The holiday season is the peak season for most small businesses. One of the most overlooked marketing tricks to drive holiday sales is using BOGO offers (buy one get one). In fact, BOGO is one of the most powerful marketing weapons. It is also one of the easiest. All you have to do is make your customers feel like they will miss out on a great opportunity if they don’t take advantage of it and buy now. Many retailers and small business owners look forward to Black Friday and Cyber Monday to boost company sales, but it is usually after those dates that discounts start to boil until the week before the last holiday of the year. .
So if you want to give your sales an extra boost this coming season, choose BOGO. BOGO is a popular acronym that stands for buy one get one free or at a reduced fixed price. It is used by many large and small companies for sales promotions. It’s attractive to consumers because, psychologically, nothing feels better than getting something for free. Right now, as I write this, shoppers are using their phones to search online for fashion items to buy at a discounted price or signing up for special offers and discounts ahead of the season’s holiday sales. Buyers always intend to spend less than last year and if the benefits of such a discounted or free offer outweigh the benefits of the compared market price of a high-quality item, they will seize the opportunity.
Here are three ways your small business can benefit from BOGO’s marketing strategy to drive sales.
1. Use a sense of urgency – start a vacation clock countdown. Think “Only 10 days left before Christmas” style promotions to use on your BOGO offers. Tell your customers that the availability of special items is now limited and promote the end date to bring the item home. Appeal to the senses using rich media such as photos, memes, and even videos. Get creative and make it colorful and fun.
2. Showcase Social Media Usage – Whether you run an online business or not, social media marketing is critical for any small business. Use your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social sites to display your holiday promotions, sales, events, menus, sales clearance, and inventory. You can also use social media to promote Secret Santa-style BOGO promotions that are only available to your followers who unlock the offer by using a limited time code on your website or in store.
3. Gift delivery: Capture the attention of your customers using BOGO’s Christmas gift offers. Gifts are everything and everyone wants one. This is also a good way to attract last minute shoppers by showing them that you benefit from such a gift if they buy an item of equal value. Offer a different BOGO gift offer every day or feature a different product every week until Christmas. This not only increases sales, it invites new customers, drives traffic, and eliminates excess inventory.
As we approach the busiest shopping season of the year, it’s time to start preparing your promotional offers. Whether you are developing a new discount strategy or trying to figure out how to refine existing campaigns, you can use the BOGO promotion. It’s a highly effective marketing technique that’s guaranteed to generate sales by making the 2017 holiday season a success for your small business while helping your customers maximize their savings.