Sales Promotions

Digital Rewards in Today’s World

Brands have been utilizing loyalty and rewards program within their customer community to keep their customers happy and well away from competition. From loyalty cards, discount coupons to scratch & win offers, brands have been using rewards as an incentive to create a customer base and also keep them loyal to the brand.

In the new digital age, such rewards have been upgraded. Digital rewards are the new ‘in’ thing that bring many advantages to both the customer and the brand. From making it easier for the customers to get their rewards to spreading the word about a brand, digital rewards have given the marketplace a new tool to expand brand reach and loyalty.

Digital rewards are both diverse and abundant. These are a few up-and-coming rewards that are catching the eye of the marketers:

eGifts

According to a study by Mercator Advisory Group, it was found that in 2015 most of the money spent on gift cards was redeemed as eGifts. With the heavy increase in digital buying, it makes more sense for brands to motivate customers through eGifts.

Moreover, brands can also use eGifts to rewards employees to acknowledge their hard work on projects or commemorate special occasions. This builds the confidence in the employees and helps with brand loyalty.

Coupons and codes

With greater numbers opting for online buying, it makes sense for brands to give their offers and discounts in the virtual world. Coupons and codes that are sent exclusively to loyal customers makes them feel special and helps retain them.

Mobile wallets

Incentives like cash backs and discounts, mobile wallets have taken online marketing by storm. Creating a niche where customers are incentivised for their buying behaviour has only increased the appeal of mobile wallets.

Benefits of digital rewards program

Increases the brand’s value

The power of digital rewards is that it gives the customer a sense of empowerment. With every amount they save or a prize they win, it helps build an image of a brand that it is not in business for the profits. It builds the image of a brand that genuinely cares about its customers.

Provides the customers with more choices

The brand gives the customers the option of choosing the kind of rewards they want. Either it would be as loyalty points that can be redeemed for discounts or gifts or in the form of promotional codes that are given to an exclusive customer community.

Customised rewards

Each reward program is made around the customer, their preferences, previous encounters with the brand and their redemption history. This makes the program more relevant and useful to the customer.

Instant gratification

Unlike the days when one had to send a letter to a brand with a token to get a gift, the digital rewards program helps both brands and customers get instant rewards. As soon as a customer provides a preferred action (like, tweet), the customer is provided with their reward. It needs less effort from the customer too.

Get rewarded anytime, anywhere

There is no limit to the application of digital rewards. People can be rewarded just by signing up for a newsletter and this can be done from anywhere. Because of the high mobility of the digital market, people can redeem their rewards just about anywhere.

Brings positive interaction between brand and customer

Everybody likes free gifts. Digital rewards help people collect more rewards doing what they do the most nowadays – being a part of the social media sphere. Reward programs also help in spreading the news about a brand since people share the newest offers with their friends and family.

Incentive to be a loyal customer

With the reward point application, people tend to stay loyal customers to get greater rewards over time. But the rewards need to be good enough to keep the customers interested.

Helps engage on the social media

Facebook and Twitter are where most of a brand’s customer base is situated. Potential customers also reside in the digital sphere. Having current customers talk about a brand on their social media helps in increasing exposure and value. Digital rewards do just that by giving customers freebies when they engage with the brand on social media.

Cost-effective

The cost of setting up a digital rewards platform takes less money than the traditional card-based loyalty programs. It is also easier for customers to check-up on their points and look for other offers that are available.

As can be seen, ‘digital rewards’ is the new mantra to creating a brand identity that is more personal and effective.
With RewardPort programs, your brand gets higher visibility among its customers.

Omni Channel Engagement for Small and Mid-Size Companies

A recent study showed that customers are 58 percent more likely to tell others about their experience with a brand than they would have done five years ago. One important outlet for this exchange is the social sphere which gives consumers and businesses the opportunity to reach lots of people.

As the taste of consumers align with new market contexts, businesses must look for applicable ways to engage them beyond building traditional relationships. Most customers expect their vendors to engage with them through digital channels. Interestingly, it is not just one channel but an Omni channel approach. This includes the social media, the web, email and other channels.

Small and Mid-size companies must take advantage of these new outlets to drive their brand. The technological and demographic changes that are sweeping across the economic landscape have changed the playing field. Most customers prefer having their questions or problems resolved without needing to talk with a customer service agent. Furthermore, customers want to engage with a brand on their own terms; either through human interaction or a digital channel. Small and Mid-size organizations that do not offer multiple engagement channels may sabotage their relationship with their customers or remain at a competitive disadvantage.

