Sales promotion – Promotions, as its name suggests is designed to promote the company’s sales in unconventional ways. This means a creative promoting – in addition to the usual advertising and marketing. The idea behind the sales promotion is based on the thought that sometimes it is very important to wake everybody up and turn the customers, distributors, marketers and investors attention to a particular product. Sales promotion does not necessarily designed directly for the customer and can be directed in several directions – sales promotions in front of customers, promotion in front of the product distributors known as wholesale. There is a difference between a promotion intended to target customers audience and the wholesale promotion. It is important to understand three elements when you are engaged in sales promotion – what are you promoting? How to promote? And in front of who? Sales promotion to potential customers mainly focuses on creating a buzz around the product for a limited time. You can do this by shocking the market or by increasing the product availability and optimization of quality. For example, the distribution of a product to preferred customers or creating a time-limited competition is very effective in sales promotions in front of customers. Depending on the product you can decide – what will be the nature of the competition? Active or passive? will it include the collection of other comapny’s product? Is the competition open to the general public or whether to accept preferred customers such as club members and so on. Wholesale promotion is more complicated since it has to consider two audiences simultaneously – one, the product distributor and the other is prospects. It is very important to know the difference between promoting a product to the customer (while the distributor is a potential customer as well) and to promote a product for those who spread the it because it is clear that a distributor who knows and loves the product and believe in the company that makes it will be the best man to market, distribute and sell it actively. It is therefore important to provide explanations and details about the product to the distributor and give him a personal experience with it, so it’s actually a sales promotion for the sales guy. Sales promotion rely heavily on the art of sales of the distributor / seller. In both cases a great way to boost sales is marketing products – be it as a gift with a logo of the company to give to its distributors (the product that you want to promote or other useful one of the company’s) or a prize competition with the company logo creating a buzz and the granting of personal attention to customers and distributors around the particular product helps promote it. Promotion is measured not only in an instant effectiveness manifested in purchasing but also in a long-term investment. The distribution of your brand, and not only your product by gifts branding ensures that people are seeing your name and your logo and it’s etched in people’s memories. When people notice the logo for the first time they will start to pay attention to it more and more until it becomes known and known is comfortable and people want to be near what makes them comfortable… so a small and harmless gimmick can be your key to success.
Sale promotion does not have to be physical, and nowadays can also be sales promotion online. Using software that allows direct communication with customers in real time as they browse the site, such as SiteHood – that via live chat increases online sales.
You can carry out promotional activities in real time – so for example you can conduct a competition for a few hours or days, which is based on personal and human interaction. When a customer takes part in the competition he’s not only getting a branded product, but also receives a face and a name he can work with and trust. So the competition is an open for interaction with sales and service personnel who are waiting for them online and later on – for the sale.
The Internet allows us to also produce online customer service – which significantly impacts on creating a stronger relationship with the customer – thus increasing web sales.
