One size rarely fits all, and that is especially true in the world of promotions. There are times when a customized campaign with layers of complexity is warranted for your brand, and there are times when budget and the need for speed dictate a simpler approach.
That’s when considering a quick-to-market (QTM) solution can be an excellent strategy that allows you to reach your goals, stay within budget and still give your customers an engaging experience.
Generally, a QTM is something that can be spun up in a matter of days to a couple of weeks versus a more traditional promotion that involves detailed design work and customization that can take months to implement. Typically, QTM solutions involve a templated website that requires minimal configuration and no building.
Because the time and effort going into a QTM is a fraction of a customized build, the cost is much less. But that doesn’t mean the value your brand can derive from a QTM campaign is compromised. It might even bring you more value.
A QTM solution allows brands to jump quickly on a shopping trend or draw attention to a suddenly popular product category. For others, it might highlight a seasonal product with a short selling window. In some cases, a brand finds itself with some additional spending and a short window in which to leverage it.
Brands might give up some of the design features a more customized build would bring them, but QTMs still deliver customized data, the ability to attract new customers and the ability to build customer loyalty that traditional promotions bring. Also, your promotional campaign can be any size because it’s a templated solution.
What are your non-negotiables?
If you are looking at a QTM solution, what should you be considering? There are several considerations, including the trade-offs that make speed and price more attractive, as well as some non-negotiables that are never worth giving up.
The biggest trade-off is the design of the campaign. By nature, a templated solution offers fewer options for customized design. The amount of data collected will still be valuable, but you will likely have a limited number of fields for that data collection. That means customers will be entering core information, likely name, address, zip code, email, phone number and receipt upload. Additional fields may or may not be possible. You likely can bring some branding to the design, but you will have limited options for colors and font styles.
Before you commit, ask your promotional partner what you can’t change, as well as what you can. For instance, can you have a customized URL for the site, or are you limited to one that doesn’t reflect your brand name? Do you have some flexibility in the types of redemption you can offer your customers? At Arrowhead, we have numerous efficiencies built into our process that bring value to our clients, but we constantly monitor where and when we can add additional flexibility to ensure our QTM offers as much customization possible within a templated solution.
A major non-negotiable is fraud protection and compliance. Some campaigns, such as rebate promotions, have relatively simple compliance needs. Others, such as sweepstakes promotions, are highly regulated. Your QTM solution needs to ensure you are giving up nothing when it comes to fraud protection, validation of data, assurances that state and federal consumer protection regulations are observed, and that all purchases are validated.
Arrowhead’s own QTM is still backed by more than 40 years of expertise in compliance, and we are HiTrust certified, the highest level of data security we can offer our customers.
Working with a trusted and experienced partner will always be your best bet to ensure your promotions are fully compliant. A good QTM solution will have fraud protection and compliance baked right in, along with enough flexibility that allows you to quickly spin up a winning campaign to catch the next wave of sales when the opportunity arises.
