Survey Reveals Shoppers' Favored Holiday Promos

For online and multi-channel merchants planning their holiday shopping blitz, here's some guidance about what promotions are most likely to drive purchase decisions. Marketing Profs recently reported on the promotional preferences revealed in a survey of 1,000 holiday shoppers and 100 major retailers by commerce marketing platform Bronto and market research firm Ipsos. When it comes to online-only shopping, free shipping is a key draw, with 84% of holiday shoppers saying free shipping influences online purchase decisions and over a third (38%) saying they will not shop an e-commerce site that does not offer free shipping. Overall, including in-store sales, customers rate percent-discount promotions as the top inducement to buy (71%), followed by clearance sales (65%), buy-one-get-one (58%), dollar-off sales (52%) and free gift with purchase (47%). The interesting thing about the survey results is that merchants polled don't have the same promotional preferences; while 72% say they plan to use the percentage discounts popular with shoppers, only 38% plan to embrace BOGO sales, for example. And despite the importance of free shipping to online shoppers, only 18% of online-only merchants say they plan to offer it on all purchases; e-tailers prefer (41%) limiting free shipping to certain order values or times. Some holiday promos also differ in appeal according to consumer age. Limited-time "Flash Sales" appeal most to millennial shoppers (54% say they are more likely to buy) but decline as a purchase inducement with age, down to just 15% of those over 65. For more detail. see http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2015/28594/the-holiday-promotions-consumers-like-most

Getting the Most Out of E-mail Fundraising

The season of intense fundraising activity is beginning, and we assume most nonprofits will be investing in e-mail. After all, e-mail has the highest ROI (21%-23%) of direct marketing media in the latest Direct Marketing Association stats. Plus, e-mail delivers a third of online fundraising revenue at a time when online giving is outpacing overall fundraising growth. For nonprofits who want to get the most from their investment in e-mail, we're passing along some handy guidelines to success, with examples, from a recent business2community article share of a Constant Contact blog post. "The Anatomy of a Successful Fundraising E-mail" highlights must-haves: First comes a subject line that entices opens by using both accuracy about the nature of the appeal and enough intrigue to make the recipient want to read more. Once the e-mail is opened, fundraisers must offer content that earns action/clicks by concisely and clearly explaining the program promoted, the impact of giving, and how to help, including a clear and visible call-to-action, such as a brightly colored button. We would add personalization to that content list, too. And last is an appealing design that brands professionally, uses easy-to-read text, and includes a powerful image to inspire action. For examples that illustrate each of these points, see the article at http://www.business2community.com/non-profit-marketing/the-anatomy-of-a-successful-fundraising-email-01318519#lEkbmm705yql01gl.97