I love online shopping, despite its drawbacks, I still love it. I know there are several things in this world that you cannot just buy online. However, online shopping has been my life saver in case I can’t leave my house or my work to shop. There are several online shopping websites that have been my regular go-to, especially the ones that always offer daily discounts. Sociolla, for example, always offers daily discounts up to 80%. I know it is not going to be safe for my money if I always keep looking at the website every day. In spite of how it is going to cost me, I am still a loyal customer because I know when they are offering some discount; they are offering it for real – no string attached, which makes their content marketing strategy so dope! Businesses often operate common marketing strategies that unbeknownst to them, are the big mistakes to do! Why did I say that? It will make sense later when you read this full article. Keep reading to find out!

The strategy to “sell for cheap price now” but “raise the price later”

Oh, how I hate this kind of strategy. The easiest example I can give you is when I went to this new restaurant that offered super delicious meals and let me tell you this; it was very cheap but very delicious! No wonder every time I went there, the place was already crowded even though they just opened that day. However, after a few months of being the most famous restaurant in that area, people (myself included) were taken by surprise when the next day, that restaurant raised the price up to 40%! As if it wasn’t enough, they decreased the quality of the food using cheaper ingredients and low quality meats and yes, the taste was 70% different than the original taste only with much higher price. Basically, I don’t mind the price as long as the food is still delicious. But a decrease in quality with higher price? That’s a big no-no. I know most marketing strategies are geared towards getting more profits, but using the strategy of “raising price later” and “reducing the quality with cheaper supplies” will only decrease your business credibility. Instead of doing that, if you really have to raise price, you also have to increase the quality of your products.

The overpricing mark-up strategy

This one is annoying as well. So I visited an online store website and saw this “promotion” saying that SOMEBYMI Toner was priced at $16.12 after a 50% discount from $32.24. Please, we know the real price. That $16.12 is the original price and that store just marked up the price from the original price way too high just to make us believe that there were really discounts (and a big cut at that) – there were no discounts from the beginning. If you really want to give your customers discounts, do it wholeheartedly. Your business still stays because of your customers, at least give them your appreciation for their loyalty by not lying to them.

Private social media

Well, it’s true that sometimes I don’t follow an online store on social media. I just go straight to Shopee and buy products from there. For me, an online shop’s Instagram account is the place where I see their latest information. If their content is very creative and more engaging, I will follow them. However, those “cunning” online shops “locks” their Instagram account so that we have to follow them in order to see their latest posts or promotions. Private or locked Instagram account should be personal account. When you have a business, your business is open for public. It is not right if you are locking your Instagram account so that people will follow you to see your content. Some would rather buy from your competitors. Also, it is still possible to get more followers on social media through your content quality and your social engagement. If your presence on social media is not helpful, people will not bother following you on social media. A business social media presence should be engaging and interactive with customers as well as entertaining and informative at the same time.

Let me tell you the harsh truth; even until now, those strategies are still applied by most businesses. It is sad to see many businesses are being misled by the wrong marketing strategies. Are you a business owner looking to improve your content marketing strategy? Feel free to contact us and let our team help you grow your business.