Carl Roughsedge is Director of www.e-Moonlighting.co.uk which provides marketing and graphic design to small and medium businesses around the World.
Sales promotion is one of the most measurable and directly effective marketing techniques. Sales promotion offers tangible rewards or the opportunity to receive tangible rewards in return for a given action or a change in purchasing behavior. It is a marketing technique that encompasses a wide range of tactics including loyalty promotions, trade incentive schemes, consumer incentive schemes, games, competitions, premium promotions - normally free gift with purchase, and special offers for example, buy two get one free.
Sales promotion can certainly be one of the most effective marketing techniques and can be used to achieve a number of objectives. Probably the most common objective of a sales promotion campaign is to encourage loyalty, this is most frequently seen in the forecourt promotions run by the petrol station chains or in the loyalty card schemes operated by the major retail chains.
Competitions and games can be used to encourage trial purchase or sometimes simply trial, as often seen for example in their usage by car retailers when offering the opportunity to win for example a holiday in return for taking a test drive. Premium promotions are also frequently used to encourage trial purchase, a premium promotion would typically entail giving a free gift with purchase. One of the advantages of this type of premium promotion is that the gift itself can be branded so as to keep the brand logo and slogan of the supplier in the purchaser's mind.
Trade incentive and customer incentive schemes offer rewards to clients and customers in return for making a given level of spend during a set time period of time. Rewards vary in nature but in a business to business environment may be business related items such as equipment or free extra products, etc. In consumer markets the rewards are more likely to be consumer goods or holidays, glassware, dinnerware, household goods and garden tools have commonly been used.
Whilst sales promotion can be very effective and is also a relatively inexpensive form of marketing, it is also a minefield. Many laws control sales promotion, for example, it is illegal to require a consumer or business to spend in order to take part in a competition unless skill is the only factor which will determine who will win. Hence the frequent use of tie breaks in competitions. For this reason when developing a sales promotion it is always a good idea to enlist professional advice or at the very least to consult a specialist law book such as Sales Promotion Law by Circus & Painter.
To achieve the required objectives it is important that a sales promotion is well thought through and professionally presented and promoted. For instance, if you are offering a reward such a holiday in return for a given level of spend over a set period of time, think about how much you can reasonably ask customers to spend in that period in order to act as an incentive for them. Also think about whether the additional revenues from sales will cover the costs of the promotion. When developing a competition think about what type of prize will entice your target market to want to enter. If you get everything right, the rewards can be big!
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- Capture Planning...business Development Strategy That Wins!
- Business Development Consultancy – How a Specialist Business Development Consultancy Support Revenue Growth Through Partners
- Business Development For The Private Labeled Bottled Water Industry
- Small Business Action Plan for First Time International Business Development
- How Management Consultancies Can Effectively Use Business Development Services to Grow Their Firm
- The Power Of Business Development
- Business Development Basics
- Australian Business for Sale
9 ways to fight business competition
By: Rajita | 26/11/2009Most business companies tremble with fear at mention of competition.It is the most feared word.Competition drives all business to create branding and do intense marketing and advertising.It is dream of every business to overtake its competition and create a niche for its services and products
Some insights into the making of neon signs
By: Brayan Peter | 26/11/2009It is an interesting thing to know about the stuff that goes into the making of the indigenous neon tubes. It is generally made up of lead glass. The lead glass tubes of 8-15 mm in diameter are used in the process, where they are heated up part by part with the help of a variety of fire sources.
Thinking and Growing Rich Pt. 3 – Getting the People Who Can Help You Achieve Your Goals
By: Ed OKeefe | 25/11/2009In this article, we're going to talk about a little trick which can help you accomplish your goals getting the rich the fast and the real way in your dental practices! This is something we focus specifically at our dental practices website! In my previous articles, I talked about writing down and taking note of your top 5 to top 10 goals in your business. Then I told you to go exercise and meditate on those goals.
Dental Practice Management Consultant on Facts About Case Acceptance in Your Dental Practice
By: Ed OKeefe | 25/11/2009In this article, dental practice management consultant Ed O' Keefe will share to you something about case acceptance in your dental practice. The dental practice management consultant will also share to you the 80% - 20% rule that exists in the business of dental practice. And the dental practice management consultant will also share to you the way on how to increase your case acceptance in your practice. And this is something they focus specifically at their dental practice website!
Doctor From Maryland Talks About How Dentist Profits Have Helped Him in His Dental Practice
By: Ed OKeefe | 25/11/2009In this article, a doctor from Maryland (who is one of our clients at Dentist profits) will share to you how Dentist Profits have helped him as a dental practice consulting act. He will share to you the benefits of joining our club and how it has helped him achieve success in his business as a dental practice consulting act. And this is something that we focus specifically at our dental practice consulting website!
Doctors From Sunrise Dental Care Talks About What the Inner Circle Coaching Club Has Done for Their
By: Ed OKeefe | 25/11/2009In this article, doctors from Sunrise Dental Care will share to you what my coaching club, the Inner Circle Coaching Club, has done for the good transition of their dental practice lately. They will share to you what they have done in the past few years in the transition of their dental practice... and how they became a large practice with lots of fun and excitement with the help of my coaching club. And this is something that we focus specifically at our dental practice transition website!
Dentist Practice Management Economics Adviser Lloyd Irvin on His Black Belt SEO Masters System
By: Ed OKeefe | 25/11/2009In this article, dentist practice management economics adviser Lloyd Irvin (who is one of the smartest people you'll ever meet with expertise in letting your own dental website gain the top spots in the search engines in the World Wide Web) will share to you something about his Black Belt SEO Masters System and how it can help you achieve your goals and success in your dentist practice. And this is something that we focus specifically at our dentist practice management website!
How to Inspire Your Firm to Take Legal Marketing Seriously
By: Paula Black | 25/11/2009While fostering a legal marketing habit can often be a solo activity, there’s no better inspiration than enlisting the help and support of other firm members. Whether it’s other attorneys or staff, their help, encouragement and ideas are imperative to business development success. Here are a few of our best tips for getting other members of your firm to join in your legal marketing journey.
Making Your Website An Effective Marketing Tool
By: Carl Roughsedge | 10/07/2009 | MarketingThere are two key elements to having an effective online marketing strategy. Firstly, a website that is suitable for its intended purpose and secondly driving the right quantity and quality of traffic to that website. In this article I will focus primarily on achieving the first of these two elements...
Drive your sales with a professional marketing plan
By: Carl Roughsedge | 16/04/2009 | MarketingHow do you produce an effective marketing plan for your business which will achieve your objectives and get return on investment for your marketing. How do you get professional help in producing a marketing plan.
Marketing tips for SMEs
By: Carl Roughsedge | 27/03/2009 | Marketing TipsHow do you effectively market your business and what are the factors to consider. How to put together a marketing strategy for your business.
Making a success of your startup
By: Carl Roughsedge | 20/03/2009 | Business IdeasTips on how to make your business startup a success. What factors should you consider before you begin? What is required to make the business a success?
Getting Return On Investment From Your Marketing
By: Carl Roughsedge | 19/03/2009 | MarketingHow do you make sure that you get return on investment for your marketing? What are the factors to consider? What are the best marketing tactics to utilise?
The Value of Integrated Marketing
By: Carl Roughsedge | 19/03/2009 | MarketingWhat is integrated marketing? How can integrated marketing drive your business? What are the benefits of integrated marketing?
The Direct Marketing Opportunity
By: Carl Roughsedge | 19/03/2009 | MarketingWhat is direct marketing? How can direct marketing drive your sales? How do I instigate a direct marketing campaign?