SALES PROMOTION- Marketing

Sales promotion is essentially a direct and immediate inducement that adds an extra value to the product, so that it induces the dealers and ultimate consumers to buy the product. It is defined as “those sales activities that supplement both personal selling and advertising and coordinate them and help to make them, effective, such s display, shows and expositions, demonstrations and offer non-recurrent selling efforts not in the ordinary routine”.

Sales promotion measures are temporary promotion methods. It is practiced as a catalyst and as supporting facility to advertising and personal selling.

NEED FOR SALES PROMOTION

Marketers resort to sales promotion to meet the following needs:

(1) To introduce new product.

(2) To overcome a unique competitive situation.

(3) To exhaust accumulated inventory

(4) To overcome seasonal slumps

(5) To get additional customers

(6) To retain the existing customers

(7) To supplement to the advertising effort

(8) To supplement to the salesmen’s effort

(9) To persuade the salesmen to sell the full line of products

(10) To persuade dealers to procure more.

The sales promotion effort may be aimed at consumers, traders dealers and salesmen.

Methods of Sales Promotion

The sales promotional methods aimed at consumers include:

(1) Samples

(2) Coupons

(3) Premiums

(4) Contest, Sweepstakes and Games

(5) Point and Purchase Promotion

(6) Discounts / Rebates

(7) Advertising Specialties

(8) Demonstrations

(9) Trade fairs and exhibitions

Samples

Samples are offers of a trial amount of a product. Some samples are free, for others, the company charges and small amount to offset its cost. The sample might be delivered door to door, sent by mail, handed out in a store, attached to another product, or featured in an advertisement. Sampling is most effective – but most expensive – way to introduce a new product.

Coupons

Coupons are certificates which offer price reductions to consumers during the subsequent purchase of same items. Coupons are distributed through newspapers and magazines, advertisements or even by direct mail. These are useful for introducing new product and to increase the sale of existing product.

Premium or Bonus Offer

An offer of a certain amount of product at free of cost to buyers who buy a specified amount of product is called premium offer or bonus offer. For example one silver spoon with Horlicks or plastic bucket with 1 kg. of Surf powder. A premium may come inside the package or outside the package. If reusable, the package itself may serve as a premium.

Contests, Sweepstakes and Games

In contest, an opportunity is provided for consumers to participate in a contest with chances of winning cash prizes, goods, free air tickets, cricket match tickets etc. Contests take variety of forms such as quiz contest, beauty contest, car rallies, lucky draws etc. A sweepstake involve merely inclusion of the customer’s name of his bill number who buy more than the specific value of productgs in the drawing of prizes winners. A game presents consumers with something – missing letters or completing a slogan – every time they buy, which may or may not help them win a prize.

Point of Purchase (POP) Promotion

Point of Purchase promotions include display and demonstrations that take place at the point of purchase or sale. Attractive displays of products in the shelf space to induce the consumers to buy the product.

Discount / Rebate

It is giving discount on certain products to induce buyers to buy the products. One could see grand discount sales during festival seasons on textiles, home appliances etc. to stimulate sales.

Installment offer and credit sales are other popular methods of sales promotion.

Advertising Specialties

Companies also distribute gifts to customers such as pen, calendars, diaries, table decorations etc. which will carry companies name and logo.

Demonstration

Firms resort to product demonstrations when they introduce new products. Vacuum Cleaners is a best example. Demonstrations may be done at retail stores, schools, homes and in trade fairs and exhibitions.

Trade Fairs and Exhibitions

Firms can introduce their products by displaying them in trade fairs and exhibitions to induce the buyers to buy the product. Especially in international marketing international trade fairs play a vital role.