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Options for promotions and discounts for the client. Promotions to attract customers

Promotions are another tool for winning over consumers. As a rule, as part of the promotion, a potential client gets the opportunity to evaluate and test the company’s products and services free of charge or at a lower price.

How to come up with a promotion and attract customers

Entrepreneurs must learn to come up with effective promotions. How?

1. Decide on the participants of the action. The success of a promotion depends on three factors. The first is customers who come to the store under the impression of advertising. The second factor is sellers. It is important to remember that advertising only gives the buyer an idea of the product, and the seller carries out the transaction. And if he recommends to the client a product from a competing company in a confidential tone, it will work. The effectiveness of an advertising campaign depends mainly on the seller.
The third participant in the action is considered to be the store director (administrator, top manager) - in other words, the person who manages the sellers of the department (store, region) entrusted to him. The manager’s task is to stimulate the advertising campaign, that is, to control the display of goods, give recommendations to sellers, and show interest in the progress of sales. The more interested the manager is in the success of the promotion, the higher the likelihood that it will be successful.
2. Find out what motivated the participants in the action. Each participant pursues his own interests, which means everyone has different motives.
The buyer comes to the store with the hope of purchasing a quality item at a reasonable price and with a guarantee. A bonus (a nice accessory or service) will not be amiss for him.
The seller, in fulfilling his duties, is guided by material benefits. If the fact of a successful transaction guarantees him some kind of reward, he will be interested in the work. Material incentives in this case are a bonus based on sales results or a bonus for a unit sold. Sales help him make a career, but a career is too abstract a concept, but a bonus is quite specific.
As for the store director, he must think more globally than the seller. As a rule, the role of administrator is usually a white-collar employee who works for hire. He is interested in the success of the business he is a part of. He strives to rise to the top steps of the career ladder, but this is only possible if the plan is fulfilled, sales volume increases, and salespeople are competently managed. The greater the manager’s success, the greater the material reward he expects.
3. Take the buyer's interests into account. All marketing is built on knowing the interests of a potential client, understanding the psychology of the buyer and revealing his motives. Few managers can say with confidence what their clients want, because they have no idea about their hobbies, lifestyle, and income. All these things need to be studied. An advertising campaign will only be effective if it is planned taking into account the specific characteristics of the target audience.
4. The target audience may be heterogeneous. A student, the head of a family, or a housewife can come for the same washing machine (computer, headphones, and so on). And all these people, remarkably, have different priorities. A couple of packages of washing powder, even free, will not cause much enthusiasm in a man who has never washed his own clothes. And a ticket to a football match is unlikely to be useful to a woman who is not a fan. Therefore, it is worth providing several incentive options. Of course, there are also universal bonuses. For example, a large flash drive will certainly please all laptop buyers.
Focusing on the preferences and tastes of different people is troublesome and expensive, but in a competitive environment it is necessary. An effective advertising campaign is a well-thought-out event.
5. Relevance is paramount. For an action to make a splash, it needs to be launched at the right moment in the right place. This point is easiest to explain using the example of holidays or changing seasons.
A few weeks (days) before the New Year, sweets, champagne or a box of fireworks will be a good addition to any major purchase. The gender, age, income of the buyer and the geographical location of the store in this case do not matter much.
Here's another option, less traditional. A travel agency, advertising tours to warm countries, can offer potential clients free certificates to a gym or beauty salon. They may turn out to be extremely relevant on the eve of a beach holiday.
6. Modest bonuses work better than super-expensive gifts. Let's say that a company is running a promotion in which the winner will receive a car or a trip to Hawaii. Clients are not very interested, because they understand perfectly well that they will not see a super prize: the company is well-known, it has a large audience, which means that the chances of winning something tend to zero. Besides, where is the guarantee that the super prize really exists? And if it does exist, it will most likely be played out between “close associates,” so what’s the point of joining the game?
But if every buyer of a product or service participates in a lottery with a guaranteed (even “penny”) win, interest in the campaign increases. As you know, a bird in the hands is better than a pie in the sky. The opportunity to get some little thing for free, even if it’s not particularly necessary in the household, is a serious incentive. A new printer may come with a pack of high-density paper, a bicycle may come with gloves or a flask, and a mobile phone may come with a case of your choice. You can go the other way: in addition to the TV, offer a blanket or a case of beer, and in addition to the microwave oven, offer a coupon for the delivery of pies or pizza.
In other words, giving small gifts to all store customers is preferable to making the only winner happy with a super prize. It is through small bonuses that customer loyalty is formed. Practice has repeatedly confirmed the correctness of this approach.
7. No need to be clever. Advertisements about promotions should be as accessible and understandable as possible to all members of the target audience. A potential client should not puzzle over what is being offered to him, especially since he reads advertisements, as a rule, casually (for example, in transport). The advertising text must clearly state what the buyer must do to receive the bonus. Of course, some entrepreneurs love intrigue (and this technique sometimes works great!), but clear directions are always preferable.
8. Claiming a prize should be easy. It happens that in order to receive an incentive, a client needs to:
Purchase a product.
- Fill out the form.
- Get a unique number.
- Save the receipt.
- Register on the site.
- Enter a unique number.
- Wait for the lottery results.
Needless to say, this path is too difficult? If “the game is not worth the candle,” the buyer is unlikely to go beyond saving the receipt, and this is understandable. Nobody likes to make unnecessary movements.
Therefore, it is advisable to conduct the prize draw as quickly as possible, ideally immediately after the client makes a purchase. If you still intend to fill out a questionnaire or flyer for a subsequent drawing, then the technology of this process should be simplified to the maximum. Asking a buyer to fuss with paperwork is indecent, especially considering the fact that he has already done a favor to the store (company) by purchasing a product or service. Therefore, the manager (seller) must deal with the red tape.
9. You need to be friends with the staff. First of all, “staff” means sales people. It is these people who are always aware of what is happening, both in their store and in their competitors. They know why things are the way they are and why some new products are in demand and others are not. Even if the leading manager has attended dozens of seminars on successful sales, a good salesperson will still find something to surprise him with. Sellers know more about buyers than anyone else, and their advice and recommendations should not be neglected.
10. ...and follow the buyer!...In the literal sense: having studied the interests, passions and hobbies of the target audience, the entrepreneur must “force himself” to share their tastes and from time to time appear in the thick of things: at sports competitions, music festivals, holidays in shopping centers. People trust more those they know by sight and those who do not distance themselves from them. Therefore, on the eve of the next advertising campaign, a little publicity will not hurt.

