Different strategies used in consumer sales promotion for better sales
Every brand wants more sales, bigger customer base, and more revenue for which they integrate different strategies to enhance their sales and revenue. One of the most common approaches to be implemented is integrating a consumer sales promotion strategy.
Further in this blog we are going to discuss these consumer sales promotion strategies that you can implement in your business for better sales and generate more revenue.
Understanding Consumer Sales Promotion Strategies
Consumer sales promotion is a marketing strategy implemented by a brand that influences the customer to make an immediate purchase. For this brands employ different strategies such as discounts, coupons, free gifts, rewards and others.
This is done by creating a sense of urgency which pushes the customer to avail the limited time offer and reap the benefits of the purchase offer. Some of the most common approach used in a consumer sales promotion method are:
Free samples
Brands offer free samples of their products along with the original purchase of the consumer. This is usually used to introduce a new product in the market. This allows the customer to use the free sample of the product which then creates the demand of the product in the market and hence, creating more sales for the company.
Here the brand is not only promoting its new product but also creating the demand of the product before its availability in the market which creates a buzz about the brand, hence attracting more customers and more sales & revenue for the brand.
Limited time discount
Another approach for a consumer sales promotion plan is by offering a limited time discount price on certain products. Usually these products are the ones that are in enough quantity and the brand is trying to clear out the stock. However, this plays with the customer’s psychology and triggers them to buy the product due to its attractive discounted price.
Free trial
Certain brands also offer a limited time free trial of their premium products. This allows the brand to promote their products and also create a demand for the premium product as well which will further trigger more customers to be associated with the brand.
For this you can include a partner like RewardPort and leverage their services such as Subscription Nation to offer subscriptions of a premium platform for a limited or free trial period.
Free gifts
As part of a consumer promotion strategies, few brands also offer free gifts to consumers on purchase of a fixed amount or a certain product. This way the customer is inclined to make a purchase of the fixed amount to get the free gift. For integrating such a consumer sales promotion method you can browse services of RewardPort and integrate the most suitable approach such as Sweepstakes or At home rewards.
Discount coupons
Offering discount coupons that can be used on the next purchase is an assured way brands use to ensure a repeat purchase. Offering these discount coupons allows the customers to further leverage the offers and make more purchases. Additionally, customers further recommend the brand to their friends and family creating a word of mouth marketing initiative. This further provides the brand with an enhanced customer base and increased sales & revenue, generating more profit for the company.
Benefits of Integrating Consumer Sales Promotion Plan
Now that we have discussed the most common approaches used by a brand as part of their consumer sales promotion design, here are some benefits that as a brand you can leverage implementing consumer sales promotion strategies.
Enhanced customer base
Employing a consumer sales promotion method allows a brand to enhance their customer base as more and more people would wish to avail the benefits of a consumer promotion strategies, hence they would get associated with the brand.
Increased brand awareness
With a successful consumer sales promotion plan, brand awareness is increased as more customers get aware of the campaigns run by the brand and the benefits of the strategy being reaped by other customers.
Increased brand recognition
Consumers would easily recognize the brand among other brands as they have an emotion towards the brand. It further allows the customer to pick the brand among various other brands.
Increased revenue and sales
Enhanced recognition and awareness leads to increased customer loyalty and customer base which in the end increases the sales and revenue of the brand, hence, more profit for the brand.
Word of mouth marketing
As more customers would be getting associated with the brand, they would talk about their experience with the brand. This word of mouth marketing would enable the new customers to trust the brand and make their investment with the brand.
RewardPort and Consumer Sales Promotion
While integrating a consumer sales promotion plan in your brand it is essential to consider the goals and objectives of the brand. You also need to keep a close check on the target audience group in this approach. Further, you are required to have a suitable partner that can help you implement and integrate this consumer sales promotion method in your existing brand strategy.
RewardPort is one of the leading loyalty program providers in India which also offers consumer sales promotion design and allows your brand to integrate the process for expanding your customer base and generating more sales and revenue.
