Creative promotion ideas for a country in lock-down

We don’t need to tell you how intensely COVID-19 has affected industries and small businesses worldwide, not to mention our everyday lives.

While some businesses, like home entertainment and online gambling, will actually benefit from the current situation, the rest of the world is, unfortunately, struggling to make ends meet.

If you’re looking for ways to maintain your brand communication and avoid losing too much money, these different types of promotions could help you out.

Geofencing to make sure you’re staying home during quarantine

Kick off with a socially responsible competition.

Tell your users to turn on their location and stay at home for at least 14 days, after which they can get a reward. It’s up to you whether it’s going to be a discount, coupon code or loyalty points. The most important thing here is that you care about your customers’ health and incentivize their next purchase at the same time.

Offer discounts for online orders

Some might prefer to focus on saving money now with the high degree of uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 situation.

However, we believe that with more and more sunny days and summer just around the corner, your customers will still feel the need for some wardrobe upgrades.

Help your customers by offering discounts that encourage them to make more orders online:

• To clear your inventory and keep the revenue stream flowing, use discounts or product bundles (especially for items that are hard to sell). We have collected some more ideas and initiatives on how to clear your inventory quick.
• Seasonal sales. Offer discounts on winter/spring collections and give an additional, even if only symbolic, discount for any online orders.
• Incentivize home delivery with rewards. Once again, you’re promoting social distancing & responsibility while keeping your profits.
• Offer faster home delivery when possible. This could be an additional incentive to order online or a benefit for your most loyal customers.

Ethical referral incentives

If you want to show that you truly care about your customers and are going through these tough times together with them, introduce these ethical referrals:  

• Tell your friends to stay at home and you both get a reward. Simple as that.
• Refer at least 5 friends and whoever spends the most time at home wins a gift.

Create a loyal online community

Now is the time to focus on your most loyal customers and create a community for them to be a part of, while also increasing your brand awareness.

• Incentivize user-generated content. This could include sharing memories, or taking part in a competition during the quarantine, users will spread the word about your brand which is crucial during a crisis.  
• Reward reviews, tags and referrals. Create a loyalty program around this concept and award points for different actions that lead to purchases.  
• Come up with new and creative ways for modern humans to interact with your product online if you haven’t already.
  

Discover how promotions can help you get through the COVID-19 crisis with minimal damage for e-commerce to clear your inventory, travel, and other industries on our blog.

If you’d like to find out more about our product and what it can do for your specific challenges, just book a demo and we’ll be in touch shortly.