During our webinar “7 Ways to Honor the Military and Drive Revenue in 2019,” we discussed why marketing to military members with gated, exclusive offers is good for the community and good for business. Here are the top three takeaways:
01 Go Beyond Active Duty
Include more than active military members in your offer. Of the 37 million military consumers, 18 million are veterans and 13.5 million are spouses. And since military spouses consider themselves the main shopper in the household, excluding them from your military promotion cuts your prospect pool by 40%.
02 Make Your Promotions Customer-Friendly
Gated offers go beyond run-of-the-mill discounts and universal deals when marketing to the military because they are:
- Personalized based on a specific attribute (in this case, occupation).
- Exclusive to the segment, and can only be redeemed when a consumer is verified.
- Opt-in. Gated offers can be digitally verified with a few pieces of very basic info (like a full name, military branch, and an email) to confirm eligibility.
03 Make it Omnichannel
Personalized promotions work best when they are part of an omnichannel experience. Lowe’s, for example, collects a consumer’s verification and adds that information to their database. Then, whenever or wherever that military member is shopping, they’ll always get the military offer along with any other military-specific promos that may be happening with Lowe’s that day.
Questions from the Audience
We also received some interesting questions during our Q&A session.
01 You’ve Told Us What Works When Marketing to the Military. But What Doesn’t?
It’s important to remember that the discount is secondary to the gesture of the promotion. Marketing to the military should recognize their service with absolute sincerity. Lean into the sentiment, not into the deal.
For example, words like “salute” and “honor” are standard best practice that makes service members feel respected and special. On the other hand, emphasizing sales-y language like, “Act now,” “Limited time only,” or even “sale” can turn a service member off.
02 Which Converts Higher—One-Time Promos or Evergreen Promos?
If you’re trying to optimize for conversion rate, a one-time promotion is going to perform higher than an evergreen offer.
But ask yourself: is conversion your true end goal?
Most likely, your end goal is ongoing sales and, more specifically, an ongoing relationship that’s good for your consumers and your brand.
The best approach to generate lasting value is an evergreen offer. It demonstrates a commitment to the segment and provides a level of convenience and value.
03 What is the Best Time of Year to do a One-Time Military Promotion?
Sweeten your evergreen offer with an additional one-time offer to generate a bump in sales. This is a great way to generate additional buying events throughout the year. We’ve created a comprehensive calendar that lists all the best holidays to promote a one-time offer.