September 2020 – user's Blog!

Finish 2020 Stronger Than You Started

This past year has been insane — COVID-19, wildfires, riots, killer bees, the list goes on. These unexpected events have turned the world as we knew it upside down. It’s hard to imagine any business could finish as strong as it anticipated at the start of the year, yet there are still things you can do to help your business finish the year stronger than you started.

Set Goals and Build a Plan

A lot has changed over the course of the year. Your goals have most likely changed too, and that’s perfectly fine. To finish the year off strong, you should decide what you want to accomplish by the end of the year and set SMART goals. SMART goals will ensure your objectives are tangible and reasonable for the timeframe left. Share your business’s goals with your staff and post them around the office where everyone can see them. This helps keep your team stay focused, motivated and moving toward your collective objectives together. Once you have your goals, it’s time to make a plan to achieve them.

Most businesses created a business plan for the year last winter. Unfortunately, this is not the same world or business climate you started in when building your plan. If you haven’t already, the best thing you can do for your business is to reevaluate your business plan and make adjustments based on your new goals.

Get Creative

We know that COVID-19 and the other events of 2020 have created major obstacles for businesses. To maintain and increase sales, you’re going to have to get creative. Don’t be afraid to adjust or try out new business models/strategies.

For instance, people aren’t out and about like they were pre-COVID-19. If possible, consider building and promoting an online store. According to Digital Commerce 360, online merchants gained an extra $107 billion this year as a result of the pandemic. Starting or expanding an online store will help you reach customers who can’t physically get out right now or make your brand available to people outside or your normal market area.

Another way companies have maintained or increased sales is by altering product/service offerings. For example, restaurants have started expanding delivery and curbside pickup options by adding the service or partnering with companies like DoorDash and Uber Eats. We have seen similar adjustments in other industries as well. Auto manufacturers started producing respirators, the spirits industry has been creating hand sanitizer, and furniture and office supply companies are making partitions for offices and restaurants. These offerings don’t have to be permanent, but they can be great for bringing in new business while providing necessary products and services.

On the converse, it can be a strong business move to limit product and service offerings. Majority of locally owned restaurants have condensed their menus for COVID-19 to cut back on costs. Additionally, clothing stores and other retailers have also limited their variety of goods to focus on more popular items.

Adjustments are going to vary from business to business. At the end of the day, you have to do what works best for your business. Take the time to plan the rest of the year so you can maximize your bottom line.

Motivate Staff

As a business owner or manager, you know how stressful this year has been. Your employees are also feeling the pressure and probably are experiencing some form of burnout heading into the fourth quarter. Reenergizing your staff is a good way to ensure you finish the year strong. Reenergizing and motivating staff can be accomplished through a number of methods.

First, start by acknowledging their stress and burnout. By having an open dialogue with your staff, you can come up with helpful ways to incorporate fun, stress-relieving activities into the workplace. Some easy de-stressors you can incorporate are daily walks with co-workers, meditation time, trivia or (virtual) happy hours. Allowing time to unwind and relax at work is key to keeping employees motivated and moving forward.

Another way to motivate staff is through incentives. Giving bonuses, time off, gift cards or some other form of incentive can help encourage employees power through the end of the year. Although these gestures seem small, they will make your staff feel valued for their hard work and show you appreciate all they do, especially during this difficult year.

Keep Promoting your Business

When money gets tight, one of the first things businesses want to drop to save funds is their marketing and promotions. This is a bad strategy because effective and thoughtful advertising has been proven to increase sales despite recession and other economic barriers, according to Zimmer Communications. By meeting your customers or potential customers where they are at, you have the opportunity to bring in new customers, increase sales and speed up the purchasing process.

At SaveOn, we’re devoted to helping businesses be as successful as possible by connecting them to new customers and promoting product and service offerings at the hyperlocal level. To learn more about how our team can help your business reach your goals, visit saveon.com/business.

Your Business Needs Coupon Marketing, Here’s Why

When someone talks about coupons, what do you think of? Some people immediately reference moms using Kohl’s Cash or recall an episode of “Extreme Couponing,” but studies show that coupon use is much bigger than those common examples. In fact, coupons can be integral in enhancing your current business model.

Why Offer Coupons?

Business owners and marketing professionals often ask us why they should start offering coupons. Whether your business is doing well or has room for growth, coupons can expand your current customer base and increase sales.

Although coupon marketing can look like you’re giving away product for free, 77% of consumers actually spend $10 to $50 more than planned when using a coupon, according to Invesp. Upselling is a common practice in coupon marketing. Making conditions like “$10 off when you spend $50” or “buy-one-get-one half off” can persuade customers to purchase more expensive items than they normally would or buy a larger quantity than intended. These types of offers allow customers to get more expensive items cheaper and increase your profits. Coupon marketing is a great opportunity for you to not only upsell but also cross-sell.

Cross-selling can occur in a number of ways, but two common methods are pushing products at the time of sale, like asking customers if they would like to purchase silverware to go with their new plate set, or making a coupon requirement that a customer must buy a product of a certain type to redeem the deal. For instance, in the same kitchen supply store example, you could have a coupon that offers 50% off silverware with the purchase of a new plate set. This is a great way to unload items you’ve had in stock for a while or introduce customers to new products.

Another benefit of coupon marketing is increasing the speed of a sale. According to Kelton Global, 48% of consumers say they will make a purchase sooner if they have a coupon. Speeding up the conversion rate is a smart way to meet quarterly sales goals and unload seasonal products.

Finally, by offering coupons on a trusted site, through direct mail or via email marketing, you can entice new customers to give your brand a try. Elect an offer that is powerful enough to get a customer to change his or her habits and chose you over your competitor. Then, customers will add you to their lists of places they frequent.

Who Uses Coupons?

So now that you know why you should offer coupons, you’re probably wondering if your target audience even uses coupon. The short answer is yes, they do. According to a study by PRRI, baby boomers (people 55 and older) are more likely to use coupons than any other age group, with 96% saying they use coupons, followed by Generation X with 91% and millennials with 87%. Additionally, a study from marketing firm Acosta found Gen Z is three times more likely than millennials to use mobile coupons.

The bottom line is coupons are still highly valuable to your customer base regardless of age, gender or other demographics.

How to Start Offering Coupons

How and where you advertise coupon offerings depends on each individual business and what services/products it provides. You should start by considering whether paper or digital makes more sense for your company.

Paper can include direct mail, magazine, receipt roll or newspaper. Paper coupon marketing will likely have printing, design and placement costs but is still a preferred method among older generations. Placing paper coupon ads in popular newspapers and magazines is a good way to get coupons in front of new customers. As younger generations are more digitally inclined, more companies are turning to digital coupon marketing.

Digital coupons also have an assortment of advertising opportunities, including email and text marketing, online publications, couponing apps and websites, geofencing and retargeting, and digital advertisements. Each method will still likely have a design and placement cost but will save you the cost of printing. Email and text offers are a special exception. If your company has a strong email or text list, you can actually avoid that placement cost. Another benefit of email and text promotion of coupons is that emails containing coupons offer a 48% increase in revenue per email, ReadyCloud found.

Whether you’re new to coupon marketing or just trying to navigate the changes, SaveOn has a team of experts who are ready to help you find the right method for your business. SaveOn helps savers live life for less by connecting them with relevant and trusted businesses. We are the top-of-mind provider of innovative marketing solutions, and we are passionate about the growth of our business partners. To learn more about how to get started in coupon marketing, visit saveon.com/business.