The New Year is a time for change. It’s a time to kick bad habits and pick up constructive ones. It’s also a time to try new things. It just so happens that there are a number of products and services that can help people open a new page in their lives – a substantial number. What that translates into is a steep curve for competition on your New Year’s promotional offers. Luckily, there are some basic tips to help you stand out from the competitors.

1. Pick Your Battles

It’s tempting to cast a broad net. After all, if you believe in your product, then almost anyone in earshot should give it a chance. But the reality is that promotional campaigns cost resources, and only of fraction of leads materialize into a sale. A successful approach to promotional offers relies on knowing your consumers. Research is paramount. Analytics, surveys, questionnaires, and any other information you can gather about your target market will ensure that your efforts are going to the most viable leads.

2. Keep It Succinct

Nothing scares off buyers more than the little asterisk next to a deal that refers to terms and conditions that read like the arbitration clause of a transnational corporate merger. They also may not want every service you have to offer under the sun. You want the promotional offer to be clear, simple, and concise. Your buyers know what they want. The right offer will win them over as long as it’s clear what they’re getting.

3. “For a Limited Time Only”

Consumers have been onto the concept of retail markup being used to incentivize sales prices for some time now. In a similar vein, calling it a New Year’s promotion when it’s more or less a year-round thing isn’t going to sway a lot of savvy shoppers.

The simple solution here is to offer an actual incentive for buyers to consider your promotion. There’s a reason why Black Friday stampedes are a thing. There are a number of online retailers offering similar deals with comparable market flooding. What they have in common are tangible incentives that are limited to the scope of their promotions.

4. Track Your Results

Even the best strategized campaign will have strengths and weaknesses. Keeping track of what works and what doesn’t is invaluable data. It allows you to adapt your current campaign, as well as shape future efforts.

Start 2018 With a Bang

If you want to make an impact with your promotional campaigns in 2018, it’s time to ditch the bad habits:

• Be deliberate with your marketing spend and focus your efforts on your hottest leads.
• Avoid adding extraneous details to each offer and keep deals focused on a single value proposition.
• Leverage shopping incentives (such as limited time offers that play into fear of missing out) to drive consumer action.
• Monitor your progress by tracking performance analytics for each initiative. You’ll be glad you did the next time you launch a seasonal campaign.

The whole idea here is to reach a point where you can stop working on your campaigns and let them start working for you, but unfortunately, many companies never make it into that second group. If you need a hand developing a content strategy or bringing your existing strategy to life, give us a shout. We’ll be there to help.

Mehran is a copywriter, editor and tech-savvy internet guy at Words by a Pro.