If you are looking for a story about large hairy creatures with big feet, this isn’t for you. But if helping your clients realize greater sales and thereby generating more sales for you too, is interesting, please read on!
Regardless of the academic articles telling us there are 4”P”s (or 7 or 9) to marketing, promotion is always on the list. But for many businesses promotion takes a back seat or is completely missing. Add the fact that promotion is not really understood and the missing link of promotion becomes obvious.
A business can offer the best product or service ever conceived but communicating that to potential customers requires specific activity and messaging. Price promotion is the most common way businesses try to stimulate sales. Generally the announcement of the promotion is broadcasted. Offering a reduced price can be a call to action and cause people already shopping for something to make a purchase. But unless the details of the price promotion are delivered to potential customers, it will have no effect.
Also problematic is that a price promotion can easily and immediately be duplicated or even bettered by a competitor and broadcasting the offer alerts competitors to the marketing promotion.
Obviously any promotion is better than no promotion. Developing promotions that do not rely on discounting is a place where you can bring great value to your clients.
Here are some recent or pending promotions that can’t be duplicated quickly enough to be a problem. Keep in mind that using promotional products to carry marketing messages prevents (for a while) competitors from learning about the promotion your client is doing.
A landscape company hand delivered planter kits (fiber flower pot, soil and seeds) with a wrap label that offered a free spring cleanup with a lawn cutting/maintenance contract or any landscaping job. The distribution was focused on neighborhoods that had good potential for success and/or had current customers. The results are substantial and the cost of the promotion was “covered” with the first new account!
An enterprise computer systems installation and maintenance company offered a free computer tune up of personal laptops for employees of their business clients. The offer was creatively displayed on a mousepad and distributed by the client to every employee. It is considered by the client as a valuable added benefit for their employees, noted to prospects in job interviews and has also led to several referrals.
An orthopedic and sports medical clinic realizing that sports injuries tend to happen again, wanted to guarantee that they were the first choice for medical attention when needed. Their promotional products media representative helped to produce custom calendars with tips on how to prevent injury. Calendars were given to all patients currently receiving care and mailed to patients that they helped the previous year. While not a direct price promotion for the clinic, the calendar included coupons from local businesses with some offering discounted products or services. The participation of these additional sponsors covered a large part of the promotion cost and also added additional free distribution.
A luxury exotic pre-owned auto dealership wanted to tap into the impromptu car show attendees that frequent these parking lot shows. They drove a Ferrari F40 to attract lots of attention and gave people imprinted interior car dusters and an invitation to stop by the dealership for a free car wash kit. The promotion launched in May 2023 and is still generating traffic to the dealership.
Promotion works. Happy clients produce more business for everyone.
Gregg Emmer managed Kaeser & Blair’s marketing, catalog publishing and vendor relations for more than 30 years. Prior to arriving at K&B in 1991 he owned and operated a graphic communication company featuring promotional products and full service printing. Today Emmer’s consulting work provides marketing, public relations and business planning consulting to a wide range of businesses including promotional industry suppliers, venture capital and market research companies. If you are interested in growing your business (or privately commenting on articles) contact Gregg at gregg.promopro@gmail.com.