What is a marketing offer?
A marketing offer is a tool that businesses use to persuade customers to buy their products or services. An effective offer is one that is compelling and relevant to the customer, and it meets the customer’s needs in some way. There are many different types of offers, but all of them share certain common features. In this article, we will discuss what makes an offer effective, and how you can create marketing offers that don’t suck.
So if you’ve been struggling to create offers that customers actually want, read on for some helpful tips.
What Makes an Offer Effective?
There are several factors that contribute to an offer’s effectiveness. First, the offer must be relevant to the customer. It should address a need or want that the customer has, and it should be something that the customer is likely to be interested in. Second, the offer must be compelling. It should be something that the customer feels they would be missing out on if they didn’t take advantage of it. Third, the offer must be easy to understand and easy to take advantage of. The customer should not have to jump through hoops to get the offer, and it should be clear what they need to do to take advantage of it.
Fourth, the offer must have a sense of urgency. The customer should feel like they need to act now in order to get the offer. Lastly, the offer must be realistic. It should be something that the business can actually deliver on, and it should be something that the customer feels is worth the price.
Now that we know what makes an offer effective, let’s discuss the different types of marketing offers and how to create offers that don’t suck.
The different types of marketing offers are
Here are the most common types of marketing offers:
Discounts and coupons – These offers give the customer a percentage off their purchase, or a free product or service with purchase.
Bundles – These offers combine two or more products or services into one package at a discounted price.
Free shipping – This offer provides free shipping on purchases made through the business’ website or store.
Free trials – This offer allows the customer to try a product or service for a certain period of time before they have to commit to buying it.
Payment plans – This offer allows the customer to spread out the cost of a purchase over time.
Let’s look at these in more detail.
Discounts and coupons offers
Discounts and coupons are a great way to persuade customers to buy your products or services. They offer a certain percentage off the purchase price, or a free product or service with purchase. Discounts and coupons can be used for both online and offline purchases.
To make sure your discounts and coupons don’t suck, make sure they are relevant to the customer and easy to understand. The customer should also be able to take advantage of the offer with ease. Lastly, make sure the offer has a sense of urgency so the customer feels like they need to act now.
Bundle offers
Bundles are another great way to persuade customers to buy your products or services. Bundles offer two or more products or services at a discounted price. This is a great way to upsell customers on additional products or services they may not have considered.
To make sure your bundles don’t suck, make sure the products or services included in the bundle are relevant to the customer and that the overall price is compelling.
Similar to discount offers, bundle offers should be simple, easily accessible, and have a sense of urgency.
Free shipping offers
Free shipping is a great way to encourage customers to buy your products or services. This type of offer provides free shipping on purchases made through the business’ website or store. Free shipping can be a great incentive for customers, especially if they are purchasing multiple items.
To make sure your free shipping offers don’t suck, make sure the customer understands what they need to do to take advantage of the offer. The offer should also be realistic, meaning the business can actually deliver on it without losing (too much) money. Lastly, make the offer time sensitive so they are incentivized to act now.
Payment plans offers
Payment plans are another great way to encourage customers to buy your products or services. This type of offer allows the customer to spread out the cost of a purchase over time. Payment plans can be an attractive option for customers, especially if they are making a large purchase. They can also be attractive to you, since recurring revenue can help you avoid feast and famine in your business.
To make sure your payment plan offers don’t suck, make sure the customer understands the terms of the plan. The customer should also feel like they are getting a good deal, with low monthly payments and no hidden fees.
Also make sure the plan is easy to set up and manage, for both you and the customer.
Finally, consider raising the cost of your product or service if you’re offering a payment plan. This can help you offset the cost of offering the payment plan and the opportunity cost of not getting the money up front.
Free trials offers
Free trials are another great way to encourage customers to buy your products or services. This type of offer allows the customer to try a product or service for a certain period of time before they have to commit to buying it. Free trials can be a great way to build trust with potential customers and give them a taste of what your product or service is like.
