Effective consumer sales promotions can provide rapid growth to your business. Studies suggest that 90% of consumers make their first purchase after receiving an offer from a new brand. Also, more than 90% of consumers prefer to repeat purchases from a brand that offers good discounts on the first purchase. This data shows how important it is to plan and execute sales promotion strategies to acquire customers.

Not every sales promotion works for every business. To make the most out of sales promotion, you need to understand your business goals and customer interests first. Apart from this, there are a few factors you should consider to drive a successful sales promotion campaign.

Here are the three important Rs of effective consumer sales promotions:

1. Risk Aversion

Sales promotions must be focused on risk aversion, especially when the aim is to attract new customers or launch a new product. By allowing your customers to try your products for free, you can get them out of fear of wasting their money.

Customers who purchase your product after a trial may not even consider buying it without the experience. Most consumers avoid spending on a product that they are not sure about. Here is how you can include risk aversion in your sales promotions:

• Offer free samples under giveaway contests.
• Offer free sample products with other popular products.
• Offer free shipping and returns.

2. Reciprocity

The principle of reciprocity deals with human nature that expects a mutually beneficial relationship. An ideal sales promotion strategy benefits the brand as well as the customers.

Sales promotion techniques like discount coupons, loyalty programs, etc., are based on reciprocity. You can make your customers feel that they are getting something in return for their purchase with these benefits.

3. Reward

Rewarding your customers for every purchase can bring them back to your brand. Though one part of the reward is covered under reciprocity and risk aversion, you should have a separate program that accepts everyone.

These rewards aim to identify potential customers, attract them, and motivate them to stay loyal to your brand. Examples of such reward programs include gift promotions, giveaway contests on social media, etc.

Examples of B2C Sales Promotions

Sales promotions in B2C businesses are critical for business growth. The B2C sales promotions can be very effective in:

• Boosting sales
• Increasing brand awareness
• Building brand trust
• Driving repeat business

Discounts and other offers motivate consumers to make prepone their purchase decisions. Here are some most effective sales promotion techniques for B2C businesses:

1. Discount Coupons

Offering discount coupons for the next purchase is one of the most effective ways to drive repeat business. Whenever your customers make a purchase, you can provide them with a discount coupon for their next purchase.

These coupons must be valid only for a specific period, like one month or two months. It encourages your customers to keep shopping at your store more frequently.

2. Giveaway Contests

Giveaway contests work best for introducing a new product to the market or attracting new customers. You can run these contests on social media. Ask your followers to like and share your product launch post to win the product.

The more they share, the more their chances of winning. With this, you can make more and more people aware of your new product and gain more followers.

3. Flash Sales

Flash sales are short-term deals under which a brand offers some specific products at huge discounts. Flash sales will offer attractive discounts for a short period creating a sense of urgency for the customers.

As the deals are amazing, customers want cash on these discounts. They tend to prepone their purchases to benefit from the sale.

4. BOGO Deals

A ‘Buy One Get One Free’ deal is among the most widely used sales promotion techniques in B2C businesses. Though offering a 50% discount on a product is the same as a BOGO deal, the word ‘free’ has a greater impact on the human mind.

Combining these offers with certain limits makes them more effective. For example, you can run BOGO offers only on a particular day of the week or choose different days to run BOGO deals on different products.

5. Free Shipping/Returns

If your business is majorly online, you might be missing out on many customers by charging a shipping fee. Products with free shipping and return seem to be risk-free to the customers. Many customers change their minds at the time of final payment when the shipping cost is added to the price of the product.

The idea of offering free shipping and returns can be much more powerful than it seems to be.

Examples of B2B Sales Promotions

Sales promotions in B2B are different from B2C sales promotions. However, the impact can be equally good in B2B as well. Sales promotions can attract potential dealers and channel partners to your brand. Also, promotional offers can encourage your partners to give preference to selling your products and drive more sales. Here are some most popular B2B sales promotion strategies

1. Trade Shows

Trade shows are events where different businesses from a particular industry showcase their products to attract potential buyers. You can use brochures, displays, and other promotional materials to identify prospects and make your customers aware of the existing as well as new products.

The trade shows also allow you to gather information about your competitors. You can observe how your competitor businesses are presenting, selling their products, which offers they are running, etc.

2. Conventions

Participating in conventions or meetings with your industry professionals is also an effective B2B sales promotion technique. You can display your products and market them to the right audience.

For example, a textile convention allows you to display your sewing machine and its unique features. You can contact the market leaders in your industry and sell your products to them.

3. Advertising Allowances

You can give your channel partners trade allowances to encourage them to push a product. You can offer different incentives at all levels, i.e., to your wholesalers, distributors, and retailers, to boost the sales of a particular product.

Advertising allowance is a popular trade allowance you can offer to your partners and encourage them to advertise your products.

4. Sales Contests

Sales contests are incentive programs that businesses use to motivate their sales representatives to drive more sales. These contests generally focus on boosting sales for high-profit-making products. The more sales representatives sell, the higher incentives they receive.

The salesperson making the highest number of sales wins the contest. The winner can be awarded exciting prizes, such as a free vacation, monetary bonuses, a promotion, etc.

5. Free Merchandise

Free merchandise refers to a free product offered by the manufacturer to a partner or retailer to push a particular product to the market. For example, the manufacturer of formal clothing can gift a set of clothes to the staff of a high-performing retail store.

These gifts can be linked to the sales targets. The retailer can receive free items for selling a particular number of products within a pre-specified time.

Gamify Your Sales Promotions with RewardPort

You can attract more customers and retain the existing ones by offering discounts, rewards, etc. Including gamification in sales promotion builds healthy competition among your customers, making it more interesting for them to participate.

With RewardPort, you can plan and execute a sales promotion strategy with the latest tools and methods of consumer engagement. Whether it’s B2B or B2C, your sales promotion strategy should include rewards that modern customers value.