As soon as Christmas and New Year decorations are taken down, the stores’ aisles and the online shops’ pages are flooded with Valentine’s Day ornaments!

Valentine’s Day sales reached almost $28B in 2020, in the United States alone! Everyone is scrambling ways to awe their loved ones so what better time than now to offer exclusive discounts to your customers? Shower them with love and much needed small attentions!

The month of hearts definitely calls for BOGO (Buy One Get One Free) deals, letting your customers offer a product to their loved ones at no extra cost – it’s on you! BOGO is one of the most common form of sales promotion techniques used by both restaurants and retail stores.

Don’t just take our word for it! Here is a recap of the BOGO deals benefits:

1. Get rid of undesirable inventory

What better way to get rid of extra inventory, and at the same time remain profitable, than offering BOGO deals? Slow-moving inventory can be sold along with other items, while still making profits.

2. Delight your customers

According to Academia, shoppers are more likely to participate in BOGO deals because according to them, goods don’t seem to have extra cost attached to it and they’re perceived to be more valuable due to the offer. So select the products you want to highlight and include them in a BOGO offer!

3. Make it pocket-friendly for shoppers

When customers see the word BOGO during Valentine’s day promotions, the first thing that comes to their mind is that they’re saving money while making their loved ones happy. Indeed, it is a great way to maximize their spend thus rewarding your loyal customers and teasing new ones!

Now that you know some of the benefits of BOGO deals, here are important aspects you can keep in mind when you’re planning to run BOGO promotions:

1. Form a target audience for the promotion

Try to find out which audience you want to specifically target. The overall goal of BOGO deals is to touch the heart of loyal customers and make sure to bring in new ones to your business and loyalty program. Targeting a specific audience helps your business cut down on cost. Since you are holding BOGO promotion on Valentine’s day, your target audience should specifically be couples and families.

2. Bring in a sense of urgency to your BOGO deals

If you don’t limit the availability of your BOGO offer or if you keep them active for too long, customers may lose the excitement and will probably not take action. Create a feeling of necessity so that your customers are incentivized to visit your store (in-person or online) and make a purchase.

3. Leverage your social media platforms and website

Social media is key to communicate about your BOGO deal. You may come across a lot of restaurants and retail stores on Instagram and/or Facebook. Since most of your target audience is active on at least one platform, it is crucial to utilize social media platforms to actively keep customers informed about the latest promotions and offers. In the age of social media, you should invest all platforms: Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, Twitter and Linkedin.
Here are some of the ways you can generate some buzz around your BOGO deal on your social media pages and on your website:

• Post video content (stories, lives, posts, Tiktoks) to launch the BOGO deal
• Create hashtags and encourage your followers to use them too if they’re posting a picture
• Showcase customers (with their consent) who purchased the BOGO deal and work with influencers who will help spread the word about your offer
• Create a dedicated page on your website (and provide a link to it on your social media) to highlight the BOGO deal and present the products, the time frame for the deal and the terms and conditions. You can also recruit new members and bring more customers to your business by setting-up a Traffic Acquisition Coupon
• Feature the BOGO deal on your website’s live-chat

4. Promote your BOGO deal in-store

While promoting BOGO deals on your website and social media pages is essential, especially during the current crises, additionally promoting the deal in-store will help you reach your objectives!  Your locations offer lots of great opportunities to spread the word about your promotions. Here are some of the ways in which you can let your customers know about your BOGO deals:

• Outside the store: Posters on windows, roll-ups and pamphlets distributed by staff members.
• On tables and products: Table mats, iPads, TVs can be great props for your deals. You could also place scan-codes on tissues or coffee cups.
• At the checkout counter: Employees can inform customers about the deal. You can also promote in on the staff uniforms, on the flyers placed in the bags or stickers on customers’ receipts.

BOGO deals are win-win strategies: They make customers feel spoiled and grateful as they love getting a good deal. And in turn, they boost customer satisfaction, engagement and can help businesses not only make additional sales but also attract new clients! When executed properly, Buy One Get One deals can be amazingly effective tools to delight your customers for Valentine’s Day! Do not hesitate to contact Como to get started with your BOGO deal!