For businesses, small and large, making sales and increasing profits can be a perpetual struggle. That includes companies selling technological programs. To motivate customers to purchase without wavering, you need to convince them that not only is your offering amazing, one-of-a-kind and life-changing, your product or service also must be acquired now and not later. Creating a sense of urgency and scarcity with prospective customers is critical to their conversion as it gives them the sense that if they do not act now, they may not be able to act later – and that if they do not purchase your offering, they will regret it immensely.
Rather than pushing your customer into a sale, you should ideally prevent prospective customers from delaying making an attractive purchase. Here are a few ways to boost your company’s sales – and bottom line using special offers and promotions.
Enable limited time offers
Consumers love a great bargain, especially if they can brag about it to those who had to buy at full price later on. Make your product or service available for a reduced cost immediately upon its launch, or on special occasions, and be sure your in-store or e-commerce customers are well aware that this offer is “for a limited time only,” by using big, bold, flashy digital banners, pop-ups, and reminders. But be sure to set a price you can afford; you wouldn’t want to underprice yourself, even temporarily, and risk losing money on sales. It’s also a good idea to let your customers know just how much value they’re getting from the purchase when buying right away.
Generally, early bird discounts come to roughly 20-30% off of the full sales price. Other time-sensitive offers include free items such as an exclusive online course, access to a webinar, e-book, or even a sample of a new product when subscribing to your website or making an initial purchase.
Upsell by taking advantage of demand & popularity
It’s a fact of life: people look to others when making important decisions. They want to know that the choices they make, the paths they take and the money they spend are correct from a social perspective. Your sales and marketing teams can leverage social proof to create an increased sense of demand and popularity, leading to direct increases in sales while you run an upsell campaign. They can even use hard numbers and market statistics to demonstrate just how popular your offering is – and why shoppers should buy the item in demand IN ADDITION to the other product you are promoting. If all the “cool kids” are buying your product, they should too – while the special upsell offer is still available.
Be sure your upsell product is always relevant to the original promoted item, or risk irritating the customer. In the long run, customer satisfaction always out-earns one-time sales, especially when that sale is a poorly matched upsell campaign.
Launch targeted offers
Members of your target customer audience are not identical to one another. They live in different geographic regions, have varying needs and interests and even exhibit unique online shopping behaviors. Instead of sending out uniform offers to all prospective customers, deploy targeted offers to those who have already subscribed to your website (having their details in your company CRM makes tracking and analyzing their behaviors and interests far easier). Tailor offers to particular areas or time zones, provide free educational materials to prospective customers demonstrating a need to research before purchasing, and offer reduced prices to those shopping around for more economical programs, or promote an upgraded version to those seeking the “best of the best.” Your offer should create a sense of exclusivity and scarcity, encouraging immediate action.
Looking to boost your program sales? Navonline can help you create an engaged, profitable e-commerce community, today.