In this Bright Plugins article, you will learn How to Quickly Set Up a Preorder Campaign. Follow us for more info like this!
Campaigns for WooCommerce preorders are fantastic for building excitement for new product launches and growing and sustaining demand for products that go out of stock quickly.
Using this strategy allows companies, from small start-ups to well-established giants, to increase demand for a product among their customers before it officially goes to market. In addition to the engaging customer experience, manufacturers can use it as a strategy to gauge demand. Overall, this is a helpful tool to build excitement, debug your customer service mechanisms, and smooth out your supply chains.
When you make a product available on preorder, you allow customers to order the item before it is in stock for fulfillment.
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When a product is preordered, it is a show of support for the product, which means that customers like it. They like it so much, in fact, that they’d instead buy it in advance than spend their dollars on other competing products in the marketplace!
Cash flow can be a business owner’s best friend or worst nightmare. Pre-selling your products can generate the necessary cash flow to re-invest in your next manufacturing round.
In addition to generating cash flow up front and demonstrating the value of your product, a preorder push helps you build relationships with customers. Instead of a “one and done” transaction, you have the opportunity to collect customer information now and follow up when the product is delivered. You have a built-in framework for multiple organic touches with every customer they’ll pay attention to – a priceless commodity!
Play your cards right, and your preorder customers will become brand allies. If they love your product, they can act as the best outside marketing team money can’t buy. This is to say that they will spread positive news about your product, attracting more customers to your business.
Quick disclaimer: you should be careful to sell products on preorder in an ethical manner. Never sell something you don’t possess or don’t know for a fact you will keep on a specific date. Pre-selling on speculation or if you don’t have a tangible product has another name: fraud. Preorder products aren’t the same as a Kickstarter campaign where people support and buy into an idea as an investment. Preorders are to be fulfilled at a specific future date. Keep this social contract in mind, and you’ll never go wrong.
Preorders for WooCommerce are a great way to leverage your audiences to build excitement and momentum for a new product or the return of a high-demand product. It’s the digital equivalent of standing in line for tickets to an exclusive event. So how do you do it? Just follow these steps:
You need a game plan. You should create a relatively small and targeted preorder push, especially if you’re a new business. This applies to the number of preorders you accept and the number of items you make available on preorder. If something goes wrong, you can correct the mistake quickly before opening up to larger audiences. In addition, starting with a smaller group helps you keep a close eye on the experience your customers are having while ordering, receiving, and using your product.
Keeping things tight also gives a company more chance to interact with early customers. It’s an agile approach that lets you listen to everyone’s opinion and make well-informed decisions about your next steps.
Your customers should pay for early sales through the same channel that regular sales will be made. Set everything up to be able to connect your merchant services provider with your website, so the experience is a seamless one. Then – and we cannot say this enough – TEST IT! Make sure it works before you send customers there. This is your best shot at testing everything in a low-stakes environment. Also, consider all the ways a customer may want to pay and ensure you can accommodate as much as possible. For example, if you sell higher-priced items, you may wish to enable lines of credit or purchase plans like Affirm. Customers like options, so facilitating direct payment with a card alongside platforms like PayPal provides maximum flexibility.
Single-page funnels are king these days. This is especially true for pre-sale campaigns that want to draw attention to a single product. You must make navigating through the preorder payment page an easy task for your customers. You should have a simplified page dedicated exclusively to the campaign compared to browsing through every product on the website. Keeping the sales page clear, simple, and easy to buy from is essential. You can add short videos and drop in a few compelling product images to make the page more exciting.
Take the time to think through your user experience from start to finish. What do you want customers to think and feel when they learn about you? When do they visit your website? When do they anticipate the product and use it for the first time? Everything should revolve around this. Set up automation wherever you can to reduce your labor. Some opportunities for automation include:
…you get the idea. Do not over-automate your programs or be repetitive, but do it enough, so your user experience is consistent and well thought out.
You’ve set up a killer landing page, configured all of your merchant processing, cued your automation, and scheduled your fulfillment date. What’s left to do? Testing!
The only way to know if your purchasing sequence is a success is by trying it first before involving the outside world. If any issues arise, you can quickly correct them. This one step can save you the financial and opportunity cost of having customers hit roadblocks on their way to buying your products.
And don’t just do it once. Be thorough. Purchase your product through different browsers because not everyone uses the same browser in purchases and may present other issues. Another helpful tip is checking out computers, tablets, and smartphones. It is essential to do this so that you can confirm if:
You must do several tests to ensure that your customers will be happy with your work. If you have friends and family you trust as guinea pigs, have them do it and give you their feedback.
You can refund the purchase, delete test accounts or issue coupon codes. The point is to ensure your campaign is vetted before you open it up to the general public. Be warned: if you let customers try the purchasing sequence before you do, you risk creating preventable customer service headaches.
No one can know whether you have opened up for early sales until you tell them. There are always early adopters waiting for this type of announcement so that they can be among the first to get a new product. Build anticipation with posts on social media. Try a countdown approach, and always link to the landing page you made. If you have a particular market for your product, target ads on search engines and social media platforms to those demographics to draw attention to your product. You can also do this with video campaigns on YouTube. Keep track of the orders coming in and the engagement on your paid content so you can calibrate your investments in this space to hit the sweet spot of your market.
Now is not the time to let your ego run free. You’ve got customers, and they’ve got expectations, so buckle down and grind! Without customers – and happy ones – any business can crumble in a heartbeat. You must keep track of your customers, go through their reviews, and stay on top of responding to emails. Do it when you see an opportunity or need to adjust your approach. The reality of your customers’ experience may diverge from what it is in your head. Stay flexible and tuned in so you can remain responsive and deliver on the promise. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback. You always want to strive for good reviews. Remember that less than stellar reviews can help you grow a more sustainable business. The public review is a chance for you to engage a customer and turn their experience around. Look at it as a fantastic opportunity and seize it!
Early sales can be crucial to the success of a product launch. New business is always a risk. Selling online presents endless opportunities and a high chance of getting lost in the noise. Putting in the effort to set up preorder sales and focus on generating customer awareness in advance can help you build buzz without over-extending your capacity.
Some star products sell out of preorders in minutes or hours, but most have a slower burn. This can vary greatly depending on your online presence, the amount of marketing and advertising you do in the run-up, and the amount of inventory you put on sale. Here are some best practices to help fill your preorder backlog:
Now you are on your way to running a successful preorder campaign. Give the necessary time, planning, and due diligence to each step, and you’ll exponentially increase your odds of success.
Early sales can be the launchpad for a new business or an exciting innovation cycle for existing businesses. They’re a great way to engage customers and build excitement and positive momentum for your most unique offerings.
Make sure to leverage all the tools at your access, including WooCommerce preorder plugins that allow you to fine-tune your preorder experience from every angle.
By taking the time to set up your preorders for WooCommerce, test them thoroughly. Use tools to follow through with each customer from beginning to end. You’ll manage all your preorders with maximum success and minimum stress.
