How To Use Discounts Smartly
Sales,
promo code, special offers, what are online discount hunters’ favorite terms?
Too hard to say no to the discounted deals when they’re presented right there
in front of your face.
However,
for most e-commerce
businesses, it is another story. On the one hand, offering tempting
discounts can bring you traffic and revenue boosts, but is the decrease on
profit margin really worth it?
In
additions, an over-reliance on discounts, in a long term, will attract
discount-driven customers who may not really be loyal to your brand.
Potentially, it will reduce your traffic and conversions during the time when
discount is not offered.
That
being said, you can still implement sales tactics while avoid these cons.
Before you roll out your next big special offers, read the following three tips
and hopefully they will give you some new ideas.
1. Offer discounts to you loyal fans first
As
the saying goes – 80% of your ecommerce profits are likely coming from the 20%
of your highest spenders. Instead of pursuing deal-hunters, why not retain your
most loyal customers who, according to the 80/20 rule, are also the
highest-spending fans with special deals?
In
the US, 40% of
revenue comes from returning or repeat customers, who represent only 8% of all
visitors. So, identify your frequent buyers and send out coupon codes to them
first.
2. Free shipping under certain conditions
Whether
offering free shipping or not, as you may debate, is depend on if you can
afford it or not. Free shipping doesn’t work for every e-commerce store
especially when you have to absorb 100% of the shipping cost.
In
order to offer free shipping without going broke, don’t set it as the default.
Instead, set free shipping with minimum order value thresholds. You can also
offer free shipping to your most loyal customers as part of your loyalty
program. Another affordable way is to offer a fee-based member program, in
which you charge customers a fee in exchange for free shipping on some or all
items.
3. Don’t discount on your flagship products
You
most signature and popular products should never go on sale. In this way,
you’ll be able protect the margins for your best goods, while also avoiding
damaging your brand reputation. This approach allows you to continue driving
significant revenue during the sales season without compromising your entire
brand value.
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