As a small business owner, it’s no doubt you’re looking for ways to maximize your sales over the impending holiday season. After all, it’s the time of year when people traditionally open their wallets a bit more freely and want to satisfy others’ wish lists and their own. So with all the opportunity for seasonal marketing campaigns and creative ways to use holiday cheer as fuel for sales, what’s the best approach?
While many methods may work, employing countdowns is one tactic that is tried and true. The premise behind counting down is that your consumer is faced with a limited amount of time to make a purchase. If they’re leaning toward making a buy already, the perceived (or real) time limit will cause them to delay no more. Here are three ways to effectively incorporate countdowns this holiday season for a spike in your sales.
Count Down the Number of Items Left
The principle of scarcity within advertising is really what makes countdowns so useful. People are more inclined to buy if they feel an item is universally desired or hard to come by or if they know their opportunities for getting it are limited.
Zappos uses this technique by showing how many items are left in stock in the color and size requested. If someone was intent on buying a pair of boots, seeing that there is only one size nine pair in “camel” color left is sure to make her add the item to her cart in a hurry. She wouldn’t want to let that slip away.
You can apply the same principle to your business. Even if you don’t handle transactions online or through an e-commerce platform, you can tip customers off to the fact that your merchandise isn’t going to stick around forever.
Count Down to a Sale or Event
Sales are traditionally a great way to bring in those buyers who want to make purchases, but are conservative with shelling out cash. If you haven’t considered throwing a big sale, this is an opportune time to do so. While huge blowout sales can draw crowds of buyers, you don’t necessarily need to go all-out in order to make a sale effective. Decide what discounts you can comfortably offer while still retaining good profit margins and then have fun with it by giving the sale a theme.
“Cold Weather Clearance” is a cutesy theme that could get people’s attention or you can stick with a traditional route of something like a “Black Friday Sale.” Either way, make sure the title shouts out the fact that it’s a sale and implies that it has a limited shelf life.
Walmart is an example of a company that successfully uses countdowns through its email list to get customers excited about its Cyber Monday sale. By counting down to the sale and periodically reminding potential buyers that it’s around the corner, Walmart gives people a chance to think about the sale long before it happens. Customers will wait to buy certain items on their list, if they know they can get great deals by just waiting a little bit.
Count Down to an Expiration Date
Amazon is another example of a brand that takes advantage of the psychologically driven tendency to buy what’s scarce, and occasionally presents a limited-time discount to site visitors. While a consumer is deciding whether or not to use the offer, a countdown timer is prominently displayed to increase urgency. If the person had any hesitancy at all, this is often enough to encourage a purchase. The customer wouldn’t want to miss out on a deal, now would he?
Incorporate this concept into your marketing efforts this holiday season. Do you want to give customers a free 30-day trial of a certain brand of software if they buy a computer from you? Let them know about the invitation and give them a hard deadline. Cluing them into the fact that this proposition won’t be good after a certain date will inspire them to make a decision sooner rather than later. And if the deal is enticing enough, their decision will probably be in your business’ favor.
While many marketing practices tap into customers’ psychology, the use of a countdown can be especially lucrative for you. Take a look at your goals for sales this holiday season and devise a plan for the sales and deals you are willing to extend in order to get more buyers in the door. Then consider applying a countdown to whichever offer makes the most sense. Whether you count down the items left, count down to a sale or similar event or count down to when a deal will no longer be acceptable, the key is to create a sense of scarcity around your products. If you execute your countdowns thoughtfully, you will see your sales benefit well before the new year rolls around.
