FREE “product/service” to read this article, would be an example of incentive based marketing. It is simply discounting a product or service to get a potential customer to take an action. Many companies double down on this form of advertising with the “For a Limited Time” sort of restriction.
We all do some form of this and there is nothing wrong with this practice when used correctly. There are many mistakes made in offering discounts that can be easily overcome.
First mistake is the one of offering too many discounts. Even with a large selection of goods or services, it can be overwhelming to have too many different offers going on at the same time. We recommend keeping the offers simple; instead of offering some things at 10% off, some at 15% off and others at 20%. Instead just offer 10% this month on those goods, then next month change to to the 20% and so on. This will generate a more steady flow of customers and also make the offers feel more limited naturally.
Second mistake is the fine print restrictions. Having fine print is not the issue, but rather how much there is or the wording itself can be the issue. Fine print can get overlooked by customers and cause friction at the time of payment, which means your final impression for a customer is negative and that is not the goal of any company. Depending on the way people make purchases from your company, I recommend referencing a website location for more info and also make sure your staff is aware of these restrictions and acknowledges them with customers when goods or services from an offer are being discussed.
The third and final mistake that we will discuss today is the tracking of offers, and this is probably the biggest one. Business may be up, but is it an offer and what offer is driving more traffic? Without tracking contact or sales from promotions, you will not know how to continue to have success.
We hope this has helped and may your future incentive based marketing be more successful than ever before.