Sales promotion

Sales promotion is one of the four aspects of promotional mix. (The other three parts of the promotional mix are advertising, personal selling, and publicity/public relations.) Media and non-media marketing communication are employed for a pre-determined, limited time to increase consumer demand, stimulate market demand or improve product availability. Examples include:

• contests
• point of purchase displays
• rebates
• free travel, such as free flights

Sales promotions can be directed at either the customer, sales staff, or distribution channel members (such as retailers). Sales promotions targeted at the consumer are called consumer sales promotions. Sales promotions targeted at retailers and wholesale are called trade sales promotions. Some sale promotions, particularly ones with unusual methods, are considered gimmick by many. Sales promotion is any initiative undertaken by an organization to promote an increase in sales, usage or trial of a product or service (i.e. initiatives that are not covered by the other elements of the marketing communications or promotions mix). Sales promotions are varied. Often they are original and creative, and hence a comprehensive list of all available techniques is virtually impossible (since original sales promotions are launched daily!). Here are some examples of popular sales promotions activities:

• Buy-One-Get-One-Free (BOGOF) – which is an example of a self-liquidating promotion. For example if a loaf of bread is priced at Rs 10, and cost is few paisa to manufacture, if you sell two for Rs 10, you are still in profit – especially if there is a corresponding increase in sales. This is known as a PREMIUM sales promotion tactic.

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) incentives such as bonus points or money off coupons. There are many examples of CRM, from banks to supermarkets.

• New media – Websites and mobile phones that support a sales promotion. For example, in the United Kingdom, Nestle printed individual codes on KIT-KAT packaging, whereby a consumer would enter the code into a dynamic website to see if they had won a prize. Consumers could also text codes via their mobile phones to the same effect.

• Merchandising additions such as dump bins, point-of-sale materials and product demonstrations.

• Free gifts e.g. Subway gave away a card with six spaces for stickers with each sandwich purchase. Once the card was full the consumer was given a free sandwich.

• Discounted prices e.g. Budget airline such as EasyJet and Ryanair, e-mail their customers with the latest low-price deals once new flights are released, or additional destinations are announced.

• Joint promotions between brands owned by a company, or with another company’s brands. For example fast food restaurants often run sales promotions where toys, relating to a specific movie release, are given away with promoted meals.

• Free samples (aka sampling) e.g. tasting of food and drink at sampling points in supermarkets. For example Red Bull (a caffeinated fizzy drink) was given away to potential consumers at supermarkets, in high streets and at petrol stations (by a promotions team).

• Vouchers and coupons, often seen in newspapers and magazines, on packs.
• Competitions and prize draws, in newspapers, magazines, on the TV and radio, on The Internet, and on packs.

• Cause-related and fair-trade products that raise money for charities, and the less well off farmers and producers, are becoming more popular.

• Finance deals – for example, 0% finance over 3 years on selected vehicles.  Many of the examples above are focused upon consumers. Don’t forget that promotions can be aimed at wholesales and distributors as well. These are known as Trade Sales Promotions. Examples here might include joint promotions between a manufacturer and a distributor, sales promotion leaflets and other materials (such as T-shirts), and incentives for distributor sales people and their retail clients.

• Sales promotion – Sales promotions are short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service. Sales promotion includes several communications activities that attempt to provide added value or incentives to consumers, wholesalers, retailers, or other organizational customers to stimulate immediate sales. These efforts can attempt to stimulate product interest, trial, or purchase. Examples of devices used in sales promotion include coupons, samples, premiums, point-of-purchase (POP) displays, contests, rebates, and sweepstakes.

Sales Promotion Strategies:

There are three types of sales promotion strategies: Push, Pull, or a combination of the two. A push strategy involves convincing trade intermediary channel members to “push” the product through the distribution channels to the ultimate consumer via promotions and personal selling efforts. The company promotes the product through a reseller who in turn promotes it to yet another reseller or the final consumer. Trade-promotion objectives are to persuade retailers or wholesalers to carry a brand, give a brand shelf space, promote a brand in advertising, and/or push a brand to final consumers. Typical tactics employed in push strategy are: allowances, buy-back guarantees, free trials, contests, specialty advertising items, discounts, displays, and premiums.