Promotions are almost always part of a company’s marketing mix, and for a good reason — they can boost revenue and improve profitability. However, running promotions is more complicated than slashing prices or putting up a sale sign. To get the most out of them, you have to think about the types of promotions you’ll run and how you’ll run them. With the economy in desperate need of a boost, it has never been a better time for businesses to try and lure customers back. Let’s take it from the top…
What are sales promotions, and what types are there?
A sales promotion is a marketing strategy that companies use to increase sales. It entails providing consumers with a deal that allows them to buy a product for less money or get more value out of the transaction. There are several different forms of retail promotions, which we’ll go through in more depth.
Try Before You Buy
The popularity of this promotion is growing among eCommerce merchants. People shopping on the internet face various challenges, including the inability to touch and feel the items before making a purchase. To combat this, several eCommerce companies are introducing try before you buy programs. This is particularly popular amongst the gambling industry, where you can play at a real money online casino. These companies often offer free spins or free money to play with so that you can try the casino games before you spend any money.
Percentage Discount
The percentage off deal is one of the most popular and effective types of promotions. It simply works by offering customers a percentage off of an item or service you are offering. They usually come with a limited-time tagline to try and pressure customers into the sale. Large retail outlets often use this.
Money Off Discount
Retailer which sells clothes often use this kind of discount. This works the same way as the percentage discount, but the customer is given a figure of exactly how much they will receive off of their purchase. It’s difficult to tell whether this offer is better than percentage discounts, as studies and tests have shown mixed results. However, the percentage discount does encourage customers to spend more as the more they spend, the more money they will save.
Buy One Get One
Another popular deal is Buy One, Get One. This deal can be used in two ways: buy one, get one free, or buy one, get a percentage off the second item. BOGO is commonly used to move inventory and improve sales, so if you have a lot of stock and want to get rid of it, this promotion could be a good fit.
Free Shipping
If you’re running an eCommerce site that sells goods online to customers all around the world, free shipping might be a good promo for you. It encourages customers to make purchases from the comfort of their own homes as they are not wasting time and money going to the shops.
Multi-Buys
If you want to clear your inventory, multi-buy deals are another excellent choice. However, the success of multi-buys is highly dependent on the goods you offer. For example, if you have a high-end product, you would be giving away a valuable product at a reduced price. This promotional technique works best for lower value products where the markup is much less, and therefore it is less money coming out of your pocket.
Loyalty Program
Rewarding your customers would help you develop a loyal following and encourage them to spend more. Providing excellent customer service is critical to a company’s success. A loyalty point scheme is a standard promotion that allows customers to spend more and stay loyal to a business or brand.
Competitions
Running a free competition has the advantage of just requiring you to give away one item while gaining so much in return, making it a common form of promotion! It will not only help you lift your profile, but it will also turn any person who enters into an email contact that you can try to transform into a sale. If they’re entering your competition, chances are they are interested in your products, so running a contest is a great idea.
Industries using promotional tactics
We will conclude our article by taking a lot at some of the sectors benefiting from running promotions and how they deploy these promotions.
Financial
The financial sector is one of the industries to broaden and push the limits so far that they know how their own rules related to what promotions can be offered and how they are offered. For example, many businesses were given loans like candy and offered such low-interest rates that the appeal to some people, who were often in desperate need, was too strong to resist. However, they were luring people into debt, which the financial authorities have now cracked down on.
Education
Promotional items that leave a lasting impression are beneficial to any company, mainly because 94 percent of consumers remember receiving a promotional product as a gift! One of the most common sectors to use promotional items as freebies at events such as recruitment, conferences, and orientations is the educational sector. In today’s world of influencer marketing, having people wear your brand will pay off handsomely.
Gambling
One of the biggest industries to deliver deals that are almost too tempting to pass up in order to entice potential consumers to sign up or walk through the door is the gambling industry. To attract new players, they often give free sign-up bets or spins on a free slot machine. However, since this is such a competitive market that everyone is providing these types of deals, they are often forced to keep offering these incentive prizes in order to keep players.
As you can see, there are many different ways to run a promotion and various things to consider before running them. However, there is no doubt that they work and are probably the best way to drive traffic to your door.