It is important to have a portfolio of services that connect with your customers when and where they want. The Human and digital channels of interaction must be properly optimized. Every business can get a virtual receptionist team which can double as a virtual assistant. They would screen and transfer calls to a representative of a small business based on agreed schedules. Beyond the administrative functions of this team, they can process orders, make outbound calls, answer customer service questions and schedule appointments.

Another important platform is to run an effective digital engagement system. A good digital platform allows your customers to be educated on your business and product offers, amplify the sales process, resolve service issues, connect with prospects, answer customer questions and so much more.

When your Omni channel platform gives an outstanding experience to your customers, they ultimately become your brand advocates. It is essential to buttress the fact that great customer service occurs on multiple fronts. There is no leading brand that can retain a large share of the market by using one channel to reach its audience. Customers need a relevant, compelling and consistent service to remain loyal to a brand. When your business has many advocates pushing its case in the market, it creates a positive impact on your bottom-line.

On the long run, one positive customer experience reduces the number of service inquiries that you get. The customers who are loyal to your brand begin to share their good times with others. The place of good customer service goes beyond the one on one relationship you share with your customers. It is important to entrench your brand and connect with your market through the multiple channels that are available. With a careful forecast, investment and plan, any business can be able to position their brand as leaders with a viable Omni channel framework.

How to get rid of your excess inventory from retail shelves?

Available statistic shows that about 20 to 40% of most business’ capital is tied up in inventory. This portends that any business that mismanages its inventory levels even to a small degree can have a huge challenge on their hands. It can affect their capacity to operate effectively and it can place a huge burden on the Company’s finances. The more inventory any business holds the higher the likelihood of running into costly issues such as tampering, theft, damage and stock excesses, obsolescence and so much more. Also, excess inventory on retail shelves can keep you at the mercy of market fluctuations in commodity value.

Here are things you can do to get rid of excess inventory from retail shelves:

Flow with the Market

When the market value of a good dips significantly below what you paid when you were acquiring them, keeping hold of a sizeable quantity of those goods can affect your business. As any effective inventory manager will admit, there is no way to completely insulate yourself from overstock. However, you can run with a plan that helps you reduce your inventory to optimum levels. This would also aid the financial state of your business and position you for other great prospects.

The major goal of controlling your inventory level is to ensure you have enough to match the fluctuations in customer demand. You do not need to tie your cash in maintaining unnecessary stock. You can reduce inventory by communicating effectively down the supply chain. The engagements at each stage must be in sync and data driven. This will ensure that goods reach your customers without interruption while the safety stock requirements will be kept to a minimum. Some organizations use inventory management software to fulfill this role. Every process manager across the distribution channel is can be properly positioned to work with up to date data which creates effectiveness.

Get rid of surplus or obsolete inventory

Inventory management software can help a business to identify obsolete or surplus inventory. It is important to earmark the most effective way of taking out obsolete inventory. The long term damage of holding in unnecessary stock outweighs the damage of holding on to it in the short term. There are a number of channels which businesses can use to dispose unwanted inventory. The first thing to do is to categorize the stock that needs to be scrapped or thrown away, those that can be sold off and the stock that can be used within the organization.

You can also negotiate the option of returning surplus stock to the supplier. Closeout and special discount offers is a good avenue to increase customer demand and move excess inventory. Goods which are sold at a discount in an International market allow the retailer to get back part of his investment while moving the stock. As a last resort, it may be vital to give the goods to a cause or charity which will create some goodwill in the community or you can simply scrap them.

It is important for a business to invest in running with a good inventory management system. This would help to reduce the challenges in your supply chain while improving your profit margins.

Why Sales Promotion work and some don’t?

Every sales promotion begins with a business or brand making the right offer. This is true of one-time marketing concepts that help in boosting your short-term revenue or expanding your business.

The ideal sales promotion offer needs to have the following components:

1. Align with your competitive edge

2. Creates real value for your clients or customers

3. It is relevant

The usual strategy is to go for conventional offers like Discounts , extra of the same product, a related product by the same company or a freebie of excess inventory. Lets look at each aspect

1. Discounts – these work always, but to a extent. A brand cannot forever be giving discounts and get identified as “discount” brand.

2. Extra of the same product – this is a slightly better strategy than giving discount as it gives a better perceived value to the customer.

3. Get a related product – Good if want to sample your new offering that does not conflict with the existing product category

4. Give a free from your excess inventory – This may save you some monies but could give the customer a wrong impression if not communicated right.

