Add-ons are a bit more flexible than bundles, as removing them won't affect payment terms. With that in mind, this route is great when needing to provide extra value without risk.

You might include throwing in a premium feature only available at a higher tier or giving them "extra" of something that otherwise has limits. Subscriptions are a sales promotion as products are often sold at a lower rate if a user subscribes to a plan.

If a customer were to simply buy the product or service each time they need it, they would end up paying more for the overall subscription cost.

For example, if you offer a free trial size item with every purchase, a customer in your loyalty program may be enticed to buy because they want to try something you offer without having to pay for it. Similarly, an extended payment term is another way to handle price objections and is a good choice for high-ticket sales because it makes the sticker price a little less intimidating.

All you have to do is spread out payments over a period that makes sense, like 3 months. By providing extended-use terms, you give the prospect more time to consider your solution's value before extracting value payment renewal from them.

In the right situation, this builds confidence in your product and builds rapport. The average cart abandonment rate is As a result, a valuable sales promotion idea is to send abandoned cart promotions. In practice, you can track when customers abandoned carts on your site, and follow up with a promotional email with a code or discount to incentivize a purchase follow through.

A great way to run a sales promotion is to partner with an influencer and leverage the relationship they have with their community. To add further incentive, the influencers you partner with can share a unique code or affiliate link that gives audiences a discount if they use it to make a purchase.

Swag is a promotion you provide to sow good will, interest, and loyalty. You can offer discounts on your products and services based on the locations your customers are in. For example, you can run specific promotions if your customers visit specific storefronts. Customer feedback is crucial for business success, and you can combine it with a sales promotion to entice customers to give it.

A discount can then incentivize customers to make a follow-up purchase. If you work closely with other businesses, you can offer discount codes to customers that are also patrons of your partners, and vice versa. Leverage a healthy incentive focused on time savings or additional services.

For example, you might offer a prospect an additional 15 hours of onboarding support for free if they sign by Friday. Even a free six-month checkup can be attractive to prospects who are nervous to sign the contract.

Offer free peace of mind in return for their trust and business. Many businesses run promotions on specific occasions to inspire purchases. For example, you can offer birthday discounts, holiday discounts, etc, to inspire people to make a purchase for those holidays.

With a referral sales promotion, you give your existing customers a referral code to share with someone they know to give them a discount for their first purchase from you. The person with the referral code also receives some sort of reward, which can incentivize them to actually take the steps to recommend you to others if they get something out of it.

When you give cashback you return a portion of the money customers spend with you after every purchase. You know when your slow periods are — maybe July in Phoenix or December in Australia. A sales promotion can be just the tool to get deals moving during these down times.

You can queue up your deals to start on the first day of the month for accounting and quota reasons. Now, more than ever, consumers want to align with companies that demonstrate a commitment to social responsibility, and it is a huge factor in their decisions to do business with a company.

As a result, running a promotion where you donate a portion of your profits to a charitable cause can influence sales, as customers appreciate when you take a stand for social causes. Offer promotions to customers already leaning toward choosing your solution.

The result will be fewer concessions on your part, and a bigger payoff in the end. Recurring sales occur during set periods, like a bi-annual basis.

Customers are also likely to spend more money to stock up on their favorite items at a lower price than other times in the year. Punch cards are loyalty cards that contain a set number of icons that can be stamped or marked after a customer makes a purchase, usually in-store.

When all icons are stamped, a customer receives a reward, often a percentage off of their next purchase or a free item. A great way to run a promotion for your business is to run an app-exclusive promotion, where users receive deals specifically for downloading or using your mobile app to purchase your business.

A sign-up sales promotion involves offering a deal exclusively for new users. It can be a valuable tool to drive sales and customer acquisition, as customers may be excited to follow through if they can make an initial purchase at a discounted rate.

In terms of sales promotions, gift cards are a valuable tool in incentivizing recipients to spend more money at your business, with the bonus of new customer acquisition.

Just get your social media channels on board with such flash sales, so that you can create even more buzz for it. Four words: Free shipping.

Free returns. Exactly why free shipping is effective! You can either provide free shipping on a minimum order amount or on all orders for a certain time period like in the below example:. If you have a new product or one that needs to be cleared from your stock, buy one get one free is a great sales promotion tactic for just that!

The word free in itself does all the talking and entices customers. Take a look at this classic example:. Read more: Social Proof: 8 Ways to Use it to Get More Sales! Building suspense for an offer is a great way to evoke curiosity among customers.

