May 10th, 2016
There is a school of thought that says that offering products and services at a discount ultimately hurts your business. The general idea is that when you run a discount promotion, you also erode the perceived value of your offering thereby making potential customers wary of the quality. While this may be the case in certain instances, if you promote your deals and discounts wisely, you'll find the opposite it true - your prospects will get excited about being able to get what they want for a lower price and will be more likely to become your customer.
If you're a SocialOwl licensee, then you are aware that we offer the ability for you to quickly and easily create deals and sweepstakes in a matter of minutes (or seconds if you're THAT good). In case you weren't convinced of why offering deals for your business, and the businesses with whom you work is a good idea, here are four reasons you should be offering deals:
- Increased Traffic: This may seem obvious, but offering a deal will bring in new prospects to your business. The key is to make sure that you advertise your deal where it will be seen by people who are most likely to want what your offering. Put your business and your deal out there - on social media, on various digital bulletin boards and groups, and anywhere else you might advertise.
TIP: Tailor your deals to specific individuals or organizations to give a sense of exclusivity. For example, you might try extending a special deal for your business to members of your local chamber of commerce. - Increased Conversions: Perhaps your products and/or services have been on the periphery of your prospects mind. Maybe they know that they need what you're offering, but just haven't pulled the trigger yet. Or maybe they told you that they wanted to do more research before making their final decision of how to proceed. When you offer a limited time deal you are much more likely to draw them back in and close the sale.
TIP: Try introducing an exclusive limited time deal to a prospect who is close to buying to push them over the edge and make the sale. - Keeps Your Marketing Fresh: If you've ever felt like your marketing efforts have gone stale, chances are they have. Creating new deals gives you the opportunity to promote something new and fresh wherever you do your marketing.
TIP: Keep your deals fresh by changing them regularly. Bonus points for having them reflect the period of time that they are offered (i.e. "Sizzling Summer Special" for a Summertime promotion). - Lays the Foundation For A Positive Relationship: When you give a prospect a deal packed with great value and good quality, you are driving home the idea that they were truly fortunate to have found you (or you them). Once you've got a customer on board with your business, you'll be able to sell to them time and time again. Furthermore, once they've seen what you and your business can do for them, they will be much more likely to spread the word via the all-powerful word of mouth.
TIP: Leverage the goodwill that you've earned from with your deal and ask your happy customers for a recommendation or review online on sites like Yelp, Facebook, Google, etc).
Once you unlock the power of offering deals to your prospects, you should quickly be able to see an uptick in conversions. Remember: your prospects want to feel like they discovered or earned something. You can give them what they want with a deal specially created just for them.