For online and multi-channel merchants planning their holiday shopping blitz, here's some guidance about what promotions are most likely to drive purchase decisions. Marketing Profs recently reported on the promotional preferences revealed in a survey of 1,000 holiday shoppers and 100 major retailers by commerce marketing platform Bronto and market research firm Ipsos. When it comes to online-only shopping, free shipping is a key draw, with 84% of holiday shoppers saying free shipping influences online purchase decisions and over a third (38%) saying they will not shop an e-commerce site that does not offer free shipping. Overall, including in-store sales, customers rate percent-discount promotions as the top inducement to buy (71%), followed by clearance sales (65%), buy-one-get-one (58%), dollar-off sales (52%) and free gift with purchase (47%). The interesting thing about the survey results is that merchants polled don't have the same promotional preferences; while 72% say they plan to use the percentage discounts popular with shoppers, only 38% plan to embrace BOGO sales, for example. And despite the importance of free shipping to online shoppers, only 18% of online-only merchants say they plan to offer it on all purchases; e-tailers prefer (41%) limiting free shipping to certain order values or times. Some holiday promos also differ in appeal according to consumer age. Limited-time "Flash Sales" appeal most to millennial shoppers (54% say they are more likely to buy) but decline as a purchase inducement with age, down to just 15% of those over 65. For more detail. see http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2015/28594/the-holiday-promotions-consumers-like-most
David Kanter, President and CEO of AccuList, is a list brokerage and direct marketing expert. For more than 30 years, he has helped companies and nonprofit organizations achieve their marketing goals. With David's Direct Marketing Forum, he shares, and invites others to share, helpful direct-marketing industry news, trends, analyses, resources, and tips for success. Please read our Comment Policy.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Getting the Most Out of E-mail Fundraising
The season of intense fundraising activity is beginning, and we assume most nonprofits will be investing in e-mail. After all, e-mail has the highest ROI (21%-23%) of direct marketing media in the latest Direct Marketing Association stats. Plus, e-mail delivers a third of online fundraising revenue at a time when online giving is outpacing overall fundraising growth. For nonprofits who want to get the most from their investment in e-mail, we're passing along some handy guidelines to success, with examples, from a recent business2community article share of a Constant Contact blog post. "The Anatomy of a Successful Fundraising E-mail" highlights must-haves: First comes a subject line that entices opens by using both accuracy about the nature of the appeal and enough intrigue to make the recipient want to read more. Once the e-mail is opened, fundraisers must offer content that earns action/clicks by concisely and clearly explaining the program promoted, the impact of giving, and how to help, including a clear and visible call-to-action, such as a brightly colored button. We would add personalization to that content list, too. And last is an appealing design that brands professionally, uses easy-to-read text, and includes a powerful image to inspire action. For examples that illustrate each of these points, see the article at http://www.business2community.com/non-profit-marketing/the-anatomy-of-a-successful-fundraising-email-01318519#lEkbmm705yql01gl.97
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