In order to get the most out of your Fivestars program, remember that you have a powerful tool at your disposal that has the ability to drive up to 70% more visits on any given day: Promotions. While your one-time promotions are easy to set up when inspiration strikes, they’re just as easy to set up in advance. Scheduling at least two promotions a month can capture all your customers’ interest and attention, and will ensure you get that nice boost in sales.

What kinds of promotions should you offer?

The possibilities are truly endless—but here are a few ideas to start you off.

Holiday Deals: The holidays are here—between Halloween, Thanksgiving, Small Business Saturday, and New Year’s (to name a few), fall and winter have no shortage of seasonal occasions to celebrate with your customers. For example:

“This Thanksgiving, we want to express our gratitude to you! This Friday, enjoy 15% off everything in our store: just our way of saying thanks.”

Milestone Celebrations: Your business has a birthday—why not celebrate it? There are a host of milestones you can explore, from first day of business, the day you opened a second location, or even the birthday of a beloved staff member. For example:

“It’s our 5th birthday, celebrate with us? Cake, bubbly, and 20% off storewide all day.”

Slow Days: While holidays and milestones are great when they come around, you don’t need to wait for a special occasion. Banish slow days with a flash sale, a rainy day promotion, or by celebrating the summer weather. For example:

“Escape the cold at [your business]! Today only: we’re offering 2 for 1 deals on all hot drinks.”

While these are ideas to get to started, they’re just the beginning. Not feeling super creative? Check back at the here at the Fivestars blog, where we frequently post out-of-the-box promotion ideas for you to try.

Why are promotions so important?

Your customers may be used to visiting your business (maybe it’s even part of their routine), but a fresh, engaging promotion can bring them back much sooner—or more often—than they would before.

When your customers see a new promotion from you, they’re reminded of you, and your name is fresh in their mind. It’s your way of saying hello to a friend you might not have talked to in a little while, and that alone can inspire a visit.

With your deal in hand, your customers will have an enticing incentive to choose you over another business, differentiating your business from its competitors.

How do you make sure you’re sending the best promotions you can offer?

Sending a great promotion varies from business to business, customer to customer. While these are guidelines for any small business looking to get the most out of their promotions, you should always feel free to experiment with the specifics of your deals, and see what your customers find most compelling.

Keep it short: Email, text, or push notification are all formats where brevity is essential. Make sure your message is to-the-point, and simple enough to understand on the first read.

Be empathetic: When thinking up your offer, put yourself in your customers’ shoes: if you were in their place, would the offer inspire you to pay a visit to your business?

Make it special: Keep your promotions in the range of 2-3 a month, with only one a week. You want the offers to feel special, and you don’t want to bombard your customers.

Share the occasion: Your promotions will be more fun and compelling if your customers know what they’re celebrating with you.

Be targeted: Instead of sending all your promotions to every single customer in your database, you can easily send your deals to a type of customer you’d especially like to reward, like your VIPS (super users) or inactives (folks you’d like to win back). Promotions for certain segments can make your relationship feel more personal.

There’s no reason not to set up a promotion (or a few) today. Setup is easy through your dashboard, but if you have any questions, give Support a call at 860-578-2770. And keep an eye out for our monthly promotions suggestions email, where we’ll keep sharing new ideas and tips.