Sales promotion
Sales promotion describes promotional methods using special short-term techniques to persuade members of a target market to respond or undertake certain activity.
Objectives of Sales Promotion
Sales promotion is a tool used to achieve most of the five major promotional objectives
- Building Product Awareness
- Creating Interest
- Providing Information
- Stimulating Demand
- Reinforcing the Brand
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Common types of Sales Promotions
- Coupons: offers purchasers price savings or other incentives when the coupon is redeemed at the time of purchase
- Rebates: Rebates, like coupons, offer value to purchasers typically by lowering the customer’s final cost for acquiring the product.
- Promotional Pricing : short-term price reduction or, as known in some areas, "on sale" pricing.
- Trade-In: allow consumers to obtain lower prices by exchanging something the customer possess, such as an older product that the new purchase will replace.
- Loyalty Programs: reward, such as price discounts and free products, for frequent purchasing or other activity are called loyalty programs.
- Sampling and Free Trials: Sampling and free trials give customers the opportunity to experience products, often in small quantities or for a short duration, without purchasing the product.
- Free Product: free product may be in the form of additional quantities of the same purchased product (e.g., buy one, get one free) or specialty packages (e.g., value pack) that offer more quantity for the same price as regular packaging.
- Premiums: For example, a cellphone manufacturer may offer access to free downloadable ringtones for those purchasing a cellphone.
- Contests and Sweepstakes: Contests are special promotions awarding value to winners based on skills they demonstrate compared to others. Sweepstakes or drawings are not skill based but rather based on luck. Winners are determined by random selection.
- Demonstrations: experienced in-person or via video form, such as over the Internet
- Personal Appearances: by someone of interest to the target market, such as an author, sports figure or celebrity
- Point of purchase displays: designed materials intended for placement in retail stores.
- Trade shows: organized events that bring both industry buyers and sellers together in one central location.