Interesting promotions to attract customers

“Buy one product and get the second one free.” There are simple, without pretense of originality, marketing recipes that have brought and continue to bring profit. These are promotions from the series “three for the price of two”, “special price for goods with green price tags”, “discount in the morning”, “Birthday discount”, “red price tag: the price is lower than the purchase price”, “buy goods for a certain amount – get a free discount card”, “get a discount coupon for every 500 rubles” and so on. Any such promotion, supported by the distribution of leaflets and a video broadcast on TV, guarantees an increase in sales (if the mechanism of the transaction is clear to everyone). There is no need to deny the possibilities of the Internet (radio, print media) for disseminating information about an advertising campaign. Distributing flyers by promoters on the streets closest to the store also works great.
Unconventional solutions. As you know, they work well in business. A striking example of an effective advertising campaign is the offer of one of the denim clothing stores in Vilnius. The promotion lasted no more than ten minutes, during which people who came to the store without pants could choose free jeans from famous brands. In such a short time, the store did not manage to suffer large losses, but the line of half-naked people on the street aroused the well-founded curiosity of passers-by. Conversations began and passions began to boil. The company's management reaped the benefits of fame: the flow of people wanting to buy jeans for money did not dry up for several months.
Euroset carried out an even more shocking action: every client who came to the salon completely naked received a phone for free. And such people, of course, were found.
The more provocative the action, the greater the public response it causes. Consumers are greedy for the word “free!” (“free!”) in the ad and for the sake of a “freebie” they are ready to do a lot. Therefore, the most incredible flash mob, beneficial for the consumer, will be received, if not with delight, then with curiosity. Involving the media and publishing the announcement online ensures that the information spreads quickly. And if videos and photographs are taken during the action, users will discuss it on forums for a long time. A properly organized, legal, but scandalous campaign will not only help increase sales, but will also ensure brand (store) recognition. It is possible that over time it will become perceived as an urban legend.

