It is pretty much agreed that running promotions is one of the best ways to attract new sales. However, this does not mean that any old promotion will do. You need to have a well thought-out strategy in place if you are going to run an online promotion for your customers. Are you going wrong with your promotions? Let’s take a look…
- Forgetting to measure your results – Let’s start at the end: measuring the results of your marketing and advertising campaign. This is where a lot of businesses go wrong. If you don’t do this, how do you know whether your promotion has been a success or not? How are you going to make improvements to ensure that your next campaign is better? You are never going to get anywhere if you do not measure the results of your promotional efforts.
- Overlooking the importance of proofreading – Simply skimming over your content once you have written it will not cut it. You need to go over it again, and again. You then need to do it with fresh eyes. You then need to get someone else’s fresh eyes to look over it too! Nothing looks more amateurish than spelling mistakes.
- Forgetting on which side your bread is buttered – A lot of business owners make this critical mistake. They solely focus on attaining new custom, and they don’t give their existing customers any thought. Your existing client base is arguably more important. They have already invested in you, and so they are not going to be happy if the new customers are getting all of the perks and they are not getting anything. Remember, customer loyalty breeds repeat purchases and referrals too.
- Failing to identify your goals – Diving straight into a marketing campaign with little thought is never a good idea. If your online promotion is to be successful, you need to determine why you are doing it in the first place. What are you hoping to achieve? Do you want to differentiate your product from the competition? Are you looking to increase demand? Do you want to present information to your customers so you can boost your brand understanding? You can only put together an effective promotion once you know why you are doing it.
- Not seeking outside assistance – If you have no experience in marketing, you need to ask yourself whether it would be a better idea to seek professional assistance rather than managing your promotions in-house. There are companies that specialize in people-based marketing and know how to run effective campaigns to boost consumer loyalty. Yes, outside assistance costs money, but it can actually make you a lot of money too.
Use the advice that has been provided above and you are bound to notice some positive results with your promotions.
