Creating Online Jazz

2015 • Content

Last week, it was Black Friday. This weekend was Small Business Saturday. And this week it was Cyber Monday. And, in China, annual Singles Day in November broke the world’s online sales records.

Tip: “Spend at least half your promotional energy coming up with a great headline.”

6 Schedule no fewer than SIX promotions and events for the year.

The point? Everybody seems to be in the holiday-naming business, so why can’t you? How about your 10^th Anniversary Special, your 3^rd Wednesday of the Month Celebration, your annual Sidewalk Sale, or create a Members’ Only Club that includes special previews and prices. The point is to come up with fresh reasons for consumers to visit your store and/or your website to create online jazz.

To make any event or promotion work, you need to create excitement around it. And, most of all, you need to be organized and plan ahead. Here are 10 steps to creating a successful promotion.

Step 1. File It
Start putting together promotional files: one with previous promotions, one for successful advertising campaigns you’ve done, and another with clips from other companies’ events that you liked.

Step 2. Review It
Take a fresh look at what’s worked before. Ask yourself why something worked or why it didn’t. Remember that sometimes it’s just a question of timing, so, if there’s an idea you liked, try it on a different day or even a different month.

Step 3. Plan It
Schedule no fewer than SIX promotions and events for the year. While that sounds challenging, once you create a system, it’s much easier.

Step 4. Team Up
Once you’ve come up with a rough idea of your promotional plan, bring in all your staff. Use a dry erase board or a large calendar to expand the plan, ask for their input, and work with them to set sales goals and a bonus structure.

Step 5. Details, Details
Track your traffic by day of the week and, of course, by month and season. Plan your event or promotion accordingly.

Step 6. Advertise It
Determine your advertising schedule far in advance. That helps build excitement. Plus, make sure the wording creates a call to action.

Step 7. Invite Press
Especially if there’s a charity or community outreach element, be sure to involve local media both early on and often. Send pre-event press releases and, of course, invite the media to attend. Then take lots of photos at the event—including your best, and best-known, customers. Be sure to get written permission to use their images and, if granted, send the pix and follow-up release to local media.

Step 8. Grab ‘Em
Spend at least half your promotional energy coming up with a great headline. And remember that fear of loss is an important motivator when it comes to getting consumers involved.

Step 9. Concept It
You have to be different. The event or promotion doesn’t have to be all about a sale. It can just be something fun that grabs enough attention to get customers to share about it with friends and associates.

Step 10. Increase Inventory
You’ll need to increase the investment in inventory for your special event. It does, as the adage goes, cost money to make money.

For more tips on marketing tips and tools, check out Debbie Allen’s Confessions of Shameless Self Promoters.

What events have worked for you? And, which promotions haven’t? Please tell us and join in the conversation on our Facebook page here.

Reference http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/scspromo.htm.