{"id":17356,"date":"2019-06-10T17:25:13","date_gmt":"2019-06-10T17:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/?p=17356"},"modified":"2022-09-27T16:09:55","modified_gmt":"2022-09-27T16:09:55","slug":"out-of-box-discounts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.valpak.com\/advertise\/blog\/out-of-box-discounts","title":{"rendered":"8 Out-of-the-Box Discounts to Draw In Customers [Infographic]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Offering discounts to your customers can be risky. If you run too many promotions, they may come to expect and wait for a sale before making a purchase. However, a well-planned sale can incentivize an undecided customer. <\/span>57%<\/a> of shoppers are more likely to complete a first-time purchase if offered a deal. <\/span><\/p>\n

In turn, strategic discounts can help grow customer loyalty and repeat business. One of the best ways to run a successful discount promotion is to think outside of the box to set your offer apart. Use humor, an unexpected approach or an incentive-based offer to engage your customers and turn your discount into something fun, rather than something they expect.<\/span><\/p>\n

Curious about some out-of-the-box approaches you could use? Consider these examples from popular brands. Or, jump to the infographic<\/a> for an in-depth look at the power of a discount. <\/span><\/p>\n

Print Discounts<\/span><\/h2>\n

Kit Kat<\/span>\u00ae<\/span>: Surprise Your Audience<\/span><\/h3>\n

Customers are bombarded with marketing, so it\u2019s helpful to find a way to cut through the noise and stand out. <\/span><\/p>\n

Kit Kat did a great job of creating a direct mail marketing campaign that did just that. The direct mail design it created to introduce a new candy bar, Kit Kat Chunky, looked like an undelivered package notification. Since people rarely receive notices like this, it immediately drew attention, making the recipient want to know what kind of package they missed. For most ads, getting people to pay attention is the first challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Kit-kat-ad\"<\/p>\n

The ad also infuses humor in the \u201cBecause\u201d section. Using the candy name (\u201cChunky\u201d) is an amusing play on the common undeliverable cause of a package being too large. If you\u2019re planning a direct mail campaign, think about how to make it stand out from other pieces of mail.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lladr\u00f3 Lighting: Let Your Customers Interact <\/span><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s not every day you come across an ad campaign that\u2019s both functional and informative. Lladr\u00f3 showcased its range of chandeliers, lamps and sconces by creating interactive posters that converted to unique lampshades. <\/span><\/p>\n

The print ads mimicked children\u2019s pop-up books, enabling people to create their own lampshades by mounting the paper over a light in a corner.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"lladro-lighting-ad\"<\/p>\n

Direct mail campaigns don\u2019t have to be flat \u2014 they can feature an element of fun as well. You could design the ad to be a scratch-off game where customers can win a discount or prize. Or, you could make a bingo board that can be filled in with every purchase for an opportunity to win a larger prize when the game is complete.<\/span><\/p>\n

NatureBox: Combine Print with Digital <\/span><\/h3>\n

Online shopping makes collecting data on your customers\u2019 viewing and buying habits incredibly accessible, so it\u2019s easier to craft offers that they\u2019re truly interested in.<\/span><\/p>\n

But digital campaigns don\u2019t have to live only online. You can combine a digital campaign with print marketing to leverage both sides. Take, for example, this mailer from NatureBox:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Naturebox-ad\"<\/p>\n

The mailer was only sent to lapsing customers who hadn\u2019t ordered online in a while. NatureBox was able to use data it had collected from online purchases to develop a direct mail campaign designed to reach a specific subset of its customers. <\/span><\/p>\n

This approach combined the benefits of print and digital marketing. By tying the offer to a promo code, NatureBox could attribute resulting sales directly to this campaign for a tangible, measurable ROI. And by getting something physical into customers\u2019 hands, it bypassed increasingly cluttered email inboxes and spam filters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Digital Discounts<\/span><\/h2>\n

Technology has opened up unlimited opportunities. From email campaigns to app-based loyalty programs, there are endless possibilities (if you have the budget and vision). That doesn\u2019t mean digital promotions necessarily need to be expensive or complicated. <\/span><\/p>\n

With the ubiquitous nature of technology, it would be a mistake to not think about integrating a digital component into your promotions. Consider these simple, yet effective, digital discount examples from brands we know and love.<\/span><\/p>\n

Harry\u2019s: Cut Through the Noise with Humor and Personality \u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Even a great discount offer can get lost when you\u2019re bombarded with deals. How can you cut through the noise to be heard? Add some humor or personality to your promotional communications.<\/span><\/p>\n