The new approach to sales promotions is to catch the fancy (and the spend) of your customers by giving them something which is aspirational and has a much higher perceived value. Two things stand out:

1. Offer a service – Run a promotion that rewards the customer with something exciting that matches the target profile like Movies, a spa experience or mobile recharge .Something that gives instant gratification and has a high perceived value and is relevant

2. Sweepstakes with assured gift – Everybody loves to win. An assured prize giveaway with a chance to win a grand prize appeals to all. A sure win gives instant gratification and gets the brand love and a chance to win big like a car / mobile phone / dream holiday keeps them engaged .

When you have decided on the sales promotion plan that you want to implement, it is important to prop up its message and communicate effectively. This is the point where many businesses miss it in their campaigns and marketing efforts. This failure usually happens in two ways:

• They do not effectively promote their program to their clients and potential customers
• They use the wrong message or marketing tools to reach their audience
• The rewards are not exciting enough
• It’s not easy to get the free gift

A close look at the first point shows that the default sales promotion drive of most businesses is to advertise. However, advertising adds to the expense that an organization incurs. The cost of running a media campaign is high and the returns may not justify the investment made. Research shows that price-sensitive shoppers may be attracted by an advert but may not return to consummate the purchase or transaction.

There are effective ways to drive sales promotion and some of them would be discussed below.

Use your Store effectively: It is ideal to make full use of your store signage to woo buyers to the products you have on offer. The employees can strengthen the stakes by mentioning the promotion to your customers. Employee stickers/tags/buttons can talk about the promotion while promotional flyers can also do a good job. Reminders on receipts or the use of an inexpensive sticker or rubber stamp can help to drive the best returns for your business.

Embrace the Internet: You can give a strong voice to your Sales promotion by highlighting it on the main page of your website.  You can create a page that talks about your promotion and draw in a strong following by offering freebies which can help you build lists for future marketing efforts.

The Telephone: Your employees can harp on the promotion to anyone that calls your business or you can change your answering machine message to let customers know about what you are doing.

Email – You are sending out hundreds of emails everyday. Add the promotion to the footer. Its zero cost free media.

There are other powerful media which you can harness to generate the right results for your sales promotion. They include Flyer distribution, use of conventional media and word of mouth. It is important to get the word to as many people as you can through these channels. It is vital to mention that you can have a great sales promotion plan but without a strong marketing base to drive it; no one will know about it and this can lead to failure.

The best sales promotion is simply anchored on understanding your market and driving your plan to bring the returns you desire. There is a thin line between success and failure in this range but following some of the rules listed above would get the job done for you.

Effective Promotional Marketing

There is one Marketing question that always begs a detailed answer – What is the right way to go about planning a product promotion activity? It’s easier asked than answered. Over the many years that we have been working with Marketing divisions across Industry types, we have actually drawn up a list of 10 important issues that Managers must consider while planning a Promotion. While they may not be in Chronological order, each point jostles for attention. This is an attempt to assist the Marketing manager build a template for every promo; remember every promo needs the same amount of consideration before an idea is finalized.

1. Identify the Role of Incentivization

Providing added value to customers by making available an “incentive” instantly influences purchase. If the customer is convinced that he is getting more than the value he is spending on the product, it will persuade him further to make the purchase. The strategy lies in convincing the customer that he will not only receive the worth of his rupee but also supplementary benefits. These incentives may be in the form of free samples, gifts, discount coupons, demonstrations, shows, contests etc. All these measures motivate the customers to buy more and thus, it increases sales of the product. The promotion must be able to change the perceived value or price of the product or service.

2. Communicate with your consumer – offline & online.

Social media, smart-phones and the Internet are the buzzwords of marketing of the future. The customer is becoming more and more technology-friendly and accustomed to the ways of approaching products through these media. By making product promotions accessible via such media, the customers are significantly encouraged to utilize the benefits offered to them. Not only do these media influence the behavior of the customers, it is the swiftest and most effective way of reaching out to your befitting target-audience.

3. Collect, manage & nurture data.

Sales promotions are not only effective in the acquisition of new customers but also in the retention of your existing customer-base. It is essential to recognize the significance cultivating a relationship with your existing customer-base. In-order to develop and nurture relationships, it is important to firstly collect and create powerful databases. Secondly, they must be managed to eliminate unusable data in order to effectively target the usable database. The customers must be made to feel their value in the company in order to extract long term loyalty.

4. Be relevant

Sales Promotions must not only be relevant to the type of product being sold but must also suit the needs of the target-audience. If the customers are able to relate to the promotion being offered are able to comprehend it effortlessly, then the chances of the promotion resulting into a sale are higher. The sales promotion must also be able to hit the consumer at a particular behavioral stage.

