Promotion and advertising are two essential elements of any successful business. Promotion is a short-term activity that is used to increase sales and attract new customers. It includes activities such as discounts, coupons, free samples, and loyalty programs. Advertising, on the other hand, is a long-term activity that is used to create brand awareness and build an emotional connection with potential customers.
In this article, we'll explore the different types of promotion and advertising examples, as well as how to create an effective promotional strategy. Sales promotions are a great way to increase sales and attract new customers. Examples of sales promotion include discounts, coupons, free samples, flash sales, buy one get one free deals, loyalty programs, and more. Coupons are especially effective for products that are overstocked or can be used as a basis for selling other complementary products.
For example, offering a 50% discount coupon for a product can create urgency for customers to take action. Flash sales are another great way to generate revenue for products that might otherwise remain in your inventory. You can organize flash sales every month or annually and use your social media channels to create even more buzz for it. Loyalty programs are also an effective way to motivate customers and make them feel valued.
Recommendations from friends or family can also be a powerful catalyst for acquiring new customers. According to research, 83% of Americans say that recommendations from friends or family make them more likely to buy a product or service. Promotional advertising may use the same media as other forms of advertisements. For example, if you run a newspaper ad, you can include coupons that offer a 10 percent discount on your garden service for first-time customers.
You can also include it in radio and television presentations; if your store has a special offer this weekend, you'll probably want to reference that in your travel time radio ads. A great sales promotion idea could focus specifically on repeat customers. Encouraging repeat business is easier and more cost-effective than attracting new customers. Email is an excellent vehicle for this communication, as research shows that 49% of people would like to receive weekly mass email campaigns from their favorite brands. Free trials are also a great way to get potential customers to test your product or service without risk or commitment on their part. Retailers can offer free samples at the point of purchase, while B2B or B2C services can offer a free trial or demonstration of their products or services so that their potential customers and prospects can test the product. Sales promotions that use free shipping and returns can also help remove one of the obstacles that cause people to abandon their cart.
If you are a B2B or SaaS brand, the last obstacle to buying could be your customer's resistance to the challenge of changing providers. A referral program helps reward people who send business their way. By analyzing data from a single source, managers can balance advertising and promotion investments to improve each other's contribution to long-term benefits. You can also host virtual conferences, conduct trainings, or organize workshops and offer sales promotions as a thank you for attendance. Sales promotions are also an effective way not only to increase brand awareness but also to achieve customer satisfaction. An effective sales promotion uses images, effective texts and logic to appeal to the needs, values and emotions of your target audience, and invites them to buy your products or services with an incentive offer. The other side is de-escalation, which is when competitors refrain from undermining each other's profits through promotions.
By using sales data from individual stores, programs can compare sales from non-promotion weeks with those of promotion weeks. Finally, creating a marketing plan and understanding who should be involved in its creation will help you develop more effective advertising campaigns, promotions, social media and public relations.