With RewardPort you get a highly professional team, seamless integration, value for money investment and can keep a track of all the activities as well. Further with RewardPort it is simpler to pick the right strategy for your brand and implement it for your benefit.
For more details, get in touch with the expert team of RewardPort and let us handle the consumer sales promotion strategies for your brand.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
Most common consumer sales promotions are discount coupons, limited offer price, free samples, free gifts, and free trials.
A discount means that you can avail the product at a discounted price for a limited time only and you need to make the purchase right away for the discount to be implemented. Whereas, a coupon is something that you can avail later in the time on purchase of a different product. A coupon further ensures return purchase by the customer.
Loyalty programs in consumer sales promotions are rebates, and point-based system.
11 Consumer Sales Promotion Tactics to Generate More Business Faster
Consumer sales promotion tactics are the strategies that businesses use to boost their sales during a particular time. The only way for a business to succeed is by gaining more customers and selling products or services. You must inform them about it and increase sales with the appropriate consumer sales promotion techniques.
Successful companies use sales promotions to boost sales, increase brand awareness, and improve customer satisfaction. All these factors are critical and ultimately drive more sales. You can find several examples of sales promotions that different businesses use. However, not all of them might be suitable for your business.
First, you can identify your business goals and plan sales promotion strategies accordingly. Here are some most effective consumers sales promotion strategies to drive more sales faster:
1. Discount Coupons
Offering products at discounted prices is one of the oldest yet most effective sales promotion techniques. The end-of-season sales are great examples of such discounts. Customers wait for end-of-season sales to purchase the products they couldn’t afford to buy during the season. Discounts are beneficial both for customers and retailers. Customers can buy more for less price, and retailers can clear their stock faster.
Apart from running seasonal discount offers, you can provide discount coupons to your customers for their next purchase. If customers have your discount coupons, they are more likely to return to your store before they expire. This is how you can drive repeat business and encourage customers to purchase more often.
2. Free shipping/returns
Consumers do consider the shipping cost while making online purchases, especially when it’s their first purchase from a brand. They are most likely to change their purchasing decision if high shipping costs are associated with a product. If your brand is charging a shipping fee on its products, you might be missing out on many potential customers.
Most customers don’t want to spend money on a product if they doubt its quality, usage, life, etc. With high shipping costs and no guaranteed returns, the overall price of the product becomes expensive, and the purchase seems riskier to the customer. Offering free shipping and guaranteed returns with a 100% refund reduces the customers’ fear of wasting money on the wrong product.
3. Contests & Giveaways
Running prize contests online or offline is one of the simplest and most efficient ways to increase brand awareness and boost sales. These contests create healthy competition among your customers, making it interesting for them to participate. Social media contests can be very powerful and bring unexpected results. Some common examples of social media contests include:
- ‘Top Spenders Offer’ under which the top spenders of the week or month are awarded. These contests aim to boost the overall business revenue.
- ‘Purchase to Win’ contests under which a brand chooses random buyers of a particular product as winners. These contests are focused on boosting the sales of the product.
- ‘Like, Comment, and Share to Win’ contests under which the participants are rewarded for sharing your brand’s official social media page with their friends. These contests are aimed at increasing brand awareness.
4. Buy 1 Get 1 Free
BOGO deals are the most popular consumer sales promotion tactics for retail businesses. The idea of getting two items for the price of one seems amazing to the customers. Businesses generally run BOGO offers to clear the stock or to encourage customers to purchase a newly launched product.
It also increases brand awareness as many customers share the free product with their family or friends. Though it is the same as a 50% discount, calling it a BOGO deal is more impactful as freebies attract more customers.
5. Free Samples
If you allow your customers to try your product for free, most of its buyers would have never bought it without trying it. Customers don’t want to spend money on a product without knowing whether it works for them or not. You can offer free samples of the new product with a popular product that most of your target audience knows about.
