4 Keys to an Effective Promotion Strategy

Whether it’s a TV show highlighting thrifty families using coupons, or an inbox full of retail store offers, consumers are becoming more "deal" conscious when selecting where they choose to shop. In a sea of conflicting prices and promotional offers what can help your offer rise and get noticed while others sink into the proverbial junk box? Let's take a look at 4 keys to an effective coupon or promo strategy for selling wine.

1. Carefully Word Your Promotion

The way you word your promotion will not only affect how consumers read it but also how they react to it, whether they purchase or not. When wording your promotion here are a few points to consider:

• Most of us are familiar with retail stores who offer sales or scratch card discounts that offer a range of percentages, say 25%-50% off. Research shows that it is better to word your offer as saving "Up To 50%" off rather than a range, because consumers will feel they are more likely to save big with 50%, even though their chances are the same if it were 25%-50% off. 
• Create limited time offers by having visible date ranges. Short promotions create a "now or never" urgency making customers feel that if they miss this offer, they might not get it again. 
• Make sure that any wording, for example promo titles, that consumers will see in their shopping cart allow them to easily recognize which coupons they are saving on.

2. Select the Appropriate Offer Type

Percentage or dollar off offers work well to generate interest for new shoppers. Club discounts that are automatic and easy to use can help promote brand loyalty and boost club memberships. However there is one promotion type that appeals to all consumers…free shipping. For our American winery clients you need to word your promotion as "Shipping Included" for legal reasons.  

Here are a few compelling reasons why you should offer free shipping:

• 43% of shoppers abandon their shopping carts when they find high shipping charges at checkout.*
• 75% of shoppers prefer to shop with online merchants offering free shipping.*
• 50% of shoppers indicated free shipping offers made it more likely they would shop online.*

*Statistics provided by Freeshipping.org

Shipping is just one more cost that a consumer is mentally factoring in while they shop online.  If you offer free shipping, it’s one less item you have to worry about. Customers are more likely to buy more, more often, when they don’t have to worry about additional costs.

3. Place Your Promotion Where It's Sure to Get Noticed

Make sure your offer gets noticed. Prominent places such as homepage pods or sliders make your offer visible to anyone visiting your ecommerce store. To target newsletter signups, why not add a promotion code to an automatic confirmation email giving a discount off their first order? For those offering frequent promotions, why not consider creating a page dedicated to showcasing your current offers? This will help to keep deal seekers looking for coupon codes on your site, training them to visit your site rather than searching Google for the latest deals.

4. Deliver What You Promise

Whatever your offer, make sure you test its functionality before you release it. Finding a broken promotion is disappointing and frustrating to a consumer, and may be perceived as a "bait & switch" tactic. You should let consumers know how and where to use coupon codes, and where they will see the discounts appear. Then just make sure your promotion works as described.

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Agree?  Disagree?  What promotions are working for you?