How to turn Forrester predictions into your promotions strategy

Talon.One Writer

Content Team

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3 minutes to read

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It's crucial that your business delivers an A+ customer experience in order to succeed. But how do you make it happen?

To help you get started, we have collected some killer promotion tactics inspired by Forrester's Retail Predictions.

Unfortunately, most businesses fail to realize the full potential of their promotions. By developing a targeted strategy and using your data to trigger campaigns based on customer behaviour, you can deliver this winning experience. Simply giving 10% discounts to all customers will lose you money and go unnoticed by customers.

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Below are some powerful promotion tactics to support each prediction.

1. Customer's Needs Are #1

The Prediction:

US retail will grow, and digital will influence over half of US retail sales. We forecast that US online retail sales will comprise approximately 14% of total US sales, and, more to the point, that digital touchpoints will in some way impact more than half of total US retail sales -Forrester

The Takeaway: Focus on improving the customer experience at every digital touchpoint and create targeted promotions for every stage of the customer lifecycle. Collect the right customer data to deliver a personalized and meaningful experience.

The Promotions:

Per Product Discount: Optimize delivery and shipping experience for customers, build a discount program that offers free shipping for all orders placed over X amount, orders to certain billing addresses, or after X number of purchase of a specific product.
Customer Support Coupon: If customers have a bad experience, offer 50% “Sorry Coupon” and fix the issue right away. To provide the best service, have your Customer Support agents issue coupon codes on the fly to compensate for the bad experience and keep a positive relationship with your brand.

2. Online Grocery Will Grow - You Must Adapt

The Prediction:

Online grocery will finally become real for consumers. The $800-plus billion US grocery sector will continue to see lots of activity. These significant moves also will bolster how consumers perceive and adopt online grocery shopping in the next 12 months. -Forrester

The Takeaway: Like grocery shopping, you want customers to think of your brand between purchases. Coupons are a great way to achieve this and are a proven tactic in the grocery industry. With digital coupons, don’t waste your budget by giving every customer the same coupon, instead, you can deliver granular promotions to every customer segment.

The Promotions:

Coupons: Coupons for specific items or categories should be delivered to the right customer segments at the right time to fully optimize your promotion costs. For example, stay top of mind while adding value by giving 5€ off health products during allergy season or suggesting relevant products.
Product Bundling: Offer customers a free product or give a discount on a related service to provide added value like a discount on sunscreen if they have searched for sunglasses or beach apparel. Target customers who make regular purchases with a smaller basket size to increase purchase frequency.

Get Ahead Of The Loyalty Game

The Prediction:

Shoppers will look for far more than points and offers — so the savviest retailers will offer meaningful rewards that create deep emotional loyalty, steaming ahead of competitors still stuck on these currencies. (...) Cultivate emotionally loyal customers, not bargain hunters. -Forrester

The Takeaway: Focus on building a long-term relationship with customers and provide truly meaningful experiences whenever possible. Loyalty programs can take many shapes, but be sure to offer benefits tailored to your customer's behaviour.

The Promotions:

Tiered Loyalty Program: Offer exclusive rewards or access to certain products or events available only to customers within certain tiers. Encourage engagement by clearly outlining the explaining the benefits that customers can achieve at each level of the program.
Card Club Program: Ask customers to join a VIP program and offer meaningful rewards only available to VIP members. Target loyal customers who make regular high-value purchases and make them feel special to increase brand affinity.

Conclusion

Businesses have come to recognize that prioritizing customers and optimizing every aspect of their customer experience can fuel growth and enhance customer loyalty.

If you still aren't sure how to make that happen, try sending targeted promotions to your customers.

When executed correctly, the right promotions strategy will increase sales, drive customer engagement, and improve brand loyalty.

If you have the right promotion solution in place, targeted, personalized, and secure promotional campaigns can easily be implemented and executed by both marketing and development teams.

Keen to know more about the power of promotions in enhancing your interactions with customers? Check out our report, "Promotions and the changing face of ecommerce."