is a perfect way of attracting customers and boosting sales at an opportune time like holidays when people’s shopping urges are heightened.

For a lot of businesses, holidays represent an influx in revenue. Flower shops, for instance, thrive during Valentine’s Day. Gift stores and dessert places also see a surge in orders at Christmastime.

To take advantage of the holiday spirit, you’d want to come up with promo codes that fit the event that’s being celebrated. Think along the lines of LOVEISINTHEAIR or SINGLEANDLOVINGIT for Valentines and REDCHRISTMAS or SECRETSANTA for Christmas.

You can also build your campaign around non-traditional holidays. If you own a coffee shop, you can offer discounts on International Coffee Day. Most shops can also commemorate holidays like National Best Friends Day.

2. Flash Sales

Time-limited promotions or discounts like flash sales are a sure-fire way to encourage customers to buy your goods and make repeated purchases. FOMO takes full effect for the duration of these promos since they typically last no longer than 24 hours and must-have items and essentials are up for grabs at low prices.

Flash sales become even more effective when they’re promoted as last-minute deals. The rush alone associated with these deals can be enough to make your audience feel the pressure and entice them to make more purchases.

In addition to spurring impulse purchases and increasing brand awareness, flash sales are a good way to stabilize existing inventory. However, keep in mind that you can’t just choose any product you want to get rid of. You have to be strategic about it and think about which products will encourage the right people to order.

3. Buy One, Get One

Implementing a Buy One, Get One promo is a perfect opportunity to earn profit while also getting rid of less desirable inventory quicker. BOGOs are ideal when dealing with aging products such as edible items nearing their sell-by date. These promos are also beneficial when you’ve got slow-moving inventory that physically eats up space and ties up capital.

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While BOGOs may seem like a glorified 50% sale, customers still love them because they feel like they’re getting a second product for free at no extra cost.

4. Charitable Cause Promos

If you’re looking to make an impact in your community and attract more customers at the same time, then it’s high time that you consider a charitable sales promotion.

Who doesn’t love hitting two birds with one stone? You’ll be able to express your brand values while also attracting customers who share the same beliefs as your business. Standing up for relevant causes earns businesses a good reputation and when it’s done promptly, customers are quick to show support for these businesses.

To show customers you truly care about a certain cause, inform them that for a certain period, a portion of your proceeds will be given to those in need or a charity you support.

5. Influencer Promos

You can never go wrong with tapping the power and reach of influencers. Doing so will make your brand known to a relevant audience and encourage first orders and user signups.

Influencer discount codes, which are typically announced by influencers on their videos and other social media posts, can be used by customers at checkout to get a specific item for a reduced price.

Pro tip: Keep your influencer discount codes as short as possible and easy to spell while still being relevant to the influencer you’re partnering with. To create your very own trackable referral codes for influencers to share, use the Referral Manager tool in the ChatGenie Dashboard. Watch our tutorial here to learn how!

You’ve started running promos, now what?

Keeping an eye on promos and conversions is a must. This way, you’ll know what promos are gaining traction and if it’s even worth it to run promos in the first place.

ChatGenie’s Promo Tracker is an excellent tool to manage promo codes, coupon expiration, and limit. This feature on the ChatGenie Dashboard shows a chart of existing codes, their value, usage limit, duration, usage count, and active status.

With this tool, you’ll get informed analytics on the performance of your promos and find out whether they’re working or if they’re needlessly chipping away at your profit.

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To get the most out of them, be sure to consider what promo works best for your business given your current situation, and understand how to execute them well.

But regardless of the promo you choose to go with, remember to instill that sense of urgency among your customers. Make them feel like they’re missing out if they let your deals just pass them by. Also, be mindful of giving your shoppers a heads up before your promos take effect by advertising them on multiple channels.

Run promos on ChatGenie-powered stores now! Sign up here for a free Facebook Messenger store.

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