Promotion ideas and initiatives to clear your inventory quick

Talon.One Writer

Content Team

access_time_filled

4 minutes to read

Jump to

The coronavirus outbreak has created a huge dent in many services and industries across the globe. Self-quarantine and restrictions on social gatherings have devastated an enormous number of small businesses that rely on people being present to make money.

The pandemic continues to expand and affect the following industries disproportionately:

Leisure & Personal Care
Transport, Travel & Tourism
Catering & Hospitality
Event Management

Businesses in these industries are suffering as a result of coronavirus and many are having to take a hard look at how they position themselves in their respective markets.

Each one now has to assess how their current operations can be sustained or improved to ensure the satisfaction and retention of their customers. If you’re interested in dealing with mass refunds in the travel industry just check out our previous blog article.

Keeping your company alive

Businesses will keep spending, but in different ways. This might mean simply reducing spend on certain advertizing channels and investing more in their online presence, content creation and promotions.

Customers are finding it difficult to recoup money from trips that have been cancelled as an unfortunate knock-on effect of the pandemic. Many businesses have been forced to suspend their operations because of the downturn in spending (lockdowns or social distancing), but ultimately it’s the ones who can adapt the best that will see their way through the crisis.

Here are a couple of approaches which could help you keep business flowing:

Big discounts for first-time/new customers. Encourages new business which can then be followed up with additional promotions.
In these uncertain times, invoice payments will be a much more convenient payment method for many customers. Offering the invoice payment option or even relaxing invoice payment deadlines for trusted customers can encourage purchases and strengthen the customer-retailer relationship.
Bundle hard-to-sell items as free gifts. This can help shift excess stock while giving back to the customer at the same time. Learn more how product bundling helps E-commerce against Coronavirus.
You could also use promotions to offer customers discounts on affiliate products and services.

Looking after your customers

The pandemic is a good reminder that it’s much easier and less costly to retain customers than it is to acquire new ones.

The main question is, “What else can you do to help your existing customers?”

Are there any additional products or services you can offer them? Can you speed up your delivery for an additional fee? Can you sell more with a bulk discount? Could you even partner with another business to enhance your product or service?

The key is not to be afraid of getting creative. Take a look at some potential ideas below:

Offer customers coupons for their next purchase or offer their next purchase for free if they refer a friend. These promotions reward existing customers and also draw new ones to your site.
Stay at home deal offers. Special deals encourage customers to interact with your business, while also allowing your business to do its part for the greater good.
Buy one get one free offers. One of the oldest formats in the book, but they’ll always be relevant. You could run a 10% off deal… or you could even offer a “Buy 3 Get 1 Free” deal instead.
Gift card offers. Even though the world is in lockdown, people will still be celebrating, whether it’s birthdays or anniversaries. What better time for a business to offer gift cards?
Offer customers discounts when certain products are purchased together. This can help get rid of excess stock or simply encourage customers to up their spend.
Offer free shipping with certain combinations of items. Often free shipping is seen as a more attractive offer than reduced prices.

It’s a unique time in history but it’s worth taking chances. In the meantime, stay safe and stay at home!

To learn more about implementing any of these promotion ideas, just book a demo with us and we’ll run through your business-specific use cases together.