To make sure your free trial offers don’t suck, make sure the customer understands the terms of the offer. The customer should also feel like they are getting a good deal, with a fair amount of time to trial the product or service.
Also make sure the free trial is easy to set up and manage, for both you and the customer.
Finally, consider giving the customer a discount if they decide to buy the product or service after the free trial period. This can help you offset the cost of offering the free trial
Freemium Product Offers
Freemium product offers are another great way to encourage customers to buy your products or services. This type of offer allows the customer to use a basic version of your product or service for free, with the option to upgrade to a premium version for a fee. Freemium product offers can be a great way to introduce potential customers to your product or service.
To make sure your freemium product offer doesn’t suck, make sure the customer understands what they are getting with the free version of your product or service. Mmake sure the free version is easy to use and has enough features to be useful. The premium version should also offer enough value to justify the price.
Finally, consider giving the customer a discount if they decide to buy the premium version of your product or service. This can help you offset the cost of offering the free version.
When should you use marketing offers?
Marketing offers can be a great way to encourage customers to buy your products or services. However, you should only use marketing offers if they are relevant to your target audience and if you are confident you can deliver on them.
You should also make sure that you’re offering the right offer to the right person at the right stage of their customer journey.
Offers for Prospects
A prospect is someone who is generally just starting to learn about your business. They are probably not on your mailing list, and your offer should be a low commitment way to get them to join your mailing list.
For example, you could offer a free report or e-book in exchange for the prospect’s email address. Other offers that can be very effective are templates, checklists, or other tools that prospects can use to do business more efficiently.
Think of these as being more transactional in nature. Your prospect likely has a specific problem, and you’re going to address it in the simplest way possible.
The point of this offer is to have the prospect give you their contact information and permission to communicate with you so that you can nurture them into a lead.
Offers for Leads (entry point offers)
A lead is someone who has shown more interest in your business than a prospect. They might be on your mailing list, or they might have downloaded a report, shown interest in doing business with you, or taken you up on a trial.
When someone is a lead, your job is to get them to take the next step with your business by investing a little bit of time or money with you. This is a specific kind of offer called an entry point offer, and we’ve written a whole article about that.
Offers that require a commitment of time might be a webinar, or an offer to meet in person. This could also be a free trial or estimate.
Offers that require a commitment of money might be a discount, or a free shipping offer.
Just remember, if you haven’t already started building a relationship with your prospect, it’s probably too early for an entry point offer.
Offers for Customers
Customers are people who have already bought from you. What you are really trying to do with these offers is cross-sell or up-sell your existing customers so that they spend more money with you. We talk a lot about this in our article on customer value optimization, which explores how to increase the lifetime value for your customers.
This process varies pretty wildly by business, but the core of it is that you need to increase the number of customers you have, the average transaction value per customer, and the number of transactions per customer.
Depending on what you sell, you should have multiple offers running to your customer base at any given time. These might be seasonal discounts, or offers for new products or services that you’ve launched.
You should also think about ways to package your products and services together in a way that makes sense for your customers and provides more value than they would get by buying each piece separately.
Offers for Promoters
A promoter is someone who loves your business and tells everyone about it. They might be a customer, a raving fan, or they might just be someone who leaves you a really great review on Yelp.
The key with offers for promoters is to make sure that you are rewarding them for their loyalty and their willingness to tell others about your business.
This could be a referral program, where promoters get a discount or some other perk for referring new customers to you.
It could also be a loyalty program, where promoters get points or rewards for continued business with you.
The important thing is that you are showing your appreciation for their support, and giving them an incentive to continue promoting your business.
Ready to create your marketing offers that don’t suck?
There you have it – our pro tips that will help you create marketing offers that actually work. Just remember to keep your target audience in mind, and to make sure that your offer is something that they would actually want.
If you need help getting started, or if you want some more ideas, sign up for one of our Double Your Sales discovery meetings.
