Making Last-Minute Promotions Work

Plan ahead. It’s a great idea. And, it’s the RIGHT idea. But it isn’t always a realistic idea when you’re running a small business and wearing lots of different hats — like inventory supervisor, VP of sales, accountant, customer service rep and owner. When advertising gets bumped to the bottom of your priority list, what can you do?

You can do what small businesses do every day: you can be nimble. Thinking on your feet and fast response times come natural to you. Now that you need to get new traffic to your store or website, what can you do on short notice?

• Be Current — Look at the calendar. What’s going on in the world and in your customer’s lives right now? What kind of offer, event or special sale can you promote that ties into what’s happening?

• Be Conspicuous — You looked at the calendar and saw that Oktoberfest is going on. That may not be an expected event to celebrate for your business, which makes it a great choice to raise eyebrows and get you noticed!

• Be Convenient — Make it easy for your customers to give you the business. Your offer should be uncomplicated and the event should be simple to remember and attend.

Let’s say you’ve decided to run with this Oktoberfest thing. What, specifically, can you do to be current, conspicuous and convenient?

Start with the offer. One discount available on everything in the store (or on your site) is definitely convenient. Next, print your offer and an invitation to your event with a theme-appropriate design on branded postcards you have in stock. Out of custom postcards? You should have business letterhead, or at least have access to plain paper you can print on. Print up your promotion and mail it out to your mailing list. Make sure to print extras and hire some high school students to canvas the areas of your community where your target customers live, work and play. Have them leave your promo piece under windshield wipers and in door jams. (Do this whether your event is live or online.) Use the same design and information for your email list.

Call the high school band director or local music store and see if they know anyone who plays the accordion or tuba (assuming that’s not your natural talent and that you don’t already know someone with one of those skills). Make arrangements to have them play on the sidewalk outside your store during high-traffic hours, and have printed invitations/offers available for passersby to pick up. Rent your musician some lederhosen to wear if that’s an option. If you don’t have a brick-and-mortar store, consider adding a German beer-drinking song sound effect to your website (but be sure to give site visitors the option to turn off the sound with an easy-to-find volume setting).

In the store, offer root beer and pretzels as a treat while people shop. Or, if you prefer and serving alcohol fits your brand, go ahead and serve “real” beer.

Doing these things will ensure that the timing is right. You’ll get noticed (and may even get a write up in the local paper for your unique promotions) and the convenient discount will make everyone happy.

Now it’s your turn. Please share some last-minute promotions that have worked well for you. And if you try this one, we’d love to hear about it!