Consumer Sales Promotion – Doing it the Right Way

Sales promotion plays a vital role in promoting the products and its sales. As sales promotion is an activity directed towards the channel members as well as the end consumers. Each type of sales promotion has different types of activities involved like sales promotional tools that work good for wholesalers and distributors may not be appropriate for consumers. Similarly, sales promotion tools deployed for end consumers may be ineffective when employed against the wholesalers and retailers. Some of the most widely used ways to entice customers are discussed here:

1.Lucky draws
2.Free samples
3.Loyalty rewarding
4.Free product extras
5.Events invites
6.Discount coupons
7.Special price offers for limited periods
8.Trading opportunities
9.Consumer involvement in product design (lays chips)

1.Lucky draws
In this type of sales promotion the company usually asks the customers to send the empty packets or coupons of the product. The company then announces special prizes for the lucky ones out of draw. This scheme in the past has significant impact on the sales increase. This is one of the most costly methods of sales promotion but can have instant impact, provided the whole campaign has been handled well.

2.Free samples
This kind of technique is employed for either a new company and its new product or an existing company with a new product. At times the product’s packaging is changed. This also needs to be communicated to the customer. In this case small number of free samples is also given to the customers. Usually this method is used for two purposes. First is that customers should be able to identify the product. Second, the customer should use it without cost to know the utility he can derive from the use of that product. A company that persuades costumers through its products quality but due to lack of customer’s attention towards the specific product usually tries it to take advantage from this kind of promotion.

3.Loyalty rewarding
Under this method a company rewards customers for his regular purchase of the product or service offered. This technique not only helps to retain customers, but also making this realization to customer that company values his decision to purchase its products.


4.Free product extras
When the competition amongst companies on certain products gets intense, they often struggle hard to get the attention of their customers. When the products of different companies usually provide the same utility, then customers start comparing their prices and quantities. Usually a company charging more money for smaller quantities has to readjust its quantities or give some extra quantity in same price.

5.Events invites
At times the companies want to see the direct reactions of the customers to their products. In this search, companies often try to organize events that involve competitions while consuming their products. Like a detergent maker might hold a competition amongst house wives for washing clothes or other fun relating activities like a paint competition among kids. It is not necessary that the company’s events directly relate to its product. The company however tries its best to establish a connection, so it can promote the use of its products.

6.Discount coupons
Discount coupons are also one of the most widely used methods by a company to promote its products. In this method the company sends discount coupons hidden in its boxes. The customer who gets the discount coupons is sure to get the benefit. So he will usually make the purchases at discounted rates. Companies at times give time limits attached to the coupon. By including this intended pun, the companies cleverly make the customers go for purchases within a specified time. This helps company boost its sales for a specified period of time.

7.Special price offers for limited periods
In this case the company’s target is to increase sales only for a specific period. The company offers products at discounted rates for limited time.

8.Trading opportunities
Some of the companies also offer a trade in for older products. There are hundred of examples on it. For example television makers have long used this technique. By this way the consumers are given some reimbursement on the new purchase made.

9.Consumer involvement in product design
There is another sales promotion method which is very unique and advance. This type of method has been in vogue for quite some time now. One of the major benefits of this method is that when the consumer is involved in making of a product, he then not only appreciates the product but also uses it. He considers it as a product of his own creativity.

Source:
UK Wholesalers

Budgeting Tips for small business start ups

In simple words budget is an estimation of all costs, expenditures and of course the profits you might incur in a specific time period, budgets are made normally on yearly or quarterly basis. Just like any other plan, it’s better to put your financial plans in writing. It’s easier to analyze and improve a documented plan which is in front of your eyes instead of analyzing bits and pieces in your mind. A budget can also help in pinpointing the culprits (biggest expenditures); you can make changes on sheet and see the impacts in overall profit/loss of your business. Big businesses have got their financial experts to do this planning, however not all small businesses need to hire such experts. You can do it yourself by keeping in mind the following guidelines.

First, no matter how tightfisted you are, do not play down the expenditures. In other words, employ as many of your cost saving skills in actual business dealings as you can, but don’t give too much weight to these skills while budgeting. For the reason that it will make your business look a lot more profitable then what it will turn out to be. Therefore, don’t be too positive when making estimates for expenditures and profits. The toughest part of budgeting is to make estimation for future sales, no matter how much research you’ve carried out, you can never predict sales with accuracy. If you’ve got some sales or marketing staff, you must discuss and ask them to make sales predictions based on their experience.

You can get lots of small business budgeting templates at internet for free, where you just need to put values and you’ll get the total amount for sales, revenues and profit/loss. These templates are designed by professionals, and they will prompt some expenditure that you’d have forgotten to include. Coming to the second part, which is review and correction. Don’t worry if you found the actual expenditures or profits are different from the budgeted amount (it was supposed to happen because a budget is after all an estimation). Another thing to remember is that your small business budget is not some commandment that must be followed and not be changed. You must keep an eye on the actual expenditures and keep reviewing your budget on regular basis, especially if the budget extends over one year period.

Source:
Wholesale

Keeping an eye on your advertising effectiveness

Slowly but surely, majority of businesses now understand the importance of marketing. Even the businesses with minimum resources are aware of the concept and significance of marketing. But there’s one thing that still goes without being noticed by many of them, that is advertising effectiveness. Many businesses have no idea on how to measure the success of their marketing campaigns. As a result, they keep running advertisements and marketing campaigns without really knowing if it is effectively working or not. Keeping a check on your advertising effectiveness is very important, or you may be wasting your resources on something useless, without even knowing it. On the other hand, measuring the accomplishment of your advertisement or marketing initiative is not as simple as measuring the increase in sales or inquiries.

How do we know if a commercial is effective or not?

A commercial that turns out to be extremely popular, doesn’t guarantee to be effective. For the reason, that the effectiveness of a commercial can be judged by evaluating its achievements and not by the hilarity in it. Therefore, if a commercial or any other marketing material that was meant to bring in more customers or to build a strong brand image is not effective unless there’s a positive change in the number of enquiries or the brand awareness. In fact, sometimes the storyline gets so interesting that it overrides the intended message in customer’s minds.

Setting objectives:

It is very important to jot down goals or objectives before initiating a marketing campaign. Most of the time, advertisement is targeted at generating sales but other equally important targets could be customer loyalty, product awareness, persuading customers or brand recognition. When setting objectives, make sure these are unambiguous and measurable, especially if you are delegating the project to some outside company.


Evaluating effectiveness:

Many companies test their ads or infomercials on a sample group of targeted customers to see the reaction. For small businesses that may not be possible but you can get the help from your family members or friends and ask for their opinion, the earlier you spot an ineffective medium, the better. If, after spending plenty of time and resources the end result is not impressive, don't waste more resources in distributing, publishing or making it public. Getting the accurate feedback is the key to constructive evaluation. Also, if you are trying to asses on the basis of increase in sales or revenue, don't rush into the process as soon as the commercial goes on air; you need to give it some time to develop.

Source:
UK Wholesalers