5. Make sure to Customize and localize

The promotions offered must be customized to suit the requirements of the customer with regards to their demographics and psychographics. The promotions must be also be designed according to the attitude & behavior of the target-audience. They must be able to provide instant gratification on a temporary basis in-order to convince the customer to take immediate and simplistic action to achieve results of the offer.

6. Clarify objective and provide tangible benefit.

The customer will only be convinced to make the purchase of the product if they feel the value they are receiving is more than the amount they are spending. The customers must be able to measure the added value they receive along with the purchase. By offering clear objectives of the promotion, the brand is able to foster a trustworthy relationship with the customer – which is key in terms of long-term loyalty benefits.

7. Maintain timing, duration and frequency

Sales Promotions if introduced at a appropriate time can yield greater results. India is a very time driven economy; festivals, occasions and seasons are great influencers in the consumer’s purchase decisions. The promotions must be able to provide the customers with instant gratification over a temporary period and must not be repeated too often, as the customers will then be unable to differentiate the added value of these offers in comparison to the original product.

8. Engage your customer

The customer wants to be felt important and appreciated; and if the brand recognizes this need of the consumer and nurtures it, they can witness groundbreaking results. The brand must endeavor to involve the customer in promotional activities as much as possible. Any activity that engages the customer to interact with the brand – for instance contests, sweepstakes or coupons will instantly appeal to the customer’s psyche and induce a sense of association and bonding with your product.

9. Integrate sales promotion with the communication strategy

Sales promotion is an aspect of a promotional mix that includes –advertising, personal selling, direct marketing and public relations. While sales promotion is an effective tool itself, it must be used in accordance and relation to the other tools of the marketing strategy as well. Once the promotions are complemented by the other elements of the promotional mix, the efficiency of this tool will automatically be intensified.

10. Integrate sales promotions with social media

Sales Promotions must be run on social media such as _ Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare. Linkedin and Pinterest. Sufficient word of mouth is generated via social media that not only increases awareness but also heightens reach of the promotions. Integration with social media immensely intensifies the effectiveness of the campaign. The reach of social media must not be overlooked and must be used effectively to create viral effect.

10 Mistakes to Avoid in Sales Promotion

Numbers never lie and if numbers are to be believed, take a look at following industry figures of impact of sales promotions:

• Total Reach Value: 90%
• Total Recall Value: 89%
• Positive Impression On Customer: 52%

The relevance, reach and impact of meticulously planned sales promotion on customer behavior is unsurpassable; which inversely also means that if your sales promotion is not planned well, it could negatively affect your brand and business with equal values!

So, how would you ensure a flawless sales promotion plan that affirmatively reaches and affects as many people as possible? Here are the common mistakes that you should avoid to maximize the impact and minimize the remorse:

1. Thinking Single Channel

Sales promotions can elevate the sales and profits dramatically in a short time. To fetch optimum outcomes of the sales promotion activity that took much of your hard work and huge capital, it is necessary that you utilize all the channels of promotion available to you. The current advancement of print and digital media offers a beautiful amalgamation to explore infinite opportunities to boost your sales and brand value. When your consumers see you everywhere, they get inured to your brand and you gain their acceptance. Do not keep it only online (which may be fine if you are an online company) or only print promotion. Integrate all the channels ingeniously to stand ahead the crowd.

2. Not Setting A Goal Or Deadline

Launching a sales promotion program without fixed deadline or measurable goal will lead it to whole big null point. Set a start date and end date to streamline your efforts to complet everything within the stipulated time frame. This will help keeping each component of the program in track. By setting up goals, you will always have a figure in hand to achieve and to measure the success of the campaign.

3. Fixing On Presumptions

Don’t presume customer’s behavior. Never plan your sales promotions assuming that the segment you have created defines your real or limited customer base. It is very much possible that a profitable share of customers in high concentration is in the segment you do not tap your sales promotions for. Study your data patterns well to have a diverse profitability.

4. Not Solving It For Each Stakeholder

While planning your sales promotion program keep in mind how would it impact each of your stakeholder or retailers or any other patron associated to your organization. You may launch a promotional plan that attracts new customers with some special offer or benefit but would it be fair for your regular and loyal customer who may not have that benefit? Take each stakeholder into your consideration for an overall successful sales promotion program.

5. Making It Too Complex

Keeping your sales promotion plan simple makes it easy for you as well as your customers. Your customers will feel more connected and involve when the processes are simple without much complicated terms and conditions. With a simple sales promotion activity, capturing, handling and processing the data for result analysis and profit calculation gets extremely easy and effective. So, do not unnecessarily complicate things.

