You have high quality and affordable products to provide, and services to offer to the public. But at the end of the day, when you check your register, your sales are below your expected results.
It seems that the business plan that you have sketched out is not working at all. If your business only creates expenses and produces minimal income then something may be lacking. One remedy is to review your sales promotion strategies. Next, make the necessary adjustments.
Sales Promotion Strategy
Sales promotion is a manner of persuading customers to buy your products and services. It is convincing the public to be part of your business deal. They can become retailers, distributors, or buyers.
However, sales promotion alone does not produce loyal customers. There are still other elements such as the quality of products and services, affordability, marketing, and customer service.
Analyzing your sales promotion strategies can help you better align your products and services to the customers who need them most. This is an important step towards increasing your revenue and having a sustainable business.
Types of Sales Promotion Strategies
There are three types of sales promotion strategies. Choose the type of Sales Promotion Strategy depending on where you are now, what you do, and what you want your business to look like in the future.
Push Promotional Strategy
This strategy is directed to retailers and distributors. The Push Promotion focuses on how the manufacturer convinces the retailers and distributors. It connects the manufacturer to retailers and distributors.
Pull Promotional Strategy
Pull Promotional Strategy focuses on the buyers. It is how the manufacturer, retailers, and distributors convince the buyers. It connects the manufacturer, retailers, and distributors to the buyers.
Push and Pull Promotional Strategy
The last strategy is a combination of Push and Pull Strategies.
What to Consider in Choosing a Strategy
Products and Services
One of the most important elements in running a business is, of course, the quality of what you offer. Make sure that you know the inconvenience you are trying to solve by means of your product and service. As much as possible, be better than your competition in the market.
Target Market
Be familiar with the people you are dealing with. These are people from different age brackets, or gender identities, or cultural upbringing. Know your customers. You will have to adjust your product and service depending on their needs.
Location
You should know where your buyers are. Some small businesses thrive because they are in the right place and time. They do not, in fact, offer outstanding products and services.
They just happened to be where they should be. This brings a lot of advantages. So, place your business where your buyers are.
Supply and Demand
What is the demand for your product or service? If you are a service provider and you have to schedule services months in advance, then you are in high demand, and due to your limited availability, your prices can be higher.
If you have products that everybody wants, then your supply will be limited and the prices will be higher. In the opposite case, if you have a large supply of products that people just aren’t buying, you will need to consider lowering your prices. The supply is high and the demand is not there. These are some things to think about when pricing your products and services.
Goal
Set a particular goal you wish to achieve. Of course, having higher sales is already an obvious goal. However, you need to ask yourself to look at the bigger picture. What long-term goals do I want to accomplish in my business venture? Set an achievable and workable business goal.
Practical Strategies to Boost Your Sales
Free Taste
Free items are hard to find nowadays. Let your retailers, distributors, and buyers have a free taste of what you offer. This is a push and pull sales promotion at the same time.
Offering them a free experience of your product and service convinces them to buy from you. It can be the other way around, so, be careful. When you do this, you will create a certain kind of public demand for your product and service.
Coupons and Vouchers
A coupon is a document that provides discounts or rebates for a product or service. On the other hand, a voucher is also a kind of document that has a monetary value for a particular product and service.
Both are pull strategies. These two will encourage buyers to purchase your product or service, at a discounted price.
For example, offer coupons during holidays or other special occasions. Alternatively, sell vouchers as gifts during Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.
Incentives
Offer a free product or service as an incentive after a successful sale. This will entice your buyers to stay loyal and buy more from you down the road. Imagine, acquiring another item for free by buying what you intended to buy in the first place.
For example, give a shoe cleaner away for free when someone purchases a pair of shoes from your store. Another example is to offer a free facial scrub when someone purchases a haircut in your salon.
This persuades your buyers to be part of your business deal. Why? They will get more from the amount they usually spend on a particular product or service.
Exhibitions
Exhibit your products and services on different platforms. This is both pull and push sales promotion strategies. This is the most traditional and common way of promoting your products and services. But, this is also the most underrated.
There are now different platforms available to you. You may choose from print, television, radio, and online platforms. Nowadays, the use of an online platform is the most efficient strategy. Why? It is not as expensive. It is a convenient way for you to promote your product and service.
Everybody seems to be present online through different social media sites. Maximize this strategy because you will reach your target market wherever they are.
Membership
Exclusivity is not always negative. Remember, you have a group of people you wish to do business with – your target market. Invite them to join an exclusive membership program. Offer them exclusive gifts, vouchers, coupons, and other benefits only for them.
Imagine having guaranteed sales on a regular basis because your exclusive members will provide the needed sales.
Conclusion
Higher sales are one of the manifestations of your business success. Make sure that you use the right sales promotion strategies available to you. These strategies may appear risky but they are worth a try. Always measure your results so that you can see what works best for your business.