It is clear that entrepreneurs should not be afraid to innovate in the advertising field. Each campaign requires careful study of the needs of the target audience; Moreover, not every promotion performs as expected. But sooner or later, an active and courageous leader will definitely find solutions that will work best: they will arouse public interest and contribute to the influx of new clients.

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From time to time, websites run advertising promotions to attract customers. Even if a company offers the consumer some kind of discount, it is not at all a fact that this promotion will attract the customer’s attention. Why? How do stores usually reason when giving a customer a discount? A simple example. Gave a 10-15% discount to visitors and sit, sip coffee and don’t forget to count the money from sales. But it was not there.

In fact, if you follow this principle, store sales will tend to zero. Competition is growing every day. And there is less and less creativity, and advertising campaigns are no exception. Everyone gives a 10-15% discount for selection and waits for something, working at a loss. But there is a discount! What promotions are needed then to increase sales?

Promotions to attract customers

1. Express savings as a percentage and in rubles

Let's consider an example: the company decided to hold a promotion to attract attention: “Gives a 15% discount on a product that costs 7,590 rubles.” It may seem that the prospect of saving 15% will help attract a client and increase sales.

What really? The client does not see his benefit: 15% is how much in rubles? Correct answer: 1138.50 rub. But do you think customers will calculate this themselves to understand how much they are saving? Most won't bother with this. Rather, they will look for another store where it is clearly and specifically indicated how much they can save. Fortunately, there is a lot of choice now.

The solution is obvious: To attract, indicate exactly how much the client saves when purchasing a product in the store. Agree, “savings - 1138.50 rubles.” sounds clearer and more interesting than “some 15% discount.”

2. Short deadline

The shorter the duration of your promotion, the better for increasing sales. What does the client think when the company decides to hold a promotion that is valid for 1-1.5 months? “I’ll have time, what’s the hurry. I have a whole month ahead of me.” It’s not hard to guess that the client will simply forget about the interesting promotion. And the company will wait for him to remember about the excellent offer and hurry up to place an order.

Promotion to increase store sales

This promotion is very popular among car sellers to increase sales. An example of an attraction method: On the last day of the month, car buyers can receive a RUB 5,000 discount. True, there are no cheap cars available, but there is one in a more expensive configuration. With a discount it will cost the same as a cheap one without a discount.

And another interesting condition of the promotion: the sale must be completed today, before the last day of the last month ends. Many customers are aware of the tricks of sellers, but still fall for these promotions.

Example of a promotion: Today is SALE! TODAY ONLY... Bring this car home in time for dinner. The keys are in the ignition, the tank is full, she's waiting for you!

Time is a tool for creating scarcity. Phrases like “Offer valid for a limited time” create the effect of time pressure. This helps attract customers to the store.

3. Prepayment

Does the company provide prepayment services? A client who is ready to pay 100% immediately should be given a discount.

4. Pre-order

Another situation: soon some new goods or services should go on sale in the store. But you can start actively promoting them now. Warm up your customers' interest in upcoming new products, including through interesting promotions. Example: take and provide a discount to those customers who placed an order for a new service/product before the start of sales.

5. Rationale

Any promotion launched by the company must be “transparent”. “What’s the point of such generosity,” the buyer might think. Perhaps they are selling him another product that has been left behind or is not in demand? And no one wants to be a donkey.

To prevent this from happening, it is important to justify your interesting promotions. Example: “In honor of a holiday”, “For the company’s birthday”, “Store opening”, “Seasonal discounts” or something else.

6. Gift

A discount is good, but a gift is better. It is more tangible and understandable for the client.

Marketing campaign for stores

Example: “When purchasing in our store for an amount of 6,900 rubles. one of four exclusive shower gels as a gift” (Fig. 1)

Fig. 1 A discount is good, but a gift is better

7. Club cards

Pamper your regular customers. Don't forget about them. They are your loyal fans, cheerleaders. They need to be treated with care. Come up with some special, interesting promotions for them. Available only to them. Show that they belong to a privileged, exclusive club.

8. 1 purchase = 10 gifts

Be more creative in your sales. Come up with new formats for promotions.

