A sales plan for a product launch should always include a preorder campaign. This type of campaign is an easy way to gain product exposure and hype up anticipation.
A preordered #product can assist in meeting sales goals and create a loyal #customer base, as well as generate the demand for a product before it is ready to be delivered.
Here are a few ways preorders can help:
Prevent Backlogging: Preorders can also be used to prevent a backlog, reserve a large amount of inventory, and streamline production costs.
Unknown Stocking Date: A preorder phase involves ordering products that will not be shipped or delivered until some time in the future. This elevates the expectation of receiving the product before a specific date.
Test Demand: Having a preorder is a great way to test your demand curves and ultimately an excellent way to meet your demand. Many high-end brands use the concept to test the market and determine the needed production capacity.
Ways Retailers Will Use Preorders:
Gather email subscribers: Preorders are a great marketing tool that allows you to track email signups, direct sales, sales forms, and, ultimately, orders. This is especially helpful for low-selling products and maybe for items that don’t have a specific launch date yet. Offering a preorder reward that would most likely get a person excited can convince them to purchase. If you’re having a good month, you can submit a more enticing tip. If you’re having a slow month, you can offer something for free.
Generate customer loyalty and a community: Using the concept of a preorder in the right way can drive massive traffic to your site and provide an incredible experience for people who plan on purchasing your products. Consider a book series where the next installment is some time away. The author may do a preorder to gauge interest in the next installment or determine when to release. Preorders help generate customer loyalty.
How the Gaming Industry Capitalized Off of Preorders
The gaming industry has a massive following. Many games have preorder campaigns, including the Minecraft Creators Program. Preorders account for around 23% of all orders for popular multiplayer online games. Gamers are used to supporting creators in exchange for a match.
Again, by monitoring preorder statistics, game developers can determine when to make available the next release. This can be done by offering preorders for “soft releases” or “beta releases” containing non-shipped merchandise.
Preorder sales for PlayStation 5 in 2020 reached 2.3 million days before launch. This will have no bearing on the final sales numbers for the PlayStation 5. However, it is essential to note that more and more users are becoming accustomed to preordering the latest technology before its launch. This data also helps Sony calculate projections on total sales. From these sales, Sony could be looking at revenues of around 1 billion dollars for the PlayStation 5. Furthermore, these sales figures could help Sony estimate the percentage of users who will upgrade from PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5.
How Niche Products Benefit Off Preorder Products
Preorders of limited-edition merchandise such as apparel, books, and memorabilia connected to a tv series or movie can skyrocket interest in both projects. For example, in 2020, fans were offered the opportunity to preorder tickets to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, with the added benefit of early entry into a contest for “a whole series of films exclusive to Walt Disney Parks and Resorts”.
Once tickets went on sale to the general public, the contest’s runner-up received “a 3-month family membership to Disneyland Resort and an annual pass for $250”. In addition, the contest winner got “a $500 gift card” and “an overnight stay at a deluxe Disney resort for four in Anaheim”. This contest was held on the internet, as few fans had easy access to the inside scoop on purchasing tickets. More importantly, this created a build-up for the film and helped it have a very successful opening weekend.
There are several factors to consider in a preorder strategy:
● If you want to be successful, there has to be hype and demand created first. Therefore, the preorder process should start several months in advance. The product being the main factor in creating much hype. The creation and how it is presented is the most significant factor.
● Expose your preorder product to the media/public while the product is still working towards the release date.
● Establish a minimum number of preorders for the product.
The minimum number of preorders needed is the number you want to fill up. When you know how much money you want to make, determine the minimum number of preorders you need to have sold to hit that target. Be sure to have all your copy and finalize advertising materials before you begin.
It would help if you tried to get as much attention to launch your preorder product as you can. Reach out to the public and media outlets to have them cover the preorder. Contact your online distributors to ask them to cover the launch of your preorder. You should use email marketing and your current email subscribers to promote the preorder.
Some ways to safely launch a successful preorder strategy:
● Ensure your site can handle the extra load of traffic.
● Advertise online through PPC and social media.
● Creating a hashtag for the launch should get much attention.
● Get personal with your loyal customers online through Facebook.
● Try surveys before launch to get a feel if customers would be interested.
● Create a landing page, which is a short section on your site. The landing page is where you can show off your preorder and describe your product.
● Use a preorder button to encourage sales and increase lead generation.
● Add event dates so that the customer can enter them into your calendar and begin planning their purchase.
● Use cross-promotions.
Here are some retailers using the preorder strategy.
Check out KITRI, an independent fashion brand by a small team of creatives in London.
H-street has some unique skateboard products to choose from.
Designer women’s clothing by Mild Red. All garments and accessories are proudly made in New Zealand.
Using Single Products Vs. Multi-Product Campaigns
Multi-product preorders have much higher customer expectations, but they may also lead to poor market performance. Single product preorders have much lower customer expectations, but they may also lead to increased market performance. If you are going with a single product preorder, make sure to have the necessary sales and marketing efforts in place before you start.
This includes advertising, understanding your market, preparing your site and preorder process, contacting your customers, and preparing all the files for your site.
Your strategy should be flexible. While there are advantages to a preorder strategy, there are also drawbacks. The biggest issue is that it takes much time to establish the hype and anticipation for your product. You also have to do a lot of work on the product. Then, of course, once the product is released, you can offer exclusive discounts and other perks. But this will have to be done before your launch to be sure you get the sales.
How Easy Is It to Add Preorders for WooCommerce?
Bright Plugins created a cost-effective preorder plugin for WooCommerce websites. They have a free version and paid along with outstanding support due to the team at Bright Vessel, who is not only a certified expert for WooCommerce but also a WPVIP certified partner.
