Everyone loves a good flash sale. There’s nothing more exciting than the sudden, unexpected opportunity to save money. To purchase something you weren’t expecting to buy five minutes earlier. There’s a thrill to it. It’s a purchase decided on pure impulse. Maybe it’s something you’ve been eyeing for a while, maybe it’s something you didn’t know you needed. Either way, it’s yours now. You’ve gotta have it.
But not all flash sales were created equal. There’s a simple art to it. To make sure you’re getting the most out of your flash sales, let’s review three crucial rules you need to know
It’s all about urgency. The first thing you need to know about creating a great flash sale is the importance of urgency. It’s called a flash sale for a reason. It’s fleeting. It’s gone before you know it. By calling something a flash sale in the first place, you’re already attaching an element of urgency. Even if the sale lasts for a week.
Urgency is all about the language you use. If you’re like me, and you regularly receive marketing email from your favorite brands, you can take a quick scroll to see a ton of examples.
Act now! Don’t miss out! Only TEN hours remain! Stock will go FAST!
It’s the FOMO effect in action. The good old-fashioned fear of missing out. We all know what it feels like. Use that to your benefit.
Create perceived value. If you want to make sure your flash sale works, you need to create perceived value. It’s how the customer evaluates the deal. If you want them to truly take an interest, the deal needs to be positioned to make it appear like the customer is getting away with a better deal than they really are. (Really, that’s a good quality for any deal to have, flash or otherwise.)
Here’s an example. Let’s say you’ve got a product that’s frequently discounted to a certain price. It hasn’t sold as well as you’d hope so it’s regularly listed at 25% off. Maybe there are coupons in fluctuation that take the price down even further. But it’s still just not moving. You solve this problem with a flash sale that takes the price down to 30%. But only for a limited time. Act fast because these will sell out quickly!
Exercise restraint. Here’s the thing with flash sales. They’re great when they’re executed effectively for a strategic purpose. Whether you’re trying to clear inventory, attract new customers, or create a nice marketing buzz, flash sales can be just what you need to get the job done.
But you need to exercise some restraint.
Flash sales can be a powerful tool to have at the ready. However, if you use them too frequently, they can start to lose their luster. Even backfire entirely. If your brand becomes well known for having flash sales all the time, then you lose that sense of urgency. Why buy now when you can just wait for the next flash sale? Before you decide to use a flash sale, try to evaluate whether or not it’s necessary for the goal you’d like to achieve. You’ll thank yourself later.
Promote With CoGoBuzz
Ready to plan your next flash sale? Get started with CoGoBuzz. Our service leverages advanced WiFi, SMS, and Email solutions to promote your business both in-store and out.
With in-store WiFi, we display an interactive landing page on your customers’ mobile devices, letting you show off your sales, limited-time deals, and more! With our SMS solution, you can enroll customers in digital loyalty programs, and start sending them notifications for when you’re holding a flash sale. On top of that, we produce fully-realized customer profiles for every customer that login into your HotSpot, and automatically integrate them with your Marketing List of choice, such as HubSpot, MailChimp, or Constant Contact.
Click here to learn more about CoGoBuzz!
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Have you had prior success with flash sales? Let us know in the comments!