Using discounts and specials to drive traffic to your site can be a double-edged sword. Used properly, such sales offers are a powerful tool for boosting conversions. Used haphazardly, however, they can eat-up profits and burn your brand. Effectively utilizing discounts and specials without damaging your brand takes a bit of finesse.

Step-1: Brand Strategy

Brand strategy is essential in choosing the best type of sales offer(s) for your biz. For brands boasting deep discounts and healthy margins, daily or weekly sales may be better for boosting sales. Higher-end brands with slimmer margins, however, do better with customer loyalty-type offers. (This prevents driving in non-loyal/price-driven shoppers.)

Step-2: Selecting a Discount-Type

Popular options include:

• Percentage off.
  Most common with sub-$100 sales, these range from overall, small 5-20% discounts to larger 50%+ single-item liquidations.
  
  
• Dollar value discounts.
  Most commonly used with sales over $100, pair these with a minimum purchase.
  
  
• Free shipping with minimum purchase.
  Shipping is the #1 reason for cart abandonment!
  
  
• Free gift.
  A great incentive – and a way to rid product that's not moving.

Step-3: Determining Timing

• Go weekly or monthly to drive sales and help meet revenue goals.
  
  
• Use pre launch offers to drive traffic and boost interest in new items/businesses.
  
  
• Take advantage of holidays and seasonal milestones to stretch revenue.

Step-4: Converting Missed Opportunities

Sales offers can also help you nab looky loos.

• Abandoned cart emails bearing free shipping/discount offers are a powerful conversion tool.
  
  
• Social, email, & newsletter subscriptions offers help you broaden your customer base.
  
  
• "Like", "follow", "share" & other referral promos are a wonderful way to widen word-of-mouth.
  
  
• First-time shopper offers are a great nudge.
  
  
• Customer loyalty offers keep shoppers coming back for more.

Struggling to keep up with packaging and shipping needs after using discounts and specials? Medallion Fulfillment & Logistics can help. Contact us today.