Sales promotion techniques are strategies used to increase demand for a product in the market. Every business needs a boost in sales at a point. You can achieve any sales goal with proper planning and using appropriate sales promotion techniques. You must compete with several stores around you and come up with unique ideas to stand out.

Technology is making every business grow faster, and your local store also needs the same. You need to find out the best sales promotion programs to suit your business. Whether your store is part of a larger chain or an independent one, a localised sales promotion program can help your store get in the eye of your customers.

How Do Sales Promotion Techniques Grow Your Business?

From customer acquisition to retention, sales promotion techniques make your tasks easier. You can attract more customers with sales campaigns and retain them with a good loyalty program. Every buyer looks for a lower price, and if you are offering the same, these potential buyers can become your loyal customers.

Here are some best sales promotion techniques that you can use in your local supermarket store:

1. Effective In-Store Advertisements

Your customers might have a list of things they need to buy when they visit your store. But with effective advertising, you can encourage them to try new products. You can use posters and banners to draw their attention to ongoing offers. Customers are more likely to spend beyond their needs when they get tempted by money-saving deals.

You can mix and match relevant products to offer a discount on their combined price. For example, you can combine a dishwashing liquid that costs Rs. 100 & a dishwashing glove that costs Rs. 200 and offers at a discounted price of Rs. 250. The best way to make such deals visible to your customers is through eye-catching advertisements.

Another type of advertisement that works very well is a spend-based offer. You can offer a gift or a discount coupon for spending over a certain amount. It becomes even more interesting when there are different spending thresholds for different gifts.

2. Email & SMS Marketing

The best way to follow up with your customers is by emailing them regularly. Whenever an offer or deal is going on, what do you think is the best way to get your customers to know about it? It’s email or SMS marketing. Though you don’t have to spam your customers’ inboxes, you can inform them about the offer or any new arrival if it is relevant to their interests.

Collecting customer data is important to understand their interests. For this, make sure that you have some great POS systems installed in your store that allow you to gather customers’ information, such as their name, mobile number, email Id, etc. Based on your customer’s past purchases, you can identify their interest areas and send them the most relevant emails

3. Social Media Presence

Everyone has an online presence today and so needs your local supermarket store. You might miss out on n number of customers if your store is not visible online. Create social media accounts for your store and partner with advertising agencies to promote these pages.

The most important platforms to consider for retail business are Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. To increase social media engagement, you can organize online giveaway contests and ask your customers to participate in the contests to win exciting prizes. You can also connect your Facebook and Instagram pages to a shoppable catalogue.

Along with this, you can register your store on relevant e-commerce platforms or just offer free home delivery to your customers. Having online visibility can make your business reach incredible heights that might not be possible otherwise.

4. Publish User-Generated Content

Around 80% of consumers trust buyers’ photos more than the brand’s photos. Posting User-Generated Content (UGC) on social media is an effective way to build brand trust. It is okay to showcase and promote your products online. But it might not be enough to attract new customers.

To build trust among your target audience, post pictures or videos of how people shop at your store, how much crowd is there, how your staff interacts with the consumers, etc. When people see your customers enjoying shopping at your store, they automatically start trusting your brand. UGC drives traffic to your social media accounts and your retail store.

5. Seasonal Campaigns and Trends

Along with the regular sales promotion programs, you can come up with seasonal campaigns to attract potential audiences. For example, creating gift hampers with relevant products on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can make your store a point of attraction to many. You can also launch seasonal sales like the winter or summer on leading e-commerce platforms.

6. Loyalty Program

Attracting more and more new customers through advertisements, social media, posts, etc. is okay. But retaining them is more important. Studies suggest that repeat customers spend up to 67% more than one-time customers. To ensure these repeat purchases, you need to put in every possible effort to encourage your customers to stay loyal.

This is where loyalty programs come into play. You must invest more in retaining your customers than in attracting new ones. Reward your customers for every purchase made at your store. The rewards can be monetary or non-monetary but should add value to the consumers. RewardPort can help you build a customer loyalty program that aligns with your business needs and considers your customers’ interests.

Running a customer loyalty program is one of the most popular sales promotion techniques and is very effective in encouraging repeat purchases in a business.

7. Unique Offers & Discounts

Letting your customers save more while shopping more is an effective sales promotion strategy. You can launch flash sales, BOGO deals, or percentage discounts to boost sales during a particular period. Offering a Buy One Get One deal all the time on a few products can also be very effective.

When you run such offers in your store, also make sure to let your customers know about them. This is where you can use personalised email marketing.

Build an Effective Sales Promotion Program for Your Store

To create the best sales promotion program for your business, first, you must identify your goal. You can have goals of brand promotion or sales growth, or both for your sales promotion program. However, do include elements of differentiation from your competitors. Gamification, adding exciting surprises, etc. can differentiate your sales promotion program and bring a better result.

Effective sales promotion strategy for your supermarket store should include rewards your customers like. RewardPort can give you instant access to over 10,000 rewards. You can choose a rewards portfolio for your customers that they will value. RewardPort also helps you execute sales promotion campaigns through online and offline channels.

Frequently Asked Questions: –

1. What are some common types of sales promotions?

Some common sales promotion strategies are percentage discounts, BOGO deals, flash sales, gifts with a purchase, spend-based gifts, referral discounts, etc.

2. Are there any potential downsides to using sales promotions?

Discount wars are a real disadvantage of highly competitive sales promotion techniques. One of its potential drawbacks is customers’ increased sensitivity to price. When you offer a product at discount and then raise its price, its sales can drop after the promotion. Customers then start looking for discounts and wait for such offers to be launched again.

3. How can companies effectively use sales promotions to drive sales and customer engagement?

Companies need to understand their customers’ behaviour and interests to drive sales and increase customer engagement. Identifying and defining your customer base and their needs can help you create the most suitable strategies that work for your business. You can create valuable offers for your customers if you know their interest areas and problems.