In the last week of November, hoolah, Facebook, Meekco.Asia and Shopify Malaysia came together to hold an interactive, virtual meetup, where industry experts shared marketing strategies that aspiring and seasoned retailers can adopt to boost sales for the festive season and the year ahead.
For hoolah and Shopify, this is the second virtual meetup aimed at empowering retailers and business owners during the coronavirus pandemic. The first meetup, which took place on 17 November, featured merchants primarily from Hong Kong and other parts of the world.
Related Article: 3 Key Takeaways From the Shopify (HK) x hoolah Meetup on Nov 2020
In case you missed it, here are five marketing strategies for you to adopt.
1. The Allure of VIP Access
Loyalty programmes are great tools to fall back on in tough times. When consumers spend more (which they likely will, if they are shopping for Christmas presents for friends and families), rewarding them for their purchases will build loyalty and encourage them to return in the future.
That said, companies should always strive to give their best value to their best customers, or ‘VIP shoppers’. Retailers or companies who treat all customers equally are less likely to maximise profit in the long run. According to Harvard Business Review, writers Louise O’Brien and Charles Jones explain, “A company that offers average-value products and services to everyone wastes resources in over-satisfying less profitable customers while under-satisfying the more valuable loyal customers.”
Neel Bhatt, the Head of Partnership at Shopify Plus, says companies can reward ‘VIP shoppers’ by gifting them more discounts, sending invitations to exclusive first-dibs to product launches, or offering premium and free shipping. “The goal is to offer VIP shoppers with exclusive content and keep them interested,” he says at the meetup.
2. Bundles, bundles and bundles
Due to the pandemic, several companies have seen greater online sales and consequently, reached out to suppliers for more stocks. Yet, with time, there are some who are seeing excess stockpiles, which never get sold, in their inventories. Otherwise known as ‘dead stock’, these stockpiles are likely to incur long run storage costs and block cash inflow, if left untouched and unsold.
To offload these dead stocks, Neel recommends bundling products—in this case, bundling dead stock and new products together. With the festive season fast approaching, businesses can consider creating an attractive bundle, comprising complementary products, for a good price to entice customers to purchase.
In the year ahead, bundling might prove to be useful too.
3. Tiered Discounts, A Win-Win Solution
For panelists, Fabio Miceli of premium mattress brand Sonno and Ryan Ho of Malaya Optical, the duo had witnessed a spike in online sales during the quarantine season earlier this year. With more (and newer) customers looking to purchase, it made sense to offer discounts to retain or attract customers.
Adopting tiered discounts is a win-win solution for customers looking to save more during the pandemic and businesses looking to clear dead stocks or increase sales.
In tiered discounts, customers are rewarded with different discounts based on how much they purchase. Often, retailers structure their discounts given in three tiers: basic (where customers who spend at least $100 may get 5% off), standard (where customers who spend more than $200 may get 10% off), premium (where customers who spend more than $300 may get 20% off).
Essentially, retailers are able to increase average order revenue, while customers are able to purchase more at a cheaper price. Having tiered discounts during the festive season may be a great idea.
4. Doing Some Good Is Good For Businesses. Period.
If there is anything the pandemic has taught us, it is to have empathy for everyone in the current climate. Companies, who are always giving back to societies, could consider letting their customers know that a part of their profit goes to charitable organisations.
When brands donate or participate in volunteer work, beyond forging positive relationships with charities, employees across the company are likely to be motivated too. Research has shown that when workers work for companies that support charitable organisations, their positivity at work increases. Other merits include engaging a new (and possibly, wider) group of customers and enhancing brand identity.
According to a 2015 Cone Communications Global CSR study, when choosing between two brands of equal quality and price, 90% of U.S. shoppers are likely to switch to a cause branded product. Thus, encouraging customers to switch brands.
For brands looking to engage in charitable work, Neel suggests, “Choose charities that best align the companies or employees’ values.”
5. Release Limited-Quantity Exclusives
Businesses can consider releasing limited-edition products to draw hype for subsequent product launches, Neel suggests. Using limited edition as a marketing tool rejuvenates the brand and successful strategies that promote them can drive immediacy and exclusivity.
Product prestige and the fear of missing out can cast a powerful effect on shoppers. According to Shopify, a test by WhichTestWon found that when a countdown timer was placed on a product page, it converted nearly 9% better than one without a timer. In other words, limited editions can help motivate procrastinators, who “go home and think about it”, to take action.
Bonus: Embrace social media shopping
Social media has taken the world by storm, and it still is exciting to see what’s going to be offered there. Recently, both Facebook and Instagram have developed a business channel for businesses and retailers to connect with more customers. The space is still growing and there are plenty of opportunities available there, says Cathay Yum, who is in charge of regional product marketing (APAC) on Facebook. In other words, keeping track of these updates and being experimental might yield rewards in the future.
Neel adds that there is value in keeping track of the latest updates these social media goliaths have. “Your products need to live in many places; they need to be where your customers’ attention is,” he adds.
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