Promotions for stores

Example: Provide a discount when purchasing a larger volume (Fig. 2). Or make not one gift, but several - a kind of set. “For any purchase over 3,000 rubles. in the period from June 1 to June 10, you receive 10 gifts."

Fig. 2 A discount for the volume of a one-time purchase encourages buyers to purchase a larger “batch” of goods

9. Cumulative discounts

This type of promotion will help attract new customers and form a base of regular ones. It will be more difficult for the client to leave and make a purchase from someone other than you. You thereby “softly” tie him to your company.

10. Related products

Make an interesting promotion not for the main product, but for some related product. Thus, the sale is no longer just one product, but a complete set. At the same time increasing store sales.

11. Only one pair left in your size

An artificial shortage in a store is created very simply. When we see the phrase “Only one pair left in your size” or “Last set left in stock,” we subconsciously feel that we better hurry up and make a purchase. Artificial scarcity is good for attracting attention and increasing sales.

Example of a promotion for travel agencies

“Buy now! Only 2 tickets left at this price!

Thus, if there is a shortage of any product, its value in our eyes increases and we want to get it even more. The product becomes more valuable and desirable to us.

12. Expensive things can’t be bad.

The promotion is that the more expensive the product (and therefore less accessible), the higher its quality. We subconsciously prefer expensive goods. Our subconscious tells us: expensive means good!

13. Sorry, but you can't have it.

Another promotion is to introduce restrictions from time to time. When something cannot be obtained, then real scarcity begins. The more inaccessible the goal, the stronger the desire to achieve it. As a result, the stricter the prohibitions in stocks, the more we will strive to circumvent them.

Bottom line: The value and desirability of any thing often depends on how difficult it is to obtain. Limited products or promotional periods create a subconscious fear among visitors that they may be late. And this forces them to act.

Promotions to attract customers: 3 important rules

The promotion must justify your costs. Don't work at a loss.
Don't sell discounted items en masse. On the one hand, you will get more attracted customers, but you are sure that they will buy your product without a discount. Introduce promotions proportionally - only for a limited set of goods.
Make new promotions on different products at different periods of time. And watch the reaction of buyers.

Efficiency of the actions carried out

Take a look at your stocks and adjust them based on the recommendations outlined. Using the 13 examples of the best options outlined in the article.

Successful promotions to you!

P.S. Do you want to increase sales without increasing your advertising budget? Then this is the place for you - Increase conversion

The article was written for the magazine “Marketer”

Read other useful articles

Increase the average check by 15% before the New Year, turning customer spending into virtual currency. Advertise the company by giving the client an expensive prize for pennies. Track store traffic using special technology.

Consumers are accustomed to New Year's promotions and discounts and do not respond to the same type of offers. To stand out from your competitors during peak sales times, hold a consumer auction. This method is suitable for retail companies. The article contains five examples of interesting promotions to attract customers. Following the algorithm, we increased the average check by 15% and increased customer traffic by 20%.

Marketing campaign to attract customers 1. Simple

The buyer will not join a game that requires many actions. Before the New Year, clients already don’t have enough time. What will attract them? An interesting event, big prizes and simple mechanics. Take advantage of the fact that people buy quickly and do not always calculate the full cost of goods in stores. Instinctively, they pay attention to offers that seem profitable.

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Example. In 2011, three months before the New Year, we organized an auction competition to stir up consumer interest in shopping in the Moscow chain of the RIO shopping center. 70% of the tenants of the three shopping complexes joined the event. The idea of the auction: visitors purchased goods in the stores of these shopping centers for three months. By saving receipts, they received virtual currency based on the amount of purchases. Using invisible “money,” consumers bid at an auction that took place before the New Year.

To participate in the auction, visitors made each purchase at the promotional counter. It was allowed to come once with checks collected during the promotion period. The receipt indicated how much gaming “money” the buyer had, and this information was recorded in the database. When a person came to the auction, the manager at the counter reported the total amount. Clients who spent more than 5 thousand rubles were allowed to attend the event. Thus, stores that participated in an interesting promotion increased the average check to attract customers.

To make it easier for customers to understand the terms of the promotion, managers were on duty at special points in the shopping center to explain the details.

Conclusion. The unusual format interested consumers. Customers might not notice a promotion with standard discounts or gifts. A competition that fuels excitement is optimal before the New Year.