6. Not Keeping It Relevant

Relevancy is the essential most factor of any sales promotion program for its success and positive outcomes. Relevant program helps you in targeting your right customers and communicate with them for awareness and sales. Relevancy of the sales promotion plan also ensures that your customers are reminded about your brand or product with full intensity.

7. Communication Gap with yourTeam

For successful promotional plan, it is imperative to involve and inform all those part of your value chain that includes your team members, distributors, retailers about your plan. This provides the required thrust to pull it to an extended level for broader effect and profit.

8. Not Testing Your Assets

This is a very common mistake that is easiest to avoid. It doesn’t take much to test all your assets that you plan to consume within your promotional program to be active, available and useful. For example, you may roll on an email campaign with a broken link due to lack of adequate testing. This is a sheer waste. Avoid it.

9. Not Capturing The Data

Without capturing the data appropriately, it is impossible to measure the effectiveness and successfulness of any activity. Capture the data to realize if your plan has delivered what you expected. Capturing the data can also benefit you to apprehend new market segments and opportunities that you never thought of before.

10. Not Using The Captured Data

This is the biggest mistake companies commonly get trapped into. Before planning the next sales promotion plan, it pays largely to dig in the previously captured data to concentrate upon profitable segments along with exploring new dimensions for unconfined growth.

For a short word, make your sales promotion plan to attract new customers while also encouraging your brand power and loyal customers effectively.

These are a few common mistakes you need to be aware to ensure a flawless sales promotion. You should do everything possible to learn whatever you can about the complexities and nuances of your industry or profession–and not just once, but regularly. By knowing the potential bottom-line of impact of your sales promotion, you’ll have the information to invest the energy necessary to host a strong flawless sales promotion that will deliver boosting results over the time period it covers.

How do Businesses Benefit from Loyalty Programs?

Businesses operating in mature markets have a unique dilemma- they have to constantly look for innovative ideas to stay close to customers and differentiate themselves from competitors. The proverbial sword of low margins and fixed costs hangs over their head. And there’s also the threat of the low-price players. When price cannot be a differentiator, companies have to look for other differentiators.

One such advantage can be offered through customer loyalty programs. They don’t just discourage existing customers from switching stores, but also give businesses an edge during a price war. When done properly, loyalty programs can generate up to 20% of a company’s profit. No wonder, US companies spend around $25 billion every year on loyalty programs.

How did Loyalty Programs Start?

A lot of research conducted around the 1970s indicated that suppliers who formed a better relationship with customers tend to have ‘better customers’. Further research also indicated that better customers bring better business. It slowly began as a marketing strategy for small and medium businesses that used their database to monitor and manage customer behaviour.

Modern Day Loyalty Programs

There are plenty of loyalty programs, but most of these can be slotted into two different categories; Standalone and Coalition.

Standalone

The most common loyalty membership today is the standalone program where customers get rewarded for doing business with the company that offers the program. Points can be redeemed only within the range of products offered by the program owner.

Coalition

More than one company participates in this program. Customers are rewarded for doing business with all the participating companies. Loyalty points can be redeemed within all the products offered by the participating companies.

How do they compare against each other?

There are advantages and disadvantages associated with both these programs. Benefits of the coalition program include;

Helps attract new customers

Companies participating within the coalition program get to share and thereby attract new customers. And that too at just a fraction of the cost normally incurred on marketing and advertising.

Costs and risks are shared

Costs to set up and operate the program are shared between participants. This also applies for risks if the program fails to take off.

Ideas and practices can be shared

As partners, businesses get to share their ideas and practices through promotions. The organizing contractor often arranges meets to discuss promotion strategies and ideas.

Disadvantages of the Coalition Program Include:

There’s a reason why coalition membership programs aren’t as popular as their counterpart. The greatest disadvantage lies in the fact that they leave the customers confused about which brand to choose.

Difficult for brands to maintain individuality

Although brands are being packaged together, they’re also competing against each other. They have to struggle to maintain their individuality.

Unclear information on customer database

The customer database is the most important factor in deciding promotions and allotting budgets for the program. This database is controlled by the coalition promoter who doesn’t disclose it to avoid misuse. But without knowing and analyzing customer behavior, companies have to devise their own mechanism to derive customer data.

Problems during redemption

In a typical coalition based loyalty program, different kinds of brands may participate. Customers who’ve collected reward points cannot redeem them as they wish. This is because the redemption value of different brands would be different, and it would be low for high end brands.

Advantages of Standalone Programs:

If retaining customer loyalty is the main focus of a reward program, then standalone is the best.

Program can be identified with a single brand

Customers need not be confused about choosing from multiple brands. They can identify the program with a single brand, thus making brand promotion an easy task.

