Mastering Promotional Offers with Purchasely

Promotional offers stop users from scrolling.

What's in them for the apps? They're so much more than just bittersweet giveaways.

Done right, these offers can breathe fresh life into user relationships, strengthen loyalties, and draw back those who might've drifted away. 

This article is your definitive guide to the what, why, and how of promotional offers.

Read on to elevate your monetization strategy.

Scroll guide

1. What are promotional offers
2. Why promotional offers are worth a try 
3. Leveraging promotional offers: Applicable scenarios
   - Retain
   - Upsell
   - Win-Back
4. Setting up promotional offers and deploying
5. Adopt Purchasely to leverage promotional offers

1. What are promotional offers

Let's break it down a bit before we jump in: what are promotional offers and how do they stand out from their cousins.

Simply put, promotional offers are free or discounted subscriptions provided to existing or former subscribers.

Robert SKROB, 5 Ways to Improve Annual Subscription Renewals

Think of them as the "gift with purchase" you get when buying from your favorite brand. While other promotions can draw newcomers to the storefront, these offers are like a wink to the regulars, hinting, "Hey, there's more awesome ahead just for you."

Renewal is rather about what to expect in the future, not what's in the past. So, having a varied set of promotional tactics is worth the play.

Here’s how promotional offers compare to other promos in Apple's terms.

2. Why promotional offers are worth a try

Natasha Saviuk on incentives (Building An Incentive Engine: How To Leverage Cash Rewards As A Growth Channel - MAU Vegas 2023)

Promotional offers come down to keeping those already in the store happy and sticking around - in other words, preventing churn.

Let's list out the reasons why promotional offers should be your top choice in battling churn.

Cost-effective churn mitigation

Promotional offers step in as a cost-efficient solution. Studies show that it's five to six times more expensive to attract new app users than to retain existing ones, and it takes 16 times more resources to get a new customer to spend as much as an existing one. Promotions bridge that gap efficiently.

Boosting revenue

Promotional offers aren't just about stemming losses. They're about driving profits. Harvard Business School tells us that a 5% increase in customer retention rates can lead to a 25% to 95% boost in profits.

Securing revenue

If your regulars are happy, you have more chance of securing your future revenue. In comparison, selling to an existing app user has a strong success rate of 60-70%, while selling to a new prospect is less certain at 5-20%. Gartner Group also predicts that 80% of a company’s future revenue will come from just 20% of its existing customers.

With these insights, it's clear that prioritizing your converted subscribers should be your top focus, and using promotional offers is definitely worth considering.

Now, how can you effectively employ promotional offers to combat churn and keep your valuable app users engaged?

3. Leveraging promotional offers: Applicable scenarios

Promotional offers can go beyond a simple price reduction. They can help you orchestrate your app's relationship with users and optimize revenue longer and more effectively than you might think. 

Their true potential however lies not in simply making bigger promotions but in leveraging subscription event insights. 

Imagine knowing exactly where each of your subscribers stands on their journey, tracing every step from the initial subscription to those moments of reconsideration and churn.

Armed with these insights and pairing them with the right promotional offers, you increase the odds of reconnecting and staying both in their hearts and their wallets. 

The good news? Purchasely offers you a window into 30+ subscription events, seamlessly integrating them into your in-app engagement campaigns.

Head over here to learn more about Leveraging In-App Events to Maximize Retention, Win-back, and Upsell

So, how do you put these insights into action? Below are several scenarios where promotional offers make absolute sense. 

Note:

• Use these paywall examples as inspiration for deploying promotional offers.
• Paywall examples were built using Purchasely paywall builder, no coding involved.

Retain

• Target users: New subscribers (free or paid)

• Goal: Retain their interest and transition them into long-term users.

• Strategic offers: Tempt them with an enticing deal, such as a free month, or discount for the next subscription to keep the momentum going. 

Upsell

• Target users: Subscribers who've been on a monthly plan for an extended period

• Goal: Transition them to more committed, long-term plans for better user commitment and increased revenue.

• Strategic offers: How about suggesting an annual subscription at a tempting special rate? 

Win-Back 

• Target Users: Those who canceled during a free trial, discontinued a paid subscription, or turned off auto-renewal.

• Goal: Re-engage and recover potentially lost revenue.

• Strategic offers: Consider crafting a unique deal, such as a discounted rate or a special package, to reignite their interest and possibly change their decision.

4. Setting up promotional offers and deploying

Setting up promotional offers and employing the tactics we've discussed become a whole lot easier when monetizing with Purchasely.

Head over here for the step-by-step setup guide.

5. Adopt Purchasely to leverage promotional offers

• The no-code zone: Getting those promotional offers rolling is just a few clicks away.

• A/B test those offers: Not sure if or which offer works the best? Built-in A/B tests let you discover the gold.

• Deploy at the right touchpoint: Display your offers where they count the most using the Placement feature.

• Make it personal: Customize your promotional paywalls for different target audiences.