Guest Blogger | The Art of Effective Offers and Giveaways

Whitney Free Bakula | Creative Assistant What entices you to buy something? Or even to subscribe to an email list? Discounts, giveaways and special offers are everywhere these days as retailers attempt to make shopping more appealing to buyers hit by the suffering economy. The most important question you must consider is, “How does my business benefit from this offer/giveaway?” The result of your offer should not simply be traffic to your store or website. It should be what sales result from that traffic. Wouldn’t you rather have 20 serious customers visit than 50 people looking for a freebie? Giveaways Related to Your Business The goal is to offer something directly related to a purchase. If your business cannot afford or is not allowed to make these offers, perhaps the manufacturer has other great offers to promote. Say you can offer $1,000 bonus cash, a $500 trade assistance voucher or even five free oil changes with a purchase. Suddenly, you’re more likely to see customers who were already interested in buying become especially interested in your dealership because of that extra incentive. Stay Clear of Generic Giveaways If you offer gift cards to other businesses or material goods, you may still have some serious shoppers but you’re much more likely to run into the dreaded “gift seeker.” They will do whatever it takes for free stuff! You want me to take a test drive to earn this gift card? No problem! I’ll pretend I care long enough to get the gift card and then tell you I’ve changed my mind and am no longer interested. Now, you’ve not only given away a freebie but you’ve also wasted time on someone who had no intention of buying. Give What You Can The art of offers and giveaways is a tricky one. There is no perfect formula and no concrete research on exactly what works and what doesn’t. What is certain, though, is the fact that everyone is looking to save money in this economy, so any time you can offer your customers some kind of deal… DO IT. Decades in the business and a “unique” buying experience won’t get the job done alone.