When Selling Through Your Inventory Is Urgent:

Sometimes, the clock is ticking, your warehouse is full, and your inventory isn’t flying off the shelves as quickly as you need. Whether it’s due to seasonality, overordering, or clearing space for new products, selling through inventory quickly requires a strategic advertising game plan.

If your current strategy isn’t cutting it, don’t panic. With a data-driven approach and a few creative tactics, you can turn your inventory headache into a selling success story. In fact, we’ve helped brands grow from $1M to $7M in one year using strategies like these. Let’s dive into how you can do the same.

Step 1: Understand Your Inventory Run Rate

Before you start spending ad dollars, take a hard look at your inventory. Here’s what you need to know:

Current Inventory Levels: How much stock do you have of each product or category?
Run Rate: How quickly has each product been selling? Look at 30-day and 7-day trends, and compare them to the same period last year.
Daily Updates: Set up a system to track this data daily. This gives you a real-time understanding of which products are underperforming and need an extra push.

This analysis helps you identify the items that require immediate advertising support. It’s like triage for your inventory—focus on the products that need attention most urgently.

Step 2: Know Your Margins and Set ROAS Targets

Not all products are created equal, and neither are their margins. Knowing the margin profile of each product or category is critical for setting realistic Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) targets.

High-Margin Products: These are your profit drivers. You can afford to spend more on ads for these items because they’ll deliver a strong return.
Low-Margin Products: Be cautious with ad spend here. Focus on efficient campaigns and upselling or cross-selling opportunities to boost profitability.

By aligning your ad strategy with your margin profile, you’ll maximize efficiency and avoid wasting budget on campaigns that don’t deliver a solid return.

Step 3: Launch Category-Specific Campaigns

Now that you know which products need a push, it’s time to create campaigns tailored to those categories. Here’s how:

Dynamic Product Ads: Use ads that automatically showcase the most relevant products to each audience segment. They’re perfect for large inventories and save you time.
Category-Specific Campaigns: Focus on promoting entire categories rather than individual products. This allows you to allocate budget efficiently while aligning with your inventory plan.

By organizing your campaigns around categories, you’ll have better control over your ad spend and be able to target audiences more effectively.

Step 4: Test Creative Approaches

When it comes to ads, one size doesn’t fit all. Testing is the name of the game, especially when you’re racing against the clock to move inventory. Here are some creative approaches to try:

Testimonials: Social proof can be incredibly persuasive, especially for new customers.
Founder Stories: Highlight your brand’s story to create an emotional connection.
Product Highlights: Showcase unique features or benefits that make your products stand out.
User-Generated Content (UGC): Authentic content from real customers can build trust and drive conversions.
Seasonal Messaging: Tie your campaigns to current events or holidays to make them timely and relevant.

Remember, positioning each product in a way that resonates with your target audience is key. Look for whitespace in the competitive landscape to differentiate your ads.

Step 5: Optimize Your Landing Pages

Driving traffic to your site is only half the battle. Where that traffic lands can make or break your conversion rate. Test these options to find what works best:

Product Detail Pages (PDPs): Drive traffic directly to individual product pages for a more focused experience.
Product Listing Pages (PLPs): Send traffic to category pages but make sure the advertised product is at the top of the fold.

Testing both approaches will help you understand which one converts better for your audience. And don’t forget to use visual cues like “Best Seller” or “Moving Fast” stickers to create urgency and guide customers to your top-priority items.

Step 6: Leverage Upsells and Cross-Sells

Maximizing the value of each customer’s purchase is a smart way to move more inventory. Incorporate these tactics into your strategy:

Upsells: Encourage customers to upgrade to a higher-value product.
Cross-Sells: Suggest complementary items (“Pair X with Y for the ultimate experience!”).
Bundles: Create discounted bundles that include slower-moving items alongside best-sellers.

These techniques not only increase average order value (AOV) but also help clear out underperforming stock.

Step 7: Seed Products to Influencers

Influencers aren’t just for building brand awareness—they can also help you move inventory quickly. Identify influencers who align with your target audience and have a proven track record of driving revenue.

Platforms like ShopMyShelf and Marketable.ai can help you find influencers to partner with. Make product seeding an ongoing part of your strategy, gifting items that need a sales boost and encouraging influencers to create content that drives conversions.

Step 8: Analyze, Adjust, and Repeat

Finally, no strategy is complete without regular analysis. Monitor the performance of your campaigns and adjust as needed. Key metrics to watch include:

Conversion Rate: Are your ads driving purchases?
ROAS: Are you achieving your return targets?
Inventory Levels: Are you selling through the items that need to move most urgently?

By continually refining your approach, you’ll not only clear out inventory but also lay the groundwork for more efficient campaigns in the future.

Inventory Management Meets Strategic Advertising

When selling through inventory is urgent, advertising becomes more than a tool—it’s a lifeline. By understanding your inventory run rate, aligning campaigns with margin profiles, testing creative approaches, and leveraging influencer marketing, you can turn a potential problem into an opportunity for growth.

We’ve seen this strategy in action, helping one brand grow from $1M to $7M in a single year. With the right approach, there’s no reason you can’t achieve similar success. The clock might be ticking, but with these tactics in your playbook, you’re ready to make every second—and every dollar—count.

FAQs

How can I identify which inventory needs advertising support?some text
- Analyze your inventory run rate over the past 30 days, 7 days, and the same period last year. Use this data to pinpoint underperforming products.
What types of ads work best for moving inventory?some text
- Dynamic product ads and category-specific campaigns are effective. Test creative approaches like testimonials, founder stories, UGC, and seasonal messaging.
How can I optimize my landing pages for better conversions?some text
- Test driving traffic to product detail pages (PDPs) versus product listing pages (PLPs). Ensure the advertised product is at the top of the fold on PLPs.
What role do influencers play in selling inventory?some text
- Influencers can create buzz and drive sales. Use platforms like ShopMyShelf to find creators who align with your target audience and have a proven ROI.
How can upsells and cross-sells help move inventory?some text
- Suggest complementary products or create bundles that pair slower-moving items with best-sellers to increase average order value and clear stock.