Exclusive access to customer database

Unlike coalition programs, companies choosing a standalone program have exclusive access to customer database. This helps them analyze their promotion strategies and even budget accordingly.

Consistency in strategizing and marketing

The program is designed exclusively for the participating brand. The company has complete control over every aspect including the rules and regulations related to the program. They even get to control communications related to the program. This ensures consistency and reliability.

What do customers want?

The problem with any good customer strategy is that every company wants to copy it. Almost every company wishes to or has already launched a program. Sadly, most of these fail miserably; not because of a fault with the concept, but because it isn’t based on careful judgment. Every loyalty program should include;

Rewards that customers can relate to

The reward program should offer instant rewards and not expect people to wait for a long period until the points can be redeemed. Customers are attracted to a program for rewards, but only temporarily. In the long run, what matters is that the effort taken to maintain relations with the customer.

Never forget the ultimate aim, i.e. to sustain customer loyalty

Rewards are undoubtedly the end result of every program. But they shouldn’t be the ultimate motivating factor. It is about maintaining customer’s loyalty and preventing him/her from switching stores.

Program suited for different segments

The program should be customized for people in the targeted category. It should identify their needs; study their purchasing behaviour, etc.

Common loyalty programs include offering reward points for air travel, fast food chains, etc. Standalone programs promise all of this and much more.

The Art of Marketing by using Coupons

Coupon campaigns have been around since the launch of the first paper coupon by Coca-Cola in 1887. The first lot of coupons were distributed on the streets and in magazines and newspapers. Wow! that is a good century-old marketing tool. Since then it has grown in popularity, with it being almost a give in American retail and now a part of the marketing mix of the Indian marketing ecosystem. Since then, however, the coupon has evolved and in the new digital times, it’s become a more effective tool.

Why you should use coupons?

Coupons are an inexpensive form of marketing, nearly half of all retailers and brands reported offering consumers some form of bonus coupon program or gift with purchase. This means your competitors are probably utilizing coupons in their marketing plan and maybe should you too. With the advent of digital, it has now become easier for products in the FMCG category to use pack /in-pack digital codes. You should use Coupons – digital or print to
– acquire new customers
–  increase sales of specific products
– Increase brand awareness
– move out unsold inventories
– reward existing customers
– retain former customers
– up sell a higher margin product
– Increase social media engagement
……..add to it that this is a highly measurable activity

How to use coupons in your sales promotions

Coupons should be used in a way that not only motivates the consumer to purchase the product but creates good brand memories. This way there will be good social media stories about your brand. That’s free marketing for you! This can be done by creating a cyclic format where customers just don’t get price offs or discounts all the time ( this will ensure that your brand is not perceived to be a “discount” brand.

– Run programs with coupons that deliver rewards instead of discounts always.
Eg: A free Rs.200 voucher for online shopping on the purchase of a toothpaste

– The reward should be relevant and experiential.
Eg: Free Movie tickets on purchase of shampoo.  Everybody loves the movies!

– The perceived value of the reward should be high, even equal to the value of the product purchased (not too high if you are an upcoming brand, else it will seem too good to be true).
A known food company gave a minimum gift of Rs.150 on purchase of Rs.100

– Add sweepstakes. Everyone loves to win the lottery. Add a contest with a chance to win big. It always works. A large personal products brand gave assured gifts and a chance to win Ipads and it worked!

Applications of Coupons

Coupons can be used in multiple ways for multiple marketing goals

1. Gift with Purchase
2. In pack /On-Pack promotions
3. Contests and Sweepstakes
4. App Download
5. Online registration
6. Product trial
7. Referral marketing

Coupon Distribution Methods

You can distribute coupons in multiple formats in different ways

1. e-coupons delivered online, in-app, SMS, email
2. Paper Coupons
3. M-Coupons – SMS-based coupons for the segment that is not online
4. On-Pack/In-pack

Making Coupon Programs effective

So we have a great coupon idea with fantastic offers which are bound to attract the customer, but that is not all for it to work. There are  certain hygiene elements of the campaign that you must keep in mind before launching the campaign

• Clear, Concise Text Detailing Offer and Terms
• Ease of use along with a clear explanation
• Product Image and packaging
• Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQ )
• Any Necessary Legal Copy
• Expiration Date
• Complaint redressal – Company Name, Address & email

Conclusively, coupons are a very effective marketing tool with a proven model of success. If you have not used it earlier try it with a small budget, you will see instant result. If you already use coupons try out the above to get a better ROI.

