Friday, February 10, 2012

Seven Reasons Why You Should Engage in Online Sales Promotion

Imagine yourself putting up an online business. After a seemingly never - ending paper works, meetings with suppliers and putting up a catalogue - like website, you finally opened your business. You keep an eye on your website waiting for customers to browse and buy.

Of course, nothing much will happen! Do you really expect to generate the sales you've been dreaming of just by simply letting your website on its own?

Now, let's liven up your business a bit.

Give away some freebies or come up with some patronage rewards; conduct a raffle or give away some coupons. You will find that your click rates and actual sales will shoot up drastically. Tactics like these are called sales promotion.

Sales promotion activities are one of the vital tools for meeting short term objectives which ultimately brings us closer to our bottom line targets. Here's how:

It encourages trial. A hesitant potential client is more likely to perceive your product or service worthy of trial because they get something more just by trying out the product. This is crucial because people tend to adopt a new product if they are able to try it.

It motivates retrial. Customers have become a bit more wary of trying new products. It is therefore not a surprise if a client does not become a regular customer after the first try. Sales promotion ensures that they do not set aside your offer by bringing to their attention another value they can get by trying the product or service the second time.

It preempts competition. By engaging in sales promotion, potential clients are more likely to be drawn to your market offering first. If you are able to make a strong and good impression, the customers will stick with you and your competitors can no longer expect any switching to happen in their favor.

It can constitute an effective defensive action. Again, sales promotion can serve as your retaliation whenever your competition will let out a marketing campaign. This will somehow hold your client base while thwarting your competitors' efforts.

It reinforces your positioning. For example, if your positioning is being most preferred brand in the market, engaging in sales promotion can actually turn out more customers patronizing your market offering, consequently boosting your claim as No. 1. On the other hand, the market will perceive the brand as trustworthy since the business behind it can afford to implement a sales promotion program.

It encourages more usage. Because of the additional value you are giving away for every purchase, people are more likely to buy often. The common notion is that they will take advantage of the promotional offer while it lasts.

It influences customers to buy more per purchase transaction. This is especially true when the sales promotion involves giving some premiums or freebies as an incentive when customers buy in bulk.

Therefore, sales promotion must not be perceived negatively because it can serve many purposes. In this light, it is safe to say that its benefits far outweigh its cost.


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