Promo codes:Customers love them, so using promo codes as a part of your marketing strategy can be very lucrative! With technology, media and entertainment fighting for everyone’s attention, sometimes a small discount is the necessary push to seal the deal. In the event, venue, and destination industries, the product is all about the experience. We know that everyone loves a deal, but many are reluctant to discount tickets. Using promo codes as part of your marketing strategy is actually very lucrative and allows you to sell more advanced tickets. Below are a few of the strategies that you can implement.
Using social media outlets is a great way to push out your marketing message and your promo code. Make sure to post visually-appealing graphics to ALL of your social media outlets. Remember, in order to reach your audience on social media most effectively, you will need to pay for social media advertising. (See our article: All Gain, No Pain: Eliminate Guesswork on Facebook Ads)
Traditional Media Outlets:
Many events have partnerships with local radio stations, television stations, and newspapers. Make sure and use the “old-school” but still very successful forms of advertising to push your promo code.
Email Blasts:
Reward your fans that have subscribed to your email marketing by offering them an exclusive discount. This is a great place to promote advanced ticket sales. Email marketing is actually one of the quickest and cheapest ways to provoke online purchasing. In fact, when customers were asked what factors lead to mobile purchases, 56% said email. Not to mention, there are three times more email accounts than Facebook and Twitter accounts combined. (See our article: Email Marketing (Still) isn’t Dead! )
The Sponsored Promo Code:
This is a great way to still receive full price for your tickets if you’re worried about giving a discount with a promo code! Try to get someone to sponsor any promo codes that you offer. Reach out to local retailers, restaurants, and even big companies (i.e. Coca-Cola) and have them sponsor the discounted amount.
You and the sponsor can decide what outlets this code will be advertised through (social media, television, print, etc.) The selling point to your sponsor is that they can set the promo code as anything they want, in order to drive brand and product recognition (i.e. Promo code = Coca-Cola). You can also advertise for a sponsor by placing a custom description in the purchaser’s cart (i.e. Enjoy a Coke at the Fair!) after the promo code has been added to an online order. Finally, after the ticket has been purchased, you can even place sponsor branding on print at home tickets (i.e. Coca-Cola logo) where a promo code was applied.
Measuring success:
We often say, “If you’re not measuring your marketing, you’re not marketing!” A great way to measure the success of your promo code marketing efforts is to use different codes on different outlets. Slightly change the code that will identify where that code was advertised. For example:
Embrace the promo code! We hope this has given you some great ideas to start a promo code campaign along with how to get someone else to pay for the offered discount!