During the past few years, the pre-order button on any eCommerce website is becoming more and more important. This is because more suppliers and retailers are seeing the benefits of taking pre-orders online as they give a good idea of what the demand is and get a guaranteed number of sales. In other words, if you’re launching a new product, a pre-order strategy is a highly beneficial component to incorporate into your plan.
Multinational companies such as Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft also use the preorder functionality on their website to keep production ongoing. However, if not done carefully, pre-orders can potentially damage your store’s reputation. So now, in this article, we would like to offer some top-notch, one-of-the-kind tactics for pre-orders you may need for your eCommerce store.
But first, let’s go through some definitions.
What is “Pre-order”?
A pre-order is an order placed for an item that is not yet released. When you open pre-orders on your online store, you let your customers get the items they want beforehand. This could be done by reserving them in advance before they are officially available. As a result, customers can be notified about the product ASAP. An effective pre-order strategy works by creating a sense of excitement and exclusivity for customers about a product.
When should businesses use the pre-order strategy?
As an eCommerce brand, you want to build hype and give customers a sense of excitement and urgency to order your product. Then, this can build momentum and increase demand. Because of the time and effort required to launch a strong pre-order strategy, pre-orders are best used for major company events or product launches, such as:
- Launching a new business into the market
- A new flagship product in your range
- Limited edition or special items, like a limited edition Thanksgiving product
- Launching a big promotion or discount on an existing product.
The unique strategies you may need
There may be chances that pre-orders don’t work for a certain product if you use an obsolete tactic. Pre-order strategies need to be well-considered and well-executed to have the best chance of success. To ensure your business has the best chances of success, we’re here to give you some exotic, top-notch strategies for your store.
1. Social media optimization
Social media optimization
Pre-orders can be the perfect promotion for your social media channels. Your online pre-order campaign should create excitement around your item and get more eyeballs to your website. So, you should consider setting paid advertisements on social media platforms to entice your target audience. Channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can help you a lot in boosting your site’s traffic, using pre-orders.
2. Build your perfect plan and timeline based on the pre-order cycle
Having a clear, simple way to accept payments will help your pre-orders run smoothly. The most important part of a product execution isn’t the day before launch or launch day. In fact, what a company does prior to a product launch matters far more to the success of the launch than the actual launch day itself. So, it’s important to work on a strong plan and a coordinated timeline that kicks off well before your actual launch date.
3. Communication is the key
It’s also very important to maintain communication with everyone as you’re taking pre-orders online. Since you don’t have the item on hand, you need to prepare for unforeseen situations such as production or shipping delays. Anytime there is an update, be sure to communicate this via multiple channels. This will help you a lot in traffic for your pre-orders. TL;DR: Don’t forget to inform your current customers using a variety of communication methods.
4. Create value and scarcity
Customers need a reason to pre-order rather than buy your product at launch. And giving them added value to thank them for ordering in advance is one solution. That means you are rewarding them for their support in pre-ordering your product. Also, another great way to drive demand and urgency is to create scarcity by appealing to a customer’s FOMO. By doing so, you’re incentivizing customers to buy now rather than further hesitation.
5. Build a marketing campaign to drive awareness
It’s no use launching pre-orders for a product if nobody knows about it. This is why a strong marketing campaign is integral to your pre-order strategy. Advertising, PR strategies, CRM, or just content is more than enough for you to raise the customers’ awareness. By building the right marketing campaign, you and your pre-orders will be in the eye of the customers, and future sales are waiting for your business.
6. Prepare yourself for a surge in orders and traffic
One of the most common mistakes businesses make in building their pre-order strategy is not preparing for success. The result can be websites go down because of a spike in traffic, or there isn’t enough inventory to keep up with the demand. In order to ensure this doesn’t happen, check the bandwidth of your website. This is for handling a spike in visitors, and implementing a launch team to assist with any customer inquiries or orders.
Final words
That should be it! Here are some of the most exotic, one-of-a-kind yet awesome pre-order strategies you may need to use for your eCommerce store. By integrating this button into your store, you and your business will be much better than ever. Therefore, if you want to promote your product and attract more customers, using the button strategy wisely will be a good idea. If you want help to leverage your eCommerce store, Magesolution will be definitely a destination for you. We provide eCommerce testing and enhancement service to meet all your needs. Contact us to know more information.
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