Picture the excitement: customers eagerly reserving hot new products before they even hit the shelves. Pre-ordering isn’t just about satisfying demand; it’s a savvy marketing strategy and inventory management strategy rolled into one. Keep reading to learn how it works and how your business can benefit from it.
How Do Pre-Orders Work?
Pre-order sales are a relatively straightforward concept, offering customers the chance to reserve products before they’ve officially hit the market. Typically, this process is streamlined through the inclusion of prominent “pre-order” buttons on relevant product pages, letting customers register their interest and view estimated ship dates. Once an item is ready to be sold and shipped, those who have signed up are the first in line to receive the product. Pre-ordering marketing campaigns are also often promoted through social media and other online platforms to build further anticipation and drive sales.
Pros of Pre-Order Campaigns
Pre-order campaigns offer several notable advantages for online businesses, making them a strategic asset in the e-commerce landscape. If you’re considering employing a pre-order strategy, here are a few benefits to look forward to.
1. Drives Customer Engagement
Pre-ordering works wonders for driving engagement and capturing the interest of your target audience. It creates excitement around product offerings, ignites anticipation and eagerness for the latest releases, and encourages conversation about your brand and its products. This helps customers feel involved in your brand and, in turn, helps strengthen brand loyalty.
2. Allows for Demand Forecasting
When you offer pre-orders, you’re not just selling products; you’re also gaining valuable insights into customer demand. This proactive approach helps you adjust production quantities according to anticipated demand levels, ensuring that you can meet customer needs while avoiding overstocking or understocking.
3. Creates Marketing Opportunities
Pre-ordering can open up exciting marketing opportunities for your business. Whether it’s through targeted email campaigns, engaging social media posts, or eye-catching advertisements, it offers a unique chance to build anticipation and buzz around your products.
In particular, it’s also a great way to market products for the holidays. The holiday season is notoriously busy for companies and their fulfillment teams, and pre-ordering can help you plan ahead by encouraging customers to start their shopping early.
Cons of Pre-Order Campaigns
While successful pre-order campaigns offer myriad benefits, like any business strategy, there are challenges you may need to work through. If you want your business to sell pre-orders, there are a few obstacles to be aware of.
1. Higher Customer Expectations
When customers commit to pre-ordering a product, they often have high hopes for its quality, features, and delivery timeframe. So, any delays, discrepancies with expectations, or failures to deliver on what your business has promised can lead to a negative customer experience and decreased trust in your brand. If you don’t have the appropriate processes and strategies in place, this pressure not to lose customers can be a lot to handle.
2. Changes to Your Fulfillment Process
Offering pre-orders means you’ll have to adjust your existing workflows to accommodate the pre-order sales cycle. Oftentimes, this adjustment isn’t extremely difficult, but you need to ensure that your team is prepared to implement changes and adapt accordingly. If you aren’t properly prepared, it can lead to delays, errors, and customer dissatisfaction. You’ll also need to make sure your e-commerce platforms have the ability to allow pre-ordering, but luckily, this is a feature that many modern platforms offer.
If you’re considering using a pre-order strategy and have any questions or concerns, partnering with a reliable 3PL team can provide invaluable support. At Sherpack, we understand the complexities involved in managing pre-order campaigns, from inventory management to timely shipping, and are ready to help you navigate these challenges seamlessly. Contact us today to learn how we can support your business!
