Sales promotion is a strategy in marketing to increase sales by offering extra value together with products in order to keep the current customers engaged and acquire new ones.
Sales promotion comes in different types and methods, with one single goal: create a feeling of urgency to increase sales.
Some major benefits of sales promotion campaigns are such as:
- Increase sales to counteract competition or during a down period
- Create interest in your products
- Build traffic in the store
- Stock clearance
- New product trial
- Staff motivation
This article is going to give information about:
- Types of sales promotion
- Examples of different sales promotion ideas
- Sales promotion by product sampling
Also read: Sales Promotion Strategies: From Concept to Practice
Types of sales promotion
There are three main types of sales promotion:
1- Dealer sales promotions also known as trade sales promotions are directed at distributors and dealers to increase their interest and purchase volume.
The general idea and therefore the methods to run trade sales promotion campaigns are just like those aimed at customers.
Some of the common examples would be such as:
- Trade discounts, offered to wholesalers, usually when they buy a certain amount of goods.
- Advertisement materials, distributed to dealers and sub-dealers to show in their shops. For instance, fridges, banners, boards, and store signs.
- Gifts, offered to traders or sales staff to encourage them to push the trades volume.
- Displays at fairs and exhibitions. This is a joint effort between producers and traders to promote sales.
- Dealers' contests are an indirect way to increase the sales from the retailers and wholesalers.
2- Salesforce promotion planned to force the sales staff to close more deals and sell more products. This kind of promotion usually involves contests, bonuses or commissions, and sales conferences.
3- Customer sales promotions designed to induce consumers to increase the level of impulse purchases among them. The first principles of such campaigns are identical. However, there is no limit in how creative you can get in designing and running sales promotion campaigns.
The following part expands this topic with more examples.
Also read: Experiential Marketing: Taking Your Business to the Next Level
18 Sales promotion examples & ideas
1- Coupons: A great way to keep your current customers engaged with your brand. Coupons are offered through mail, email, website, or in a printed format. They usually offer a defined amount of discount within the expiration date.
2- Discounts: Come in many different shapes and formats. For example, lifestyle discounts, designed for specific professions (teachers, lawyers, students, nurses, etc).
3- The more, the cheaper: In this scheme, the consumers benefit from a bigger discount if they buy more products in one purchase
4- Bundles: A pack of different products sold together at a fixed price that is less than the sum of all individual items together.
5- Flash sales: This is when a product is offered at a lower price during a very short period of time, e.g. one day, one week. This method provokes the fear of missing out in customers.
6- Contests: It is nowadays common on social media platforms, especially Instagram. This method is used to acquire new customers by getting your current ones to promote your brand to win the contest or prize.
7- Samples: Are given away to make consumers consider buying a product they were not intended to buy. Also, it's an effective way to introduce new products to the market. It's quite difficult to get the consumers to pay for something they have not used or heard of. Freebies and samples are also the best way to get feedback on a new product before mass production.
8- Point-of-purchase display: It is aimed to draw the attention of customers in a shop with the hope of making a purchase. For instance, a brand can install a designed stand in a supermarket to promote a specific product.
9- Cashback / Refunds and rebates: Increases the loyalty level in consumers. They get all or some of their money back as credit to use in their future purchases.
10- Self liquidator or BOGO: Buy one; Get one is one of the most practiced methods for sales promotion. Offering two popular products together at a reduced price in a limited time creates a sense of urgency in consumers and it also helps with stock clearance. That is why it is also known as Self Liquidator.
11- Loss readers: This is a pricing strategy when the seller sets a price on a product lower than its cost to attract the buyers into the store. The business expects customers to buy other products at their usual price to offset the loss.
12- Premiums/ Gifts: Are low-cost or free items offered to consumers if they buy a specific product.
13- Recurring sales: Are usually run end of the season. They are supposed to clear the stock and make space for new products by offering discounts to the consumers.
14- Product warranty: This method is applicable to durable products. The producer promises a free replacement or repair in case it was needed, in order to encourage the customers to buy the product.
15- Loyalty program: Is a method to keep consumers constantly engaged with your brand. Giving points or rewards on every purchase makes them come back for more. During special promotions, you can double or triple the points to increase the enthusiasm.
16- Joint promotion: Is when two brands run a campaign and sell their products in packages together. This method is great to discover potential customers and expand businesses.
17- Free shipping; Free return: Many consumers leave their cart and never finish their online purchase. Offering free shipping and free return reassures them that they will save money for the shipping of the product and in case they decide to return the items, it's all free
18- Charitable cause: Promotions are when a brand announces that a specific portion of profit made from the sales in a limited time goes to a charity. In this method, consumers feel good inside about buying products, and also the charity benefits from the sales promotion campaign.
Sales promotion by product sampling
Peekage, as a digital product sampling platform, runs sales promotion campaigns for SMEs and big brands.
With access to its app-based user database, Peekage selects the best target group for your campaign and takes care of sample distribution in three ways: in-home deliveries, digital eCommerce codes, and physical trials that consumers can pick up at a local retailer.
Also read: Ultimate Guide: Product Sampling Strategies, Methods & Techniques
