Promotion, in particular, is a vital part of any marketing and advertising campaign. Done correctly, it holds great potential for both manufacturers and retailers. It can be what makes a product successful. However, done incorrectly, it can be a significant drain on resources and can make it more difficult and costly to get the product accepted by the targeted market. To make the most of your promotions, it is always advisable to partner with specialists and to implement technology that eases the process.
Before embarking on any promotion, it is vital to understand your intended target market so that you can cater to it exactly. Undertaking this type of research, if the information is not already in the company, is time-consuming and can often be performed with greater accuracy and effectiveness by an outsourced partner. Although it may seem obvious, be careful not to set too many promotions in motion at any one time; this reduces the effectiveness of each as management becomes more complex. Also, it is advisable to manage all promotions following the same methodology as this reduces the risk of confusion between each particular event.
Be especially careful to consider product supply issues when planning promotions. Out-of-stock occurrences in stores have a remarkably negative impact on sales. When promotions suddenly run dry of the product being highlighted, the impact is doubly negative. Not only is the product being badly promoted, if at all, but also, both the manufacturer's and retailer's reputation are negated. Worse, money is being lost in the process.
Establish adequate and effective promotion monitoring and evaluation methods and tools to empower your organisation to make realtime adjustments to promotions that are not going as planned and to learn from the mistakes and successes of events that have been completed.
Promotion measures should cover effectiveness, which can be determined by penetration and sales uplift; and efficiency, evaluated by calculating elapsed time and costs incurred. Did the targeted consumer respond as expected; which consumers purchased the promoted products; were they from the segments expected to respond; and did they purchase the products again after the event? Possibly the most important measure of any promotion is: did the event generate the expected uplift in sales?
Promoting a product fits neatly into that old adage: to make money, you must spend money. Done wisely and measured carefully, promoting product can reward you with great return on investment. Done with the help of the right technology and outsourced promotions specialist, you stand to gain even more.
