How to run a successful Ecommerce sale

Selling online is tough.

Sales can be a great way to boost your revenue, and push hesitant shoppers over the edge. This article highlights the various considerations and phases to think through as you prepare for a sale:

1. Planning
2. Lead generation
3. Early access
4. Sale
5. Sale Extension

Planning

A successful sale will depend on what products you’re focusing on and what discount you can give that will drive either the highest LTV or the highest profit, or both:

• Best selling products
• Best selling products with the highest margin 
• Products that have the highest LTV when purchased first
• Products that are frequently purchased by returning customers
• Products that compliment each other when bundled together
• Products that people buy more than 1 frequently together
• Low cost products that could be thrown in free

Depending on what route you go down with your sale, you need to also consider existing customers and how you plan to speak to them vs new customers.

Sales are great for attracting new customers, but if you’re not doing something special for existing customers and talking to them the same as a new customer, chances are they may not stick around much longer.

Lead Generation

About 30 days out from launching a sale we like to increase lead generation to increase leads and help support email more so that it can do most of the heavy lifting during the sale. This can be done with a quiz, a giveaway, a ‘hype up’ form to get early access for an upcoming sale, etc.

Goal here is to add just enough friction so that you’re not getting poor quality leads that just want free stuff. Worst thing you can do is spend a ton of money acquiring new potential customers, but find out they’re never gonna buy from you.

Early Access

If the sale is really generous, or you have limited stock, or you just want to do something special for your email list–doing an early access sale with a slightly different discount from the public sale can do wonders for your brand. 

It can help make your customers feel more special, which can increase loyalty/retention. 

Sale

For the sale, we like to make sure all touch points are covered.

• Google Ads: promotion extensions and copy is updated
• Email/SMS: campaigns are ready to go
• Paid Social: creative speaks to your sale, and is different from evergreen

With Paid Social, we normally try to keep the end date vague in order to drive more immediate sales. Then as you get closer to the end of the sale, weave in some additional ads that drive urgency: “sale ends today” “final hours” “last chance”

Neat trick: Use creative showing UGC of people who purchased at a higher price. That’ll get the people going!

Sale Extension

This might not always be necessary, but if you’re sale is just crushing it and you still have stock and swing your margin then consider extending the sale. Make sure to have your emails and creative ready just in case, so that you’re not scrambling last minute.