Marketing campaign to attract customers 2. Seductive

An interesting promotion to attract customers should be bright. Announce a drawing of expensive prizes that customers will want to receive. It is not always worthwhile to attract famous people to an event and organize a show. Buyers participate in competitions for gifts.

Example. In three shopping malls, special display windows were set up where prizes were displayed. The number of lots was gradually increased: this guaranteed buyers that the auction was real. Among the prizes: a car, a moped, gadgets, a trip to Europe for two, a home theater, etc. The main lot of the auction is a new foreign car. The car was also exhibited in the shopping gallery.

Conclusion. Show clients that the event is not a scam. It is important for consumers to see the prizes and, if possible, touch them. Otherwise, people will not believe that they will receive a valuable gift.

Marketing campaign to attract customers 3. Thoughtful

To make the competition a success, stir up the excitement of buyers. Then people will positively perceive the promotion and will enthusiastically compete for the lots. Without this, the draw will turn into a simple distribution of gifts. A lively auction motivates customers to come to the store.

Example. To captivate the competition participants, we evened out the chances. We introduced coefficients to convert purchase amounts into auction currency. In clothing, footwear, and accessories stores, the exchange rate was set at 1:1 (1 thousand rubles in a receipt - 1 thousand rubles at an auction). In electronics, household appliances, and jewelry stores, the exchange rate was set at 10:1 (10 thousand rubles in a check - 1 thousand rubles at an auction). In furniture and lighting stores - 20:1. In addition, the terms of the auction prohibited adding real money to checks.

It was noticed at the auction that the winners were those who did not spend their savings immediately, but waited for the drawing of a large lot. The majority gave away all the “currency” for inexpensive prizes (gadgets). Only five people reached the last lot - a car. As a result, the car was purchased for 50 thousand in-game “money” by a participant who kept the entire amount until the end of the auction. The buyer received the car in three months: this was the initial agreement with the dealership. All this time, the owner came to the shopping center, checked the trophy and even washed the car. This served as additional advertising for the car dealership and shopping center.

Conclusion. Ensure safety: In the heat of battle for a prize, people often overstep the bounds of politeness. Let security guards and duty managers keep order. Security will quickly respond to aggression in the crowd and remove inappropriate participants.

Marketing campaign to attract customers 4. Affiliate

To avoid excessive costs, involve partner stores, the shopping center where your point of sale is located, or local shopping centers. It is better to cooperate with individual entrepreneurs or small retailers. They will like the idea of increasing traffic and average check, increasing brand awareness.

Example. We relied on small and multi-brand stores that allocated barter prizes. In exchange for gifts, retailers received large-scale PR, mentions in the media, advertising inside the shopping center, in e-mails, etc. Thus, a car dealer provided a car - according to the contract, it stood in the shopping gallery for six months (three months during the promotion and three months after the final ). Due to this, the salon promoted its own brand. Large brands also invested in the prize fund, but did not directly inform customers about the drawing.

What arguments will work at the negotiation stage?

1. Explain to stores that the main advantage of an interesting promotion to attract customers is an increase in the average check. Customers will be motivated to spend more than usual.

2. Show that in exchange for a small outlay, retailers will receive advertising that would actually cost more.

3. If you sell in the regions, give an additional argument: here consumers have lower incomes and they are not spoiled by spectacular competitions with interesting prizes.

Conclusion. It is difficult to coordinate the campaign with federal chains, since the marketing budget of large brands is approved a year in advance. The networks also host their own events. If you decide to work with large retailers, plan the promotion in advance. If you have not agreed on a direct partnership, invite retailers to form a prize fund.

B2B customer acquisition program that increased sales by 28%

Marketing campaign to attract customers 5. With notification on social networks

To record the result of the promotion, do not limit yourself to just counting the participants in the competition. Use all methods to find out the number of attracted consumers. This way you will understand how many buyers were actually interested in the promotion in order to repeat this experience in the future or improve the result.

Example. Attendance at the shopping center and the overall effect of the promotion were assessed in two ways.

Online tracking. The company's SMM managers measured the organic traffic of subscribers in the social groups of the shopping center itself. During the promotion period, e-mail newsletters and SMS notifications were organized: based on transitions to the competition website, the number of responses among loyal customers was measured. The newsletter was sent to all buyers of the shopping center, regardless of participation in the holiday promotion. This is how other visitors learned about the competition.