18 ‘Refreshed’ Sales Promotion Ideas

Over the past decade we have had the opportunity to work with many of the leading brands across the country, have had discussions with the marketing gurus in different sectors on what common promotion ideas works across any of the business segments. We came up with these ideas, which are NOT new, simply being looked at with a fresh NEW perspective, that are proven methods of sales promotion.

1. SALE!

• Promote it well and go all out to make it heard.
• Give preference to  your existing customers, ALWAYS!
• ‘Upto xx%’ – doesn’t work, be honest.
• Sale must be on everything, not on the limited stuff.
• Dress it up and make it an event

2. FREE

• The free stuff should be actually useful.
• Don’t always give your own stuff free, always.
• No *conditions apply.
• Free stuff should lift your product not degrade it.

3. BOGO / 2 for 1

• Keep it simple.
• Apply it on few items & products.
• Must be ‘limited to….’ quantity, time etc.

4. Contests & Sweepstakes

• Easy to participate
• Have as many winners – ‘Assured Prizes’ – ‘Everyone Wins’
• Make the giveaway exciting and what people want.
• Request an action, get data and use it.

5. Assured Gift

• Add a dash of surprise and excitement.
• Make the gift experiential.
• The gift should have a high perceived value.

6. Codes & Coupons

• Use M-coupons & E-coupons.
• Distribute it through partners to increase reach.
• Use it for acquisition but also for retention, refferal & rewards.

7. Like, Share & Get

• Use Facebook not to show off but to engage.
• You don’t brag, let the fans do that for you.
• Reward participation and actions.
• Have conversations not monologues.

8. Tweet & get Free stuff

• Run contests.
• Reward the 100th, 1000th, etc. followers.
• Retweet followers tweets.
• Reward most retweets, best # message.

9. Pin & Get!

• Run competition – Pin & Win!
• Run offers with powerful images.
• Have great images and many of them on the board.
• Acknowledge and reward regularly for ‘pinning’

10. Refer & get stuff!

• Create a simple and easy to understand referral program.
• Make it worth the while for customers to refer.
• Act quickly on the refferals generated.
• Make sure the reference is rewarde too with a great offer to buy.

11. Deal

• price-off on purchase is mostly the best offer.
• Let it be sizable and above competition in your category.
• Don’t make it too frequently but make it BIG!

12. Upsell

• Offer complementary product or services.
• Time the pitch well.
• Be specific with the upsell offer.
• Make assumptions & suggestions.

13. Reward loyalty

• Doesn’t have to always be loyalty program.
• Reward actions other than purchase too.
• Reward not only with points – acknowledge and make them feel special.

14. Engage

• People love to have dialogues & interactions with the brand they buy.
• Encourage participation.
• Engage everywhere – in store, online, on phone.
• Let them have conversations with the brand.

15. Free Trial

• Works for tech products and non tech products too.
• Free trial is a statement of confidence.
• It works for donut, a software or a car – find a way to let the buyer get an experience of what you sell.

16. Cross Promo

• Align with other brands to reach new customers.
• Offer & get privileges from other brands for YOUR customers & THEIRS!
• Choose alliances carefully and in sync with your brand positioning & target group.

17. Excitement

• People love ‘what money can’t buy’ experience.
• Add a dash of fun & excitement.
• Sports & movies can help make the promos effective.

18. Pamper

• Everyone loves to feel important.
• Doesn’t have to be indulging, could be just acknowledging.
• Let it be more personalised and less automated.

AU Special – Loyalty Program

A Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) headquartered at Jaipur, Au Financiers reaches out to low-income groups, self-employed individuals, First Time Users/ First Time Buyers and others, at far-flung locations across 10 states in India. Au Financiers provides financing in three primary segments –

• Vehicle Loan
• Housing Loan
• MSME Loan

The customers:

Customers from : Rural Areas / Semi-Urban Areas/ Tier 2 Cities/ Farmers

Their Presence:

Au Financiers is present in 9 states – Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Goa , where Majority Business comes from Rajasthan (~50%)

The Need:

Au Financiers did not have a customer engagement program. Its customer segment is primarily rural and dispersed in small pockets across the 9 states and doing traditional marketing is not a cost effective method here. Also, low technology penetration makes it inevitable for Au Financiers to use any form of digital marketing campaigns.

