Using flash sales to drive immediate spikes in retail sales and revenue is a seasoned practice. However, with the advent of multiple online tools and new features of flash sales, they’re also quickly becoming an opportunity to generate leads and spur long-term growth. Online retailers, big and small, can take advantage of many easy-to-implement and free or inexpensive methods to leverage flash sales into long-term growth opportunities.

Lead Generation Components of a Flash Sale

To begin, gather all current email lists, social properties and other methods of distribution. Create announcements for each – “Insider Announcements,” containing privileged information only current contacts will receive, and that they’ll receive early, so they can get the best deals.

To encourage lead generation, offer an additional discount for referring friends to sample the sale. This is the first step in spurring long-term growth. In fact, all components of a flash sale can be aimed at capturing new leads for future communications. The sale landing page should be gated with an email address entry form, allowing you to capture email addresses before customers can access the biggest deals.

Social Media and Flash Sales

Prepare social properties in advance so that posts, profiles and property images are in place to maximize lead generation opportunities. Offer reminders, additional discounts, early access or free gifts to potential customers who register for the flash sale in advance.

Facebook dark posts can be created to show many different posts without compromising the company page and aimed at different demographics with specified messaging and calls to action. They can revolve around different product lines or different items but should have a compelling image and a direct link to the sale.

Twitter can also be utilized by approaching accounts that promote sales and deals. These accounts will share information about sales and discounts with loyal followers – but don’t forget to research #sales hashtags and reach out to industry accounts, as well.

Mobile Access for Flash Sales

Make sure the site is optimized for mobile access as many users, especially those coming from Twitter, will be coming from a mobile or tablet app. Mobile e-commerce is a rising category and cannot be overlooked when developing a flash sale. Ten percent of all spending at online retailers occurs on mobile platforms. Even for those who do not purchase on a mobile site, visitors will often first interact with the site via a smart device.

Providing a valuable mobile experience is crucial to the success of the flash sale. In fact, more than 60 percent of online shoppers say a poor mobile experience reduces the likelihood of return visits. Sites that optimize mobile experiences, such as what Beyond the Rack did to improve their mobile user experience in 2012, go a long way in promoting the ultimate success of sales.

Post Sale Lead Generation and Sales

The end result of a lead generating sale is a long list of customer email addresses you can use for marketing in the future. However, they can also be used now to promote sales to visitors who didn’t complete a purchase. Retarget these promotions by focusing them on products from abandoned carts or highlighting the last page a customer visited.

Google AdWords and AdRoll can help with creating simple and effective retargeting campaigns by placing a tracking pixel on your site pages. Remember to include mobile commerce tracking as well, since many visitors will have visited through a smart device.

Remember, flash sales can be effectively used for long-term lead generation by collecting an email addresses and encouraging new likes and followers over social media. However, the appropriate follow-up combined with social interaction, email newsletters and VIP customer programs will lead to dependable, ongoing lead growth and sales.

Third Party Hosted Flash Sales

While long-term lead generation efforts will be much stronger with self-hosted flash sales, e-retailers can also benefit from using a third party flash sale site to generate new leads for their merchandise. Growing in popularity, sites such as Ideeli, Zulily, One Kings Lane, Mysale.com and Gilt have built a model of sustainability in specific target markets. When choosing a third party flash sale site to host a flash sale, consider the type of audience and marketing available for the right products. Sites have specific target audiences, such as the mom market for Zulily, and may be in a better position to leverage their marketing channels to maximize exposure. They offer promotion on email marketing lists, social media sites and in highlighted top-of-page positions on sites. A company looking for increased brand awareness — or even to get rid of old excess inventory — could essentially piggyback on the marketing efforts of these major flash sale sites.

There are a virtually endless number of flash sale sites as their popularity and reach has grown year over year for several years now. Revenue growth expectations for the flash sale sites in general have outpaced overall e-commerce growth. For example, growth in online sales for flash sale sites was nearly double regular online retailers in the 2012 holiday season. And if targeting the Gen Y/ Millennial market, it may come as a surprise that approximately 40% of them made a purchase in a flash sale in 2013. With more and more flash sale sites preparing for IPO, generating major funding from top investors, generating billions of dollars in revenue and putting marketing dollars behind their sites, retailers can benefit by leveraging their power to reach wider markets and generate new leads with little additional effort.

Related Links:

http://www.statista.com/statistics/281469/generation-y-online-wireless-shopping-habits-in-the-us/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/09/flash-sales-holiday-idUSL1E9C8H2R20130109

http://edealassociation.org/blog/2014/06/06/arcadia-group-takes-25-stake-from-flash-sale-site-mysale-com/