In groups of the shopping center itself, users shared photos of receipts and discussed prizes in the comments. This made it possible to gain new subscribers on social networks and track the number of attracted customers.

Offline tracking. Traffic in the shopping center was measured using a hardware and software system, which consists of sensors, network equipment and software. When the flow of visitors passes through the frames, the system counts the number of people for a specific period of time. There are such complexes in almost all shopping centers. There was no need to purchase an additional system. To assess the change in traffic, we compared information on the number of buyers with data for similar periods in previous years.

Conclusion. If the store or shopping center does not have sensors installed, ask interested customers to post photos with receipts online. Offer a small bonus or gift in return. Even if these consumers don't come to the competition, you will attract attention to the brand. Also, ask store visitors if they plan to participate in the promotion.

During the campaign, attendance at the shopping center increased by 30%, the event involved 150 thousand buyers. The auction increased the loyalty of regular customers. The average bill of tenants who participated in the competition increased by 25%, and the traffic of partner stores increased by 20%. This is a good result, considering the distance of some shopping centers from the metro.

Various promotions and special offers are primarily considered as a way to increase sales. But this marketing tool actually brings much more benefits to businesses in a variety of ways. For example, competent work with promotions allows you to replace that portion of the customer base that a business loses over time and stimulates repeat purchases from existing customers.
At the same time, it is worth remembering that simply inventing and carrying out an action is not enough - you also need to convey information about it to as many people as possible from among your target audience. You can organize the dissemination of information using channels such as publications and banners on the website, social networks, banners in the contextual media network, and also use e-mail distribution for this purpose.

Here are 25 ideas you can use for your online store to attract new customers, increase sales, and spread the word about your brand.

