Sales Promotion Tools
Businesses use sale promotions to increase demand for their product and service offerings. It is used to prompt the target market to show interest, try, buy and ideally build a loyal customer base.
There are two types of sales promotion tools:
Consumer sales promotion tools
They target the consumer or the product or service offering end-user. They include samples, coupons, demonstrations, point-of-purchase displays, loyalty programs, cash refund offers, and premiums, among others.
- Free Samples: “Samples are one of the most important sales promotion tools” (Accountlearning, 2020). It involves giving consumers a small amount of the product that is for sale to try out in the hope of generating interest. “Offering customers the opportunity to try your product or service risk-free is a common method of breaking brand loyalty and converting competitors’ customers into your customers” (Milano, 2017).
- Coupons: “A coupon is a certificate that fetches buyers a saving when they purchase a specified product”(Accountlearning, 2020). Coupons usually provide immediate price reduction or a cash refund. They are generally issued together with the product though they can also be found in newspapers or be downloaded from online stores. Some stores may provide coupons for customers with loyalty cards.
Point-of-purchase displays: “To stimulate impulse buys or to remind regular customers not to leave the store without a specific product, marketers have used in-store displays for generations” (Milano, 2017). These displays draw attention to the product and encourage consumers to buy a product immediately.
Trade sales promotion tools
These target organizational customers that can stimulate immediate sales and include trade shows, sales contests, free merchandise, and trade allowances, among others.
The infrastructure required to Build and Execute a State-of-the-art Marketing Program
Marketing infrastructure is a system that gets your product or service from being just good to one that consistently drives business to your company. A good infrastructure “constantly brings in new leads, follows them up, nurtures and converts them into raving fan customers” (Dib, 2020). A business is unlikely to reach its full potential unless its marketing infrastructure is complete.
The infrastructure required to build and execute a state-of-the-art marketing program include::
- “Lead capture websites” (Dib, 2020): Websites give information about the business and allow you to showcase product and service offerings. They are essential to the marketing infrastructure to enable the customer to see how and why they should do business with you and go a long way in informing their purchase decisions.
- Social media: Social media platforms help companies connect with customers, increase brand awareness and boost leads and sales.
- Blogs: “There’s no lack of data or evidence that concludes that blogging needs to be a fundamental part of marketing infrastructure” (LeadG2, n.d.). Blogs help build brand awareness by providing helpful content to the target market. They also help drive traffic to the company’s site, enhancing marketing efforts and promoting lead generation.
- Customer relationship management (CRM): “ It’s tough to nurture a prospect through a sales funnel without a CRM, and from a management perspective, it’s tough to assign and assess accountability without records of interactions between the firm and its prospects” (LeadG2, n.d.).
Other infrastructures to consider are email sequences, email and SMS auto-responders, eNewsletters, Content creation, analytics/metrics, and marketing automation technology.
Check the following reference articles to learn more about the Sales Promotion Tools:
- Accountlearning. (2020, July 14). 9 Types of Consumer Sales Promotion Tools. Accountlearning | Contents for Management Studies |. (URL)
- Dib, A. (2020, July 27). How To Successfully Build A Marketing Infrastructure – Allan Dib. Successwise. (URL)
- LeadG2. (n.d.). Marketing Infrastructure Checklist: 18 Fundamentals to Get the Needle Moving. Leadg2.Thecenterforsalesstrategy.Com. (URL)
- Milano, S. (2017, November 21). Popular Sales Promotion Tools. Small Business – Chron.Com. (URL)
- How to Boost Conversion at Every Stage of Sales Funnel
- Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, Empowerment, and PR
- Impact of Personal and Demographic Factors on Purchase Decisions
This article is written by:
This article is written and edited by in-house writers and editors. Knowledge Netizen editorial team is committed to providing accurate and informative content. You can cite our articles under the author name "NetizenMe"
