Presales: Planning to Maximize Profits

04 Oct Presales: Planning to Maximize Profits

As a craft business, you strive to grow, innovate, and most of all increase profits. You’ve tried special editions, limited editions, and deadlines, and they all successfully urge your customers to buy. However, a presale strategy is a little different; it not only boosts your revenue, it provides insights into your customers that can be utilized in later product launches. When done well, presales can drastically increase your potential profit margins.

A presale, at its core, allows customers to purchase a product or service before it’s officially available. This could be a new product launch, a special edition item, or an exclusive package. The allure of exclusivity and the opportunity to be the ‘first’ drives customer interest and sales.

Benefits of Hosting a Presale:

• Demand Forecasting: By gauging the response to your presale, you can estimate the demand for your product. This can help streamline production and ordering processes, ensuring you neither overstock nor fall short.
• Building Hype: A successful presale can create buzz and anticipation around your product, serving as a marketing tool in itself and increasing word of mouth marketing.
• Cash Flow Boost: Love it or hate it, businesses need money to function. A presale can provide an immediate influx of cash. If your business needs capital to produce the product, your customers essentially fund the final stages of your product development.

Strategizing a Profitable Presale:

• Exclusive Perks: Offer something unique to your presale customers. This could be a discounted rate, exclusive packaging, or additional features. This not only incentivizes the purchase but also builds loyalty.
• Limited Time Frame: Creating a sense of urgency can drive sales. Set a clear start and end date for your presale, and remind your potential customers as the end date approaches.
• Cohesive and Engaging Marketing: Have a cohesive strategy for your email campaigns, social media, and other marketing channels to spread the word. Utilize teaser videos, behind-the-scenes looks, or collaborate with influencers to generate excitement.
• Feedback Loop: Use the presale as an opportunity to gather feedback. Early adopters can provide insights into potential adjustments or improvements they’d like in the final product.
• Clear Communication: Ensure customers know they’re buying a presale product that might not be immediately available. No one likes to be on the receiving end of an angry email, or have to start issuing refunds because of a misunderstanding. Clearly communicate delivery timelines at multiple parts of the purchasing process.

The work isn’t done after a presale is over; it’s crucial to perform some aftercare to ensure continued success as well as customer satisfaction. Start by analyzing the data from your presale (you were collecting data, weren’t you?). Identify which marketing channels or content style yielded the best results and engagement. These insights can help fine tune your upcoming full product launch. Don’t forget to maintain communication with your presale customers. Give them updates about production progress and their product delivery timeline. And don’t let that presale buzz go to waste! Nurture those customer leads and present exclusive offers or special rates on additional related products or services. This strategy can effectively convert your one-time presale buyers into loyal, repeat customers.

Presales are not a simple tactic to generate a quick buck; when executed correctly, they can significantly boost your brand awareness, provide market insights, and, of course, increase profits. As with any strategy, the key to a successful presale lies in a well devised plan, clear communication, and a genuine understanding of your customer avatar. Stitchcraft Marketing is a marketing agency of crafting experts. We customize every program to showcase your brand, engage your customer base, and generate sales in a way that is nothing less than magical. If you’d like to work with us, contact us today to get started!