How to Create Compelling Offers that Actually Drive Sales

Compelling promotions and special offers truly are a small business owner’s best friend.

Whether you want to attract new customers or drive more sales from your existing customer base, a well-planned promotion is a great way to infuse your business with extra cash.

 Consumer data tells us that customers are actively looking for great deals and offers!

A whopping 39% of social media users interact with a business first via a special offer.

So, what can you do to craft and execute a slam-dunk promotion for your small business?

Action Steps

1. Send a survey to your subscribers and/or customers. Ask what they want and need from your business. You might be surprised at the ideas that will flow from the very people you’re aiming to serve. Survey Monkey is a free tool that lest you send surveys to your email subscribers. They also provide a link that you can use across your social channels to get feedback from potential customers who aren’t on your email list…yet!
2. Check out what your competitors and bigger brands are offering. Last year, Facebook released the Info & Ads tab, so you can see all the ads and offers other business pages are offering.To check out the ads your competitors are running, visit the competitor’s Business Page. (On Desktop, you’ll see the Info & Ads tab in the left sidebar just below the Business Page Profile image. On Mobile, click the “i” icon at the bottom of the page’s cover photo to see active ads and promotions.)
3. Test, test, test! After you’ve compiled a list of potential offers, test them! Although information gleaned from your subscribers and competitors is helpful, testing various offers is the best way to determine what works best for your specific business and audience. Click-Through-Rates on ads and sales numbers will give you the story as to what works and what doesn’t!
4. Commit to a well-rounded promotional strategy.
   1. Post your promotion on social media
   2. Since organic reach on promotional content is minimal on Facebook and Instagram, in particular, create ads that will display where your customers spend the most of their time (their Facebook and Instagram Feeds).
   3. Send a series of emails to your list of subscribers.
   4. Partner with other businesses to co-promote your offer.