This is what American Eagle does too! When they send offers to their subscribers via emails, their subject line simply reads:.

Take a look at the newsletter that follows:. This can build more anticipation and leads your customer to the website. The CTA here emulates the same feeling as opening a present.

Amusing technique, right? An effective loyalty program is a smart investment and a gift that keeps on giving! You can create VIP programs that are activated once a customer attains a certain amount of points based on their orders.

So every time current customers refer you to a friend, you offer them discounts. This is what a referral program is all about. This ensures that customers are motivated enough to actually recommend you to friends in exchange for discounts, offers, etc.

Lifestyle discounts are specific discounts that only apply to a particular profession, age group, or demographic. It is generally associated with an ID. They are commonly available for students, teachers, seniors, etc. Check out how Apple has a separate lifestyle discount for students, teachers, staff, etc.

You can offer such deals all year round like Apple, or limit it only for certain occasions. The choice is all yours! Read more: 15 Sales Tactics to Generate High-Quality Leads! If you want to make more space in your inventory or sell off seasonal stock like winter clothing, Christmas decorations, or more a clearance sale is a way to go!

Since clearance sales are generally tagged along with discounted prices, customers love it just as much! Check out this email sent by American Eagle for their clearance sale:.

If a prospect wants to become a customer, you need to make sure their experience is fulfilling. The first-order discount is the impression you want to and should set! You can keep such a discount all year round as this will ensure a positive experience for every new customer.

Take a look at this example:. No matter how your products are priced, a first-order discount entices people to give your products a try. Each business is different, and so are the audiences, All the above sales promotions examples are full-proof, just find the one that best resonates with your brand!

Analyze your audience, devise a plan, and create the right enticing and undeniable offers that will capture the 21st-century audience. We hand over the reins to you now — we wish you all the luck!

Our team at bit. ai has created a few awesome sales templates to make your sales process more efficient. Make sure to check them out before you go, y our sales team might need them!

Try 2 cart recovery methods at a time Rotate mystery offers Offer cashback

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Online sample promotions for businesses - Run selective flash sales Try 2 cart recovery methods at a time Rotate mystery offers Offer cashback

Also, some review websites will give you the option to run ads on them, for an additional fee. A company newsletter, sent out by email, is a great way to bring visitors to your website and keep them engaged with your business, as well as maintain relationships with your existing customers.

There are email marketing platforms such as Mailchimp and MailerLite that offer free plans for a limited number of contacts. You can promote your digital newsletter on your website with opt-in forms for new subscribers to provide their email addresses.

Offering a sign-up form at your brick-and-mortar location can also help you build your emailing list. Hosting a webinar or collaborating on one with another business can help you engage potential customers and share information about your business.

This can be as simple as going live on Facebook or Instagram and taking questions from participants or interviewing one of your top employees. However you decide to format it, this small-business marketing idea will likely give some new customers insight into your business, while establishing yourself as a resource in your industry.

YouTube, TikTok and Instagram can be cost-effective platforms to host short videos that explain what your business does, demonstrate a product and provide how-to content to your target audience. With the ability to shoot videos on any smartphone, this free marketing idea can make a big impact, giving you the opportunity to catch the attention of potential customers who are searching for informational videos.

One way to boost your word-of-mouth marketing is by introducing a customer referral program. Try offering your existing customers something — a free sample product, complimentary service, discounts or some other low-cost reward — for referring new customers.

Plus, a customer referral reward can help you show some appreciation to existing customers as well. Many businesses have loyalty programs that allow customers to accrue points or benefits with each purchase. Points can typically be redeemed for something of value such as a free product or a discount.

Loyalty programs encourage repeat purchases and brand loyalty, and they can also be fairly inexpensive with the business owner controlling the rewards and points needed to qualify for them.

A customer satisfaction survey, delivered by email, is another way to learn about your customer base and also remind customers you exist. You might also learn a thing or two about how your business could improve and better serve your customers.

This customer relationship strategy is aimed at boosting personalized interactions with customers to foster greater loyalty and a better return on your marketing investment. Examples of one-to-one marketing include sending handwritten postcards to valued customers, thank you cards and personalized birthday emails.

This can be a free marketing idea if you use email to deliver your message instead of direct mail. And marketing software can help you automate the process. Online contests are a great way to gather potential customer data, such as phone numbers and email addresses, while also getting participants to spread the word about your business to even more potential customers.

