Every company wants to hit a home run with some viral marketing — but hoping for it and actually achieving it can be two very different things. In fact, any plan that hopes to attract a surge in new customers comes with as many challenges as it does advantages. If you’re using programs like Groupon and Living Social, for example, you’ll have no problem attracting plenty of interest. The question then becomes, will it make or break your company.
The Problem With Popularity
Many companies are turning to program like Liking Social, Group and Amazon Local to drum up new sales and create local interest. These programs can do wonders in terms of exposure, but they should be considered carefully. There have been a number of issues raised when it comes to using these kinds of programs, especially for small business. Perhaps the biggest area of concern is whether or not the company will be able to meet demand once the promotion rolls out.
Viral marketing can be difficult to plan. After all, there’s no telling which campaign will become a home run and which will just sort of fizzle. So planning for them can be difficult, if not impossible. The better idea is to brace your company — and its overall work flow — ahead of every major marketing campaign.
For each situation, the solution is the same: inventory management is crucial. Whatever products should be checked carefully. If levels are anywhere close to reorder points, get in touch with your vendors to ensure delivery can be done before you roll out your campaign or shortly thereafter.
How DataQlick Can Help
DataQlick can be a part of this inventory management and marketing strategy if you use our real time inventory features and vendor tracking. Since DataQlick offers multi-channel integration for POS channels, including retail store, direct website and Shopify integration, it can track inventory levels no matter how a product is sold.
This real time snapshot makes it easy for you to keep an eye on when something starts to sell more quickly than the rest. Set up different reorder levels so you can contact vendors quickly. You can also keep track of the best vendors to use by integrating purchase orders into the system and keeping notes on how well — or how poorly — vendors preform under pressure.
Everyone wants to hit it big with some viral marketing — but success definitely falls in the ‘Be Careful What You Wish For’ category. Plan for success by having access to real time inventory levels and notes on vendor information with the DataQlick system.
