Planning is crucial when it comes to successful sales using the IRP system with all of the features and also if you want to take advantage of the services provided by your Systems Integrator.
Calendars and planning ahead of time are crucial for the success of your digital strategy.
In a nutshell, planning allows you to:
- Identify a budget for your online marketing activity
- Schedule in advance, allowing you to prioritise your time
- Identify key retail opportunities in your industry
- Create effective campaigns
- Assign tasks in advance
- Identify responsibilities of each team member
If you require your Account Manager’s assistance with sale set up, all sale information must be briefed in at least a week in advance so that they have enough time to amend, provide feedback and schedule the sale in order for it to create as much of an impact as possible. Please note: there may be a charge for this.
A few things to think about when launching a sale are:
- Objective of the sale: Stock Clearance, Summer Sale, Winter Sale, Christmas Sale, Flash Sale
- What can you afford to offer clients? Profit margins… 10%, 20% Free Shipping, etc.
- What Brands, Categories, Models will be in this sale?
IRP features which must be considered include, but are not limited to:
- IRP Promotions section: Free Shipping > Vouchers > 3 for 2 > Money off Basket Total …
- Bulk Updates of Stock and Model Tables to show savings and sale status
- Product Data, including: Descriptions, Images, Attributes, Size Charts
- Banners — Heading Banner, Home Page, Mobile, Brand, Category
- IRP Emails & Segmentation of email database
- Home Page Emails > Bespoke HTML Emailers
- Custom Content Pages: News & General Custom Content Pages
- Landing Page Layouts for offers.aspx or currentpromotions.aspx
- Remove all objections and road blocks (too many clicks?)
- Optimise website speed
- Home Pages Layout
- Top Level Navigation > SALE | OFFERS
Additional services you need to consider include:
- Design of banners, emailers, social media imagery
- Social Media Advertising
- PPC, International PPC and Remarketing Adjustments
- International Translations
How to Set Up a Promotion on the IRP
When setting up a promotion you should start from the ground up. When you’re working on your website, you don’t want to promote something first with visuals when the promotion isn’t set up so if you start from the ground up, you’ll be double-checking as you go to ensure your customers can avail of the offer. You have three options when setting up a promotion:
- Adjusting Product Data
- Scheduling Price Adjustments
- Using the Promotions Engine
Managing your Promotions
Product Data
You should firstly take a look at the stock table and the models table and review the information in these two areas. You want to keep the RRP the same and adjust the Web Price so you can clearly show your customers there’s a saving when they land on the category listing pages or on the model page itself. The RRP and the Price will clearly be shown and the saving will be calculated automatically. For example, ‘Save 50%’ (as shown below).
You can adjust these prices via Data Imports/Exports > Bulk Updates and downloading the Models Table and the Stock Table.
Then delete the columns you do not need before updating so you don’t erroneously update any columns with the wrong information, keeping the Stock ID in the Stock Table and the Model ID in the Model Table.
Stock Table updates include the RRP (to be updated in both tables) and the Web Price which should be updated in the Stock Table.
The Offer Column should also be updated to reflect the offer status in the Models Table, especially if there are multiple stock options or stock items you don’t want to be in the promotion.
Once you have amended the relevant columns in both tables, deleted the other columns which aren’t relevant, updated the file in the Bulk Updates section — saving an original file to re-upload when the promotion is over — you can then update the rest of the promotion.
Price Adjustments
This section can also be used to adjust the pricing of particular brands and categories by adjusting or discounting a particular category or brand. This however won’t show the Offer Status, and you’ll need to amend this manually in the model and stock table anyway.
You can find more information here: Price Adjustments.
Promotions Engine
This is another section of the IRP you can use to offer different promotional discounts on models, categories and brands by using the Promotions Engine instead of offering a blanket discount across particular items.
Available offers here are:
- Buy [‘x’ number of products] & Get [‘y’ number of products] for a Fixed Amount Off
- Buy [‘x’ number of products] & Get [‘y’ number of products] for a Percentage Discount
- Buy [‘x’ number of products] & Get [‘y’ number of products] for a Set Price
- Buy [‘x’ number of products] Get them for a promotional price
- Free Gift With Purchase
- Free Shipping
- Get Product At Fixed Discount
- Get Product At Percentage Discount
- Get Product At Set Price
- Money Off Basket Sub Total
- Money Off Total Above Minimum Spend
- Percentage Off Basket Sub Total
- Percentage Off Total Above Minimum Spend
Make sure to test these promotions are working and remember to update the Button and Basket Messaging.
Advertising your Promotions
Brand and Category Banners
Not everyone who lands on your website will see the home page so it’s pointless having banners for your promotions appearing there and only there. Starting from the ground up ensures that your models, product category listing pages, and then your home page have all the right details so everyone can see the promotion, regardless of where they land on your website.
So, you should update the brand and category banners with the promotional offers and remove them when the promotion is completed.
Heading and Home Page Banners
Again, home page banners are just as important as brand and category banners. You want people browsing your website to see as many promotional messages as possible which will encourage them to visit the particular offer and then purchase. Home page banners are great for customers who have landed on the home page and been directed there through listings and other channels. Heading banners are even better as they appear across the website regardless of where you land. Don’t forget to update both on mobile as well!
Testing
When you have completed the first few steps above, it’s crucial you spend at least 10 minutes testing the website to ensure than all the banners click through to the right place, the promotions work when they’re added to the basket and purchased and that you’re using every element of the IRP to make as many sales as possible.
The Rest …
Once all of this is set up and tested across both desktop and mobile you are ready to communicate this to your audience through …
- Email Marketing
- Social Media Advertising
- SEO & Content Creation
- PPC and Remarketing
- Affiliate Marketing
- Referral Marketing
