Creating an offer that ‘works’ is an extremely challenging process! Whether your goal is to show off a new product or out of appreciation for your supportive audience, it’s important to know what makes an offer worth marketing. This is especially true now that we are in a global crisis. By adding an offer to your unique product, you could be making it more accessible to a larger audience as well as an opportunity to sustain your business as we navigate these difficult times. Follow these tips to create an offer that works!
Offer genuine value
10% off a product is not going to go very far for your clients. Think big and go as bold as you possibly can. The ultimate version of this would be FREE. This is when it is essential to calculate the potential gain from the offer! Also, keep in mind that it can have a time limit. You’ll read more about how to decide on a time limit below.
Who is your audience?
It’s important to be specific in your marketing about who this offer is for! You want to be sure that its beneficial for both parties in the long run and want them to gain some value from it. Get the marketing right, and you will be able to attract the correct audience.
Ensure you can honour the offer
There could be a big demand for your offer, so this is something you must be prepared for. It might be a good idea to be conservative with the number of people that can redeem this offer and be transparent about this number. For example, if you are offering online consultancy but you can only manage to give 12 people the proper attention, but 18 people redeem the offer. You could end up with some unhappy clients who did not get an accurate idea of your company. Don’t be afraid to start small and then re-run the offer. This is an excellent opportunity to understand your bandwidth as well as the time you can dedicate to the offer.
What is the best timescale?
You’ll want your offer to maintain a sense of urgency. An open-ended offer means that there is no need for your audience to rush to take advantage of it. We also want to be sure that it is a valid amount of time for them to receive a good return. That is why the Supplier Directory offer was set to 3 months so that the listing will have an appropriate amount of time to see the return and measure it’s worth moving forward.
What can you offer?
Think about what it is that you have that you can offer. In terms of in-house recruitment suppliers, for example, it might not be sustainable to offer your entire platform. You’ll want to think of how much effort you want to put towards the offer and keep that to a minimum. Look into what other unique products you can offer, such as data, consultancy, or a unique part of your system that could collaborate with something else. It’s essential to think about what you can offer and the value. This offer should shine and speak to your USP.
Presentation Matters
This is also another opportunity to be creative and share more about your company personality. We’ve seen CEO’s take to the selfie-video route to share information about an offer which shows a significant bit of authenticity. Use your own imagery if possible. It’s essential to make this advert very attractive but also an accurate representation of your company. It’s critical to keep the wording clear and concise when detailing the facts: what is the offer, who is it for, what are the benefits, how long it lasts, how one can make the most of it, how to redeem it. For some creative examples, check out the offers on our Supplier Directory.
Test your offer
Canvass trusted advisors and members of your team to get advice or suggestions on the offer. In the first few days and weeks, it will be important to keep an eye on the data you’re getting. Keep track of the progress and have some benchmarks prepared, so you know what you will consider a success! Your next step would be to let others know about your new offer, but how? You can take it to events you’re taking part in, post it on social media or feature it on our Supplier Directory!
If you’re not getting as many hits as you expected, don’t be quick to write it off as a loss but an opportunity to reframe and get back to the drawing board. By measuring the success of an offer, you’ll get closer to perfecting your process. It can be challenging to predict what your audience will take an interest in, but by following these tips, you’ll find what works and can continue to refine it.
