Sales promotion, one of the oldest marketing strategies is still widely used today. As a customer, chances are high that most of us have bought something because of this strategy. So what is sales promotion? And why is it used? Let’s discuss these two things at length in this article.
What is sales promotion?
In simple words, sales promotion can be defined as a marketing strategy, wherein in order to increase demand and sales of the product, short term initiatives are used to attract the customers. This marketing strategy can be aimed at any type of stakeholder. As a consumer, common examples of this strategy include schemes like ‘buy one get one free’, or discount on the product in focus. Sales promotion is based around such schemes. As customers, we often go for products like these, primarily to save money. This is also the reason that this strategy can help to attract new and potential customers too.
It can also help to increase and stimulate the demand of the product in focus. When there is a drop in price, customers might get attracted towards the product and the demand for it is likely to increase. Further, sales promotion can also help to create brand awareness on a certain level amongst new and potential customers too. Let’s discuss the objectives behind the usage of this tool, and why is it used by brands.
Objectives of using sales promotion
There can be many reasons and objectives for using this marketing strategy. Some of which are:
Launching new products
Often when a new product is launched by a brand, it is hard for the brand to instantly create a market for it. Sales promotion can be a helpful strategy in such times. It can help to attract customers to the newly launched product in a highly competitive market like today’s. Being the best PR agency in Delhi, we understand the importance and advantages of using this marketing tool.
Attracting new customers
Another objective behind using this marketing strategy can be to attract new customers. Because of the benefit the scheme offers, even customers that usually don’t buy from that particular brand might feel tempted to do so. This strategy helps to attract new customers, and often if the customers like the product enough. They might even come back to buy more from the brand in the future.
Increasing brand awareness
Sales promotion can also be an important tool when the brand is trying to create or increase brand awareness. Different types of sales promotion schemes are designed in a way that they attract more and more customers. This is also the reason that brands can aim to achieve more brand awareness through this strategy.
Competing in the market
The market today is a very crowded one. There are many products available within the same category, and product differentiation is harder to achieve, with each day. Sales promotion can offer many ways to compete with other brands in the market. With the many possibilities the strategy offers, the brand can choose the one that works for them, their audience, and their products, and can adapt it to stay competitive in the market.
Selling remaining stock
Another popular reason why brands often use this strategy is to sell out remaining of the stock. Especially when it comes to clearance campaigns, sales promotion is often used as it helps to clear out stock more easily. You might have come across sales that happen when a particular season, like summer or winter ends. These are examples of sales promotion strategies being used. As brands want to make room for newer collections and launches, they use sales promotion. Brands, in these cases often run total clearance campaigns when users can buy goods from old collections at extremely reduced prices.
To summarize, sales promotion is hence, a short term marketing initiative by brands, wherein the main goal is to increase sales and demand of the product. There is a time frame attached to this marketing tool. Further, it is also often used for various reasons like to sell out remaining stock, to compete in a highly competitive market, and to increase brand awareness. It is a very useful tool when used at the right time and can benefit both the brand and the audience.