RewardPort’s Solution:

RewardPort offered an exclusive program, designed to make Au Financier’s customers journey as rewarding as possible – AU SPECIAL

• A Program developed on SMS & WEB to ensure maximum participation.
• Customers were offered various (Platinum, Gold, and Silver) Tier’s to marry the different/extreme spend patterns, {High/ Med/Low}.
• Personalized membership cards along Individual Login Id & Password.
• Regional language communication for better penetration and understanding.
• Differential Points were offered to Au Fin customer on (On-time EMI payment, 3-month consistency point, 6-months consistency points, add-on purchase points, guarantor/co-borrower, referral)
• An exclusive reward catalogue that offered unique products/ experiences to redeem points earned.
• A unique offer where Au Financier’s customers could redeem the points earned to pay their EMI’s

Result’s of AU SPECIAL Program:

• Increased sales By Including Enticing Awards
• Increase in Market Share
• Repeat Buying
• Retention of existing customers
• It Provided Vital Market Research
• Happy Customers
• Created brand advocates
• Edge over competition

Planning a #selfie contest?

First let us accept the fact – people love taking selfies! According to various reports, the average millennial will take 25,700 selfies in their lifetime; and about 93 million selfies are taken worldwide each day. People are more comfortable taking a selfie than asking someone to click their picture.

So is your brand doing anything to take advantage of this Social (here-to-stay) phenomenon? Selfie contests ensures the most direct engagement and connect between your brand & the consumer.

When planning a selfie contest –

1. Come up with a great idea; the one that is simple & easy for people to connect with.
2. Ask the consumer to feature your brand, this is a must!
3. Give a compelling reason to participate: reward or fame will work well.
4. Incentivise for multiple actions – Post, shares, tags, likes, etc.
5. For a successful selfie promotion, it should run at least for 30-45 days, to have larger reach among your target audience.
6. Engage actively on all the possible social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others.
7. To gain the trust, pick winners and reward them, EVERYDAY!
8. Make it less cumbersome; don’t put in too many conditions – just click, post, tag & win!
9. Promote the contests, online & offline.
10. If your target group is the youth, play around friendship. If its family then involve the participation of children.

Don’t let your brand miss out on the #selfie phenomenon!

10 Ways to make your Sales Promotion actually Work!

Sales promotions are a great way for any organization to incentivize & reward potential customers and motivate them to make the purchase. The key to a successful promotion campaign is the plan – right from the launch of the campaign until the very end of it.

Once you have an idea for the campaign, you need to work on the following points to make it successfully work for your brand:

1. Incentivization – Changing perceived value of the product.

Incentives are keys for a successful sales promotion as it increases customer participation & stimulates brand interaction. While choosing incentives, you should always think of your actual target audience. They need to be relevant. For instance, cartoon toys for the kids or movie vouchers for youngsters. incentives appeal to your target audience, that your brand is providing a value add along with the purchase. These incentives helps you sell more & gets your customers engaged with your brand for a longer time.

2. Communication – Online & Offline

Today, your customers have become more technology, online & offline media friendly, compared to how they were until few years back. Hence, they can be reached by social media or through internet on their smartphones. Combining the offline & online media is an effective & swift way to reach the target audience.

3. Collect, Manage & Nurture Data

Data collected can help in customer acquisition  & retention. While maintaining the database, unusable data must eliminated from time to time to avoid disorder & confusion. To extract a long term loyalty from your customers, you need to make them realise their importance in your organisation, which can be done through the data collected.

4. Be Relevant

Sales promotion must be relevant to the product & target audience, easy to understand. This increases the probability of it resulting into a sale. It is necessary that the promotion hits customer at a particular behaviour stage.

5. Customize and Localize – attitude & behaviour of the target audience.

The sales promotions must suit the psychographics & demographics of the target audience, well adjusted to their requirements & conduct.

6. Clarify objective & provide tangible benefit – gain the customer’s trust.

The campaign should be able to clearly convince the customer that value received is much higher than the amount spent on the purchase. Be truthful about the objectives to foster a trustworthy relationship. Lay the foundation or a long term loyalty by offering substantial benefits & clarified objectives. The customers like to measure the added value they receive along with the purchase.

7. Timing, duration & frequency – maintain them.

If introduced at an appropriate time, sales promotions can yield great results. Being a time driven economy, in India festivals, occasions & seasons are great influencers for customers. If repeated too often, customers will be unable to differentiate between the added value and the original product.

8. Engage your customer – involve them.

The customers wnats to feel special & appreciated; recognize this need & nurture it to witness groundbreaking results. Engage them with the brand and induce a sense of association & bonding with the product. Appeal them with contests, sweepstakes, coupons & rewards.

9. Integrate with the promotional mix

Sales promotion is an aspect of the promotional mix including advertising, personal selling, direct marketing & public relations. Intensify the efficiency of sales promotions by complimenting it with the other elements of promotional mix.

10. Integrate with social media

Promotions must be run on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & others. This generates sufficient word of mouth to increase effectiveness of the campaign.