Run a Successful Sales Promotion

Having a sale is a great way to introduce new products, tempt new customers and augment seasonal sales. Sales promotions are typically done over a short period of time, in order to periodically boost sales numbers. There are many ways to do a sales promotion, including online coupons, open houses, store-wide discounts and referral bonuses. In order to meet your company's sales goals, the sales promotion process should be well planned and documented. Find out how to run a successful sales promotion.

Steps

  1. Evaluate the type of sales boost you need to do. Your business may need to move some seasonal products, encourage trials of services or fill up a schedule for a specific month. Decide the specific monetary and product needs before choosing the type of promotion you will use.
  2. Invest in customer management systems. Your online or in-store databases should keep track of customers, their purchases, each offer they respond to and other preferences. Before starting any promotion, you should aim to target it first at the customers who are most likely to buy based on these preferences.
  3. Brainstorm creative promotion ideas. Simply taking a percentage off a sale price may encourage bargain hunters to buy, but many companies try to encourage customers to buy greater quantities, such as "buy one get one half off" sales. The following are some possible sales promotions to consider.
    • Consider giving a free gift with any purchase. If you find a product that is fairly low cost to produce, it can encourage people to buy at regular prices but enjoy the feeling of getting something free. This may be a good option if you are introducing a new, low-cost product that may encourage repeat customers or a way to get your brand out there, if the product features your logo. Advertise the retail value of the free product to increase the perceived value for the consumer.
    • Bundle your most popular products with a less popular product. Discount the package so that you are moving more products while keeping the discount level lower.
    • Offer free services or consultations for a limited time. Service-based businesses can garner new customers by doing risk-free consultations. Once the customer has contacted you, they are more likely to convert to a customer than a cold call. You may also consider offering free upgrades or free trial with service-based businesses.
    • Offer free lessons on certain days. Teaching a sewing class, a beer brewing class or a financial planning class will help get people in the door. You can offer them a starter kit while they are in there or simply encourage them to buy the materials for the class.
    • Partner with other businesses on sales promotions. Split the cost of marketing and give a free gift, coupon or sidewalk sale that encourages customer sharing.
    • Hold a contest. Give something, such as a coupon, to everyone who participates. This is an excellent way to boost online traffic.
  4. Do a financial analysis of each type of promotion. Your marketing and bookkeeping staff should be able to specify any losses that sales could bring, break-even points and potential returns on investment (ROI). Ultimately, you should choose the promotion with the best financial prospects.
    • If you are considering a coupon or discount percentage, make sure you choose your percentage offer carefully. The coupon should seem like an excellent deal, which often means they are over 20 percent. However, it should be a financially viable coupon. Remember that if you have a low mark up on products, these coupons may not be the best promotion decision.
  5. Specify start and end dates for your promotion. Part of encouraging people to buy a product is communicating that this is an offer that will be available for a limited time. In general, the greater the discount or offer, the less time it will be available, in order to suggest it is a very good deal that cannot be available all the time.
  6. Clarify your marketing goals. Identify a target number of people you want to reach and a realistic conversion rate for those people. This will help to plan out the size of your marketing campaign.
  7. Develop a strategic marketing campaign. Your marketing team or marketing consultant should come up with a complete view of the process from the message to the creative elements to data gathering. Invest plenty of time in this and you will have a better promotion and more data to analyze after the fact.
  8. Specify your message for your promotion marketing. A sales promotion is not as simple as offering a coupon. It should be used to encourage brand recognition and repeat customers.
    • Invest in creative services. Professional graphic designers, voice talent, photographers, writers and models can offer you a marketing product that will reach more people and have more success than what you can do by yourself. If you have organized these elements in the past, consider hiring a professional to do the coupons, radio recording or posters to see how much an attractive, professional promotion can increase sales.
  9. Get your entire team involved, if possible. A sales promotion should have everyone on board, from bookkeeper to sales staff. Encourage ideas from employees. A team based approach will allow you to keep track of how the process is handled and improve your future promotions.
  10. Gather data on customers, new email subscribers, phone calls, online traffic and the increase in sales. Ask your marketing professional to do the math on your ROI, conversion rate and percentage increase in customers. Evaluate your success after the fact.
  11. Repeat successful sales promotions in the future. Try a new type of promotion if the previous one was not successful. Although planning will increase the success of your promotion, there is always an element of trial and error in marketing.

Things You'll Need

  • Sales analysis
  • Creative promotion ideas
  • Bookkeeper
  • Marketing team/consultant
  • Content management system
  • Creative services
  • Marketing campaign
  • Data tracking

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Sources and Citations

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