Chapter 8 - Sales Promotions.docx - Chapter 8 Sales...

Chapter 8: Sales Promotion
Sales Promotions
Promotions are activities that focus on making a sale, usually in a short period of time. When planning
and implementing promotions, the marketing organization provides an offer to customers in return for
something they must do.
The right promotion must be offered at the right time if the offer is to bring true benefit to the brand or
company
Sales Promotion : an activity that provides incentives to bring about immediate response from customers,
distributors and an organization’s sales force
 The consumer or final user must be motivated to take advantage of the offer
 The distributor (reseller of goods) must be motivated to support the offer by providing
merchandising support
 The company’s sales force must be motivated to sell the promotion to its trade customers
Consumer Promotion: an incentive offered to consumers to stimulate purchases or encourage loyalty
 Ex. coupons, free samples, contests, rebates, price incentives and rewards programs
 These types of promotions are planned to help pull the product through the channel of
distribution
Pull : demand created by directing promotional activities at consumers or final users, who in turn pressure
retailers to supply the product or service
 Many companies now include experiential marketing activities in their promotion strategies
 Consumer promotion can play a key role in an integrated marketing communications plan
 “What would best convince you to try a new brand of beer?”
o Product sampling and tasting events – 42.6%
o Giveaways – 20.6 %
o Contests – 14.3%
o Television advertising – 7.8%
Trade Promotions : an incentive offered to channel members to encourage them to provide marketing and
merchandising support for a particular brand
 Ex. discounts and allowances, cooperative advertising funds, dealer premiums and incentives, and
point-of-purchase materials
 Such promotions push the product through the channel of distributions
Push: demand created by directing promotional activities at intermediaries, who in turn promote the
product or service among consumers
To be successful, an organization must determine what type of promotion will contribute the most to
achieving its objectives. In most cases, it is a combination of consumer and trade promotions
 Such a decision is based on the market analysis that precedes the development of any sales
promotion plan

Sales Promotion Planning
Like any other component of the marketing communications mix, a sales promotion plan is but one
component of a much larger plan
 It must directly fit into the marketing communications plan and play a role in achieving the
specific objectives that are identified in that plan
 Whereas advertising plans have a long-term perspective and longer-term objectives, the sales
promotion plan adopts a short-term view and achieves objectives of more immediate nature
Sales promotions are activities that complement advertising