A drawing where visitors to your store put their contact information into a bowl for a chance to win something is another alternative. You can do this by hosting a joint special event or online giveaway. The partnership can be for a short period of time or extended for as long as you want.

Either way, teaming up with another business will give you access to a larger customer base, something that would typically cost you time and money if done on your own. Plan an event or a class that will attract new customers to your business while educating them about your industry.

Post digital flyers on your social platforms and print some flyers to post on community bulletin boards at the library, coffee shops or other local establishments. Most community bulletin boards are generally receptive to flyers promoting educational events and classes.

A chamber of commerce or other business-to-business organization can be a great way to build the reputation of your small business. Connecting through professional organizations can help raise the visibility of your business in your community, as well as provide opportunities to network with other business professionals in your area.

Although not a totally free marketing idea — you may have to donate some time and possibly some product — participating in local fundraisers or contributing to local charities is a great way to show public support for the organizations you care about.

And depending on your sponsorship level, you might be able to get some visibility with local customers or receive recognition for donating branded prizes. If you run a business that involves significant driving, then a nearly free marketing idea for your small business is to brand your car.

Have a fleet of vehicles? You could order car magnets in bulk and put them on all of your vehicles. Depending on what product or service you sell, a free sample or a discount could be exactly what your business needs to gain new customers. If potential customers are hesitant to buy your product or service, consider offering them the chance to try it out for free.

However, some smaller conferences can be pretty inexpensive, especially if you can avoid traveling. Conferences offer the opportunity to network with other small-business owners and leaders in the industry, gain new customers, and get your brand in front of a large crowd of people.

Local magazines will sometimes rate businesses or produce a roundup of popular businesses — offering another opportunity for your business to shine.

A version of this article originally appeared on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet. On a similar note Small Business. Follow the writer. Improve retention and get more returning customers. Remind customers to pay for unpaid orders via email. Get a brand new store built on Shopify.

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Come join us to make e-commerce better. Get in touch with us. Join our partner program. Sales promotions are key components of a successful eCommerce strategy.

The problem is, not many companies, especially smaller brands, know how to do it right. The thing is, once you learn how to create a good sales promotion campaign, you can increase your brand awareness and skyrocket your sales.

A sales promotion is a set of marketing strategies and tactics dedicated to increasing awareness of your brand and its specific products.

Your customers show trust in your brand by subscribing to your newsletter or SMS campaigns. To thank them, make sure you launch sales promotions that are targeted directly to them. What that does, is it builds even more trust with your subscribers and encourages them to keep purchasing your products and following your offers.

To reach your subscribers via email, SMS, or push notifications, get Firepush - an all-in-one marketing automation platform for Shopify stores. If you are a brand that sells relatively smaller products, opt for a buy one, get one for free promotion, also known as BOGO.

These are still great deals that could encourage your online store visitors to buy from you. Offering your customers free and discounted items builds more appreciation and trust with your client base.

And with that, you are more likely to see your Shopify store visitors adding your products to their carts and purchasing them. With the app you can easily set your BOGO campaign or set the specific conditions for gifts to be added to customers' orders. Here are just a few example of what you can offer:.

Another great idea for cosmetic and beauty product businesses is offering free samples to their audience. As your potential customers may not be willing to invest in a new product they know nothing about instantly, free samples work as a great alternative.

Add free samples anytime your customer purchases something from your online store. Even better, add a little note about your new product and why it is worth a try.

For instance, you can offer special deals to students or teachers, seniors, and mothers. Moreover, you can take advantage of special occasions—for example, Christmas or Halloween. You can create a dedicated landing page for a special event, e. Asa Shopify business owner, you have to make sure you regularly look at the calendar to avoid missing any events that could benefit your business.

Flash sales are limited period sales or discounts that encourage your customers to buy faster as flash sales target the FOMO fear of missing out. One thing to remember when it comes to flash sales is preparing your Shopify store for huge traffic.

In an example, you can see a print store Desenio and their flash sale campaign. Adding a clock may also work as an encouragement for your customers to buy your products now.

As you can see in an example, a designer brand of bags and other accessories - Coach, offers free shipping and returns on all of their orders. These days, not that many companies offer this solution to their customers. Hence you have a lot of opportunities to stand out.

Organizing a contest on Instagram is a sure way to increase your brand awareness and bring new customers to your Shopify store.

All in all, sales promotions are powerful eCommerce tools to increase your brand awareness and sales. What you have to do, is to learn how to set them up in the right way. To do that, try to implement a few of the ideas mentioned in this article and see how they affect your sales.