Consumer promotions are incentives aimed toward a company’s customers. Promotions are used to gain potential customers or keep current customers satisfied. Consumer promotions are geared toward customer needs and wants. There are many types of consumer promotions to boost sales and keep the customer coming back. Companies often use market researchers to develop consumer promotion ideas.
Companies can also utilize Trade Promotions to increase product visibility and brand awareness with consumers. Trade Promotions can also increase a product’s consumption rate, or the average quantity of a product used by consumers in a given time period. Furthermore, effective Trade Promotions can enlarge a product’s market segment penetration, or the product’s total sales in proportion to the category’s competition. Moreover, companies use Trade Promotions to improve distribution of their product(s) at retailers and strengthen relationships with retailers. Lastly, Trade Promotions can be leveraged to introduce new product launches into retail stores. Some types of promotions include:
Coupons
Coupons offer instantly redeemable savings on certain products. Coupons can be featured on In-Store Displays, on their own, or on the product. Coupons instantly reduce the price of a product, making it more desirable to consumers. Coupons can have both advantages and disadvantages. Coupons create brand awareness. The consumer sees the brand name on the coupon even when the coupon is not redeemed. Coupons also encourage consumers to purchase a specific brand on the next trip to the store.
Contests and sweepstakes
Contests normally require the participant to perform some type of activity. The winner is selected based on who performs best or provides the most correct answers. No purchase is required to enter a sweepstakes. Consumers can enter as many times as they wish, although it is permissible for firms to restrict customers to one entry per visit to the store or some other location. The problems with Contest and Sweepstakes are the cost, consumer indifference and clutter.
In-store displays
In-store displays are promotional fixtures in retail stores. Variations of in-store displays include Point-of-Sale Displays, which are located near cash registers to encourage impulse buying; Floor Stickers, or advertisements for products on the aisle of a store; Feature Displays, which can be located at the end of an aisle to draw attention to a product; and Special Racks, or manipulation of a store shelf to make more space available for a product or bring attention to the promoted product. In-store displays can be perceived as more visually appealing to consumers than product alone on a retail shelf.
Premiums
Premiums incentivize consumers to purchase a product with a tangible benefit, such as a no-obligations gift. Premiums make the product offer more valuable to consumers by including a related product for no additional cost.
Rebates
Rebates offer money back to the consumer. Unlike coupons, rebates cannot be used immediately, but instead must be mailed to the product’s manufacturer. Consumers benefit from the lower price, while companies benefit because not every consumer will redeem the offer.
Sampling
Sampling allows consumers to try the product either in-store or via free samples before buying it. This can reduce consumers’ apprehension about buying a new product or introduce them to a product they were unfamiliar with before.
Temporary price reductions (TPR)
Temporary price reductions are either directly or indirectly lower the cost per unit of a product. Examples include “cents off” promotions, where manufactures or retailers temporarily reduce the price of a product, and Bonus Pack promotions which offer extra product for free. Consumers benefit from either paying a lower price on a product or getting more of a product for less money.
Want more? Learn about traditional coupons, in-store coupons, digital coupons, or coupon redemption tactics.
Or, check out the following blogs focusing on consumer promotions:
Digital Coupon Redemption Rates
Consumer Promotions Tactics & Techniques
RAVEN5 is a contest marketing agency, that works with clients in developing and administering consumer programs in Canada and the United States. RAVEN5 works with clients to develop strategies and tactics with a focus on both traditional, digital and online coupons as well as redemption solutions that work for both B2B and B2C consumers. RAVEN5 Ltd. are leaders in Consumer Promotions that produce results.