The online razor supplier Harry\u2019s has a great way of infusing humor into its branding and marketing. Take this Valentine\u2019s email offer as an example:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Harrys-trial-ad\"<\/p>\n

It combined several humorous elements, including the absurdity of its mascot (a wooly mammoth) needing to shave, a playful acknowledgement of that absurdity (\u201cIt\u2019s only weird if you make it weird.\u201d) and turning a Valentine\u2019s Day trope on its head (\u201cthose three little words everyone wants to hear\u201d). <\/span><\/p>\n

Even though this ad didn\u2019t use traditional advertising methods \u2014 like value propositions and use cases \u2014 the design helped it stand out from other email offers during a popular shopping holiday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amazon: Create Urgency Through Limited-Time Offers <\/span><\/h3>\n

One-day sales, promotions \u201cwhile supplies last\u201d and similar strategies create a sense of urgency. They encourage shoppers to buy now or risk losing an opportunity. It\u2019s a phenomenon that even has its own name: FOMO, or \u201cfear of missing out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While this approach isn\u2019t new, digital capabilities offer new and more robust ways to create limited-time offers. One of the most well-known examples of this is Amazon\u2019s Lightning Deals.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Amazon-limited-time-offers\"Amazon Lightning Deals work well because they create urgency by limiting both the quantity available and the length of time the offer is valid. They encourage impulse buys that make it less likely for a shopper to wait for a specific item to go on sale \u2014 you never know if or when a specific item could become a Lightning Deal.<\/span><\/p>\n

While emulating Amazon\u2019s Lightning Deals might work well for a sizable online storefront, it can require a sizable investment in financials and labor to establish and run, making it challenging for smaller businesses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amazon\u2019s approach is certainly not the only way to create urgency in digital marketing. There are plenty of smaller-scale solutions, such as adding countdown timers to emails or webpage pop-ups. The classic \u201cOne Day Only\u201d sale can easily be brought online.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dropbox: Reward Early Adopters and Encourage Referrals<\/span><\/h3>\n

For new businesses, it\u2019s important to get up to a critical mass of users or customers to gain momentum and encourage word-of-mouth promotion. Many companies have found success offering discounts and rewards to customers who join early or bring their friends on board.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, Dropbox offers a free gigabyte of storage for every referral who joins.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Dropbox-referral\"<\/p>\n

What makes Dropbox\u2019s offer so powerful is that it doesn\u2019t actually require any paying customers \u2014 even their free memberships are eligible. It enables someone to significantly expand what they can get for free by adding up to 32GB of additional space to the standard 2GB. And who doesn\u2019t like free stuff?<\/span><\/p>\n

Just because it\u2019s free doesn\u2019t mean Dropbox doesn\u2019t get anything out of it. For every gigabyte it gives away, it gains a new user. <\/span><\/p>\n

REI: Grow Customer Loyalty and Repeat Business<\/span><\/h3>\n

Customer loyalty is the holy grail for every business. New customers are great, but nothing will beat having customers return repeatedly.<\/span><\/p>\n

A customer loyalty program often has different parts working together, including both digital and (for brick-and-mortar stores) in-store components. It doesn\u2019t have to be solely digital, but having a strong digital foundation can help maximize your loyalty program.<\/span><\/p>\n

While there are numerous great loyalty programs out there, one fantastic example is REI\u2019s Co-Op Membership.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"REI-annual-dividend\"<\/p>\n

In addition to the discounts you can expect with any customer loyalty program, REI offers an Annual Dividend program.<\/span><\/p>\n

The strength of the Dividend is that it incentivizes purchases. Members are encouraged to spend more in the beginning so they can get the most out of their dividends. Then, after they receive their dividends, it encourages them to return to purchase more. <\/span><\/p>\n

Easyology Pets: Offer Something Free<\/span><\/h3>\n

When presented with a game, people love to participate and try to win. Businesses have picked up on this and started integrating ways to make shopping more fun.<\/span><\/p>\n

Easyology Pets engages its customers through pop-up offers with a lucky wheel to spin for the chance to win a discount or free gift. This example works well because it encourages prospective customers to make a purchase, take advantage of what they won and prompts them to join the email list to participate.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Easology-pets-popup\"
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\nThere are also other ways to gamify the process of making a purchase. For example, you can offer a bigger reward each time a customer spends money with your company.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"discounts-to-draw-in-customers\"<\/p>\n

[siege_media_share_infographic]<\/p>\n

Share this Image On Your Site<\/h3>\n