Random reward. This option is aimed at working with existing clients, and not at attracting new ones. The rules are simple: among customers who placed an order in a certain period of time, a prize in the form of a certain item or cash reward is drawn, and the winner is determined using a random number generator. An example of a service with similar functionality is mrandom.com.
Package offer. A proven way to encourage customers to spend more than they originally planned is to combine several items in a package deal format and offer it at a lower price than if purchased individually. For example, a bundle of camera + bag + memory card.
Create a feeling of scarcity. Indicate that the promotion is only valid for a limited time, such as this week or the next three days. Make people feel like they're losing money if they don't take action now. Limited supply stimulates additional demand.
Opportunity to get first. We are talking about such a scheme for purchasing goods as pre-order. True, the return from such a promotion in an online store will only be if we are talking about a very popular product, for example, a new iPhone model.
Weekend offer. Typically, consumer activity drops on weekends, and you can stimulate it by sending offers to your subscriber base with a selection of products that are discounted when placing an order on Saturday-Sunday.
Personal selections. Segmenting customers and offering each group of products that may be of potential interest to them based on an analysis of viewed products or previous orders can provide good returns in the form of repeat purchases.
Buy more to save. These types of offers are attractive to customers because they create a feeling of benefit received, despite the fact that the average bill becomes higher. Don't give big discounts, just make sure they're attractive enough to encourage potential customers to take action.
A small gift. Let's be honest - everyone loves a freebie. It is enough to give just some nice little thing, and it is advisable that it reminds the person of your brand. It could be a mug, keychain, phone case, etc. This seems like a small bonus, but many people will appreciate it.
Loyalty points. Each time a customer purchases something, they are awarded bonus points that can be redeemed for a cash discount on their next product purchase. You can first test this special offer for a certain period of time, and if it proves itself well, make the loyalty program unlimited, relevant for the entire time the online store operates as a business.
Find cheaper. One of the popular ways to promote a brand, relevant for new niches and product categories with a low level of competition. The basic rule is that you will deduct the difference between prices if the buyer found a similar product cheaper in another online store. But it is worth recalling once again that such a scheme will not be relevant if we are talking about a highly competitive niche, which is characterized by a small markup on goods.
Bring a friend. Offer registered users bonus points or a cash discount if a friend signs up using their referral link. This can work great in popular niches, such as clothing retailing. In this way, you can expand your customer base through the users themselves, who act as a kind of marketers for your business.
Birthday gift. If you have enough data about your customers to track this kind of information, you can set up automatic mailings of special offers to those people who have an upcoming birthday. Everyone will be glad to see such attention to their person from the business.
Only for subscribers. The name is not entirely correct, since the first association usually arises with an analogy with email distribution. We are talking about creating a unique offer for a specific channel. For example, this way you can increase activity on social networks by making a limited special offer for all page subscribers, valid for a specific period of time.
We exchange old for new. This technique is called trade-in, and the most famous example of its use in retail is the ability to exchange an old iPhone for a new one at Apple retail stores. You can offer your regular customers to exchange an old item for a new one, with a small additional payment on their part.
Gift certificates. Can work well in a niche that is in high demand, such as clothing, accessories, jewelry, digital technology, books, and others. It often happens that we want to give a gift to someone dear to us, but we haven’t decided what exactly is best to choose, and we just don’t want to give money. In such cases, a gift certificate of a certain denomination will be very useful.
tell me a story. Surely among your subscribers on social networks and e-mail newsletters there are people who don’t mind showing their imagination if in exchange for it you offer them something valuable. Run a competition where everyone can submit a story related to the theme of your online store, or the use of a specific product category that you sell. In principle, the story does not have to relate to your product; you can, for example, coincide with a specific event.
Family purchase. You can offer a discount or a free gift to those who buy things from you not only for themselves, but also, for example, for their child. So, when ordering clothes for an adult and a child at the same time, offer a discount, free delivery, or even give one set of clothes as a gift.
Service as a bonus. Not all products fit the “buy and use” definition. Some require preliminary installation, configuration and similar actions on the part of the future owner. The seller can take on the solution to this task by offering to complete it completely free of charge, thus acquiring loyal customers.
Master Class. If the products you offer are actively used in creativity or to create something, you can invite site visitors and subscribers on social networks to send a master class in the format of an article (with photo) or video. This is especially true for online stores that specialize in hobby and creative goods.
Guess the result. On the eve of some significant event, before which a certain intrigue remains, you can invite users to guess its results. Moreover, it is not necessary that it be related exclusively to your niche, because there are events that are equally interesting for almost everyone. For example, the football championship and other sports competitions. Whoever guesses the final score will receive a prize!
Bonus for review. If your online store has already implemented a system of cumulative discounts, bonus points, or something similar, you can experiment further, expanding it. Offer your customers bonus points for reviewing a product after placing an order, which they can use to get a discount on their next purchase.
Hurry up to be the first. A promotional offer option that should be considered when promoting a new product or product category. Offer a discount, gift or free shipping to the first 10 customers. The number of buyers, of course, can be anything.
Gift for subscription. A great way to increase your email subscriber base in a short time. Simply announce that everyone who subscribes to your email newsletter will receive a gift coupon that guarantees a discount of a certain value on any item in the catalog.
Special days. It is difficult to find a person who has not heard of the famous “Black Friday”, the fashion for which came to us from the USA and other Western countries. It’s just that there’s only one Friday a year, and you can conduct an experiment and make a specific day special for customers, but not limit the promotion to one week. Free shipping, a small gift, bonuses on a club card - there are many ways to stimulate customers , and in the end, this one day can generate excellent revenue for you.
Two plus one. An option that is suitable for online stores that operate in niches with good margins. Well, or in cases where you need PR at any cost. Create sets of promotional goods from several products, one of which will be free for the buyer. And you, in turn, will be able to earn money by increasing the average bill.

What else should you consider?

You don’t just need to carry out an action as an end in itself, but also achieve certain goals? Therefore, when planning this event every time, think carefully about whether it will suit the interests of your target audience. So that you don't accidentally end up giving away a set of car tires in the cycling community. An exaggeration, of course, but sometimes similar examples occur.

And one more important point - avoid being overly enthusiastic about discounts. Instead, make an effort to organize promotions that encourage users to return to your online store and make repeat purchases. Work to increase your base of loyal customers rather than random customers.

We hope that the ideas from this article will be useful to you when working to increase sales of your online store and help you achieve success in the difficult task of developing your own business. We also recommend that you read our article - any activity that will help you increase customer loyalty is worth spending your time and money on it in our time.