This has dual benefits. It boosts the sales for your main product and introduces your new product in the market. After trying the free sample product, many customers may buy it.
6. Flash Sales
Big discount offers become more effective when combined with limited periods. The duration can be anything between 24 hours to 30 days depending on your stock availability and customer interests. Flash sales develop a fear of missing out among your customers. Under these sales, products are offered at heavy discounts for a limited duration.
You can build excitement ahead of time by announcing the sale launch date. This creates a sense of urgency, and your customers buy their favorite products as soon as the sale is live.
7. Bundle Products
Bundle products or combo offers discounts on related products when you buy them as a bundle. For example, a combo of shampoo (priced at Rs 150) and a conditioner (priced at Rs 120) can be offered at a combined price of Rs 230.
This encourages customers to buy combo packs instead of buying only one product to save some money. Bundle offers can move your inventory faster as you sell more products with a low discount.
8. Loyalty Reward/Cashback Programs
Research has shown that gaining a new customer can be five times more expensive than retaining an existing one. This is why customer loyalty is important for every business. Running a continuous loyalty program is one of the best ways to motivate customers to stay loyal to your brand.
Loyalty programs can be of different types:
- Rewards-based programs
- Cashback-based programs
- Tier-based programs
Under these programs, your customers get rewarded every time they make a purchase. For successful loyalty programs, you need to make sure that you offer interesting redemption options against these reward points. These programs can retain customers only if the rewards you offer are valuable and useful for them.
9. Referral Discount
Referral discounts help you increase your market reach by encouraging your customers to recommend your brand to their friends. You can offer discounts to your customers and their referral friends when they purchase your products. The referral program becomes more efficient when you give a higher discount for more referrals.
You can also offer them incentives for sharing their experiences with your product on social media. Consumers believe in user-generated content more than a brand promoting itself.
10. Scratch Cards
Scratch Cards are like mystery offers. You can offer scratch cards with different discounts, such as 5%, 10%, and 25% discount. The customers only know their reward after they purchase and scratch the gift card. Human minds are curious, and curiosity makes them participate in the offer to see what they get inside the scratch cards. Once they get a discount, they will most likely purchase before the discount coupon expires.
11. ‘Spin to Win’ Contests
‘Spin to Win’ contests are one of the best ways to include gamification in your sales promotion and make it interesting for your customers. You can run a ‘Spin to Win’ contest on your website or offline store. Provide your customers with an opportunity to spin the wheel once every day. You can include reward points, cashback, discounts, and a few big prizes in this wheel.
Make sure that they win something most of the time. If not discounts and rewards, they should at least get a few reward points for spinning the wheel. They can redeem these rewards once they have collected significant points.
This motivates them to visit your website at least once every day. These contests also help you increase your brand awareness through word of mouth.
How Can RewardPort Help?
RewardPort is a reward and loyalty solutions providing company. RewardPort can help you plan and run a sales promotion strategy that works for your business and aligns with your customer interests.
The marketing experts at RewardPort take every business detail into account and run sales promotions exclusively for your business. Your marketing campaigns are not restricted to one or two platforms with RewardPort but are executed on multiple platforms, including on the web, offline, SMS, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions: -
Sales promotions aim to attract potential customers by reducing the prices of products. These techniques encourage customers to purchase a product they would not have bought at their original price. Sales promotions help you acquire new customers, boost sales, retain customers, increase brand awareness, and ultimately increase gross revenue.
Some most common mistakes to avoid when implementing consumer sales promotions are:
- Not defining your target audience
- Not being consistent
- Spending a lot on promotions without proper research
- Not tracking results to optimize future campaigns
Consumer sales promotions aim to increase your sale and volume of inventory churn. You may need to use sales promotion tactics to clear old and aging inventory, move stores, renew your stock, and counter similar challenges. All these activities can result in higher revenue, however, may reduce your profit margin.