By Oluwatoyin Aguda
A business owner has to innovate from time to time, while coming up with strategies on how to move the business forward. Promotional strategies, when properly executed, will lead to more sales and revenue. Here are five promotional strategies that every SME should consider:
Buy-one-get-one-free
Consumers would generally go for a product being sold at a discounted price even when compared to higher-quality items. This promotional strategy creates a sense of urgency, pushing customers to make a purchase more, so as to get more items for free. Buy One, Get One Free strategy is a great discount technique to use to appeal to existing consumers and even gain new ones.
The good thing about this is that you can actually sell your old stocks which mean you will possibly clear out your old stocks which you have been struggling to sell, and you can put this cash into fast moving items. To achieve the best result from this strategy, it will be good to put a deadline to it, so the consumers can treat it as urgent, and buy as soon as possible.
Discounts
Who doesn’t like some good discounts! This promotion strategy involves selling products at low price, but at a higher volume. This means the seller would rely on turnover for his profit, while staying competitive. When it comes to discounts, the seller has to do it cautiously, for instance you can give occasional discounts and discounts that reward loyal customers, for example, discounts can be given customers who purchase in bulk, returning customers and so on. Promotional discounts when executed appropriately can maximise sales, revenue and profit.
Customer Loyalty Programme
Customer loyalty programme creates a positive emotional connection between your brand and your existing customers. This strategy will enable you gather valuable data, by having customers fill out profiles, provide their contacts, which helps you collect the data you can use in creating targeted marketing campaigns. It makes customer feel appreciated, which puts you and your brand on top of mind when they want to make a purchase, thereby leading to increased sales.
Flash Sales
A flash sale is a discount or promotion offered by a seller for a short period of time or for a specific period of time. The time limit and limited availability entice consumers to buy on the spot and very quickly. Flash sales can be an extremely effective method for quickly pushing out old items, if a company can sell products that have been sitting in a warehouse for a short or even long period of time, they make room for newer inventory that’s selling quickly, they also generate more revenue which is put back into the business.
Free Gifts
Gifts make us feel loved and special, and it shows us that we play a vital role in the life of the giver. This is not different when it comes to business. Customers feel special especially when they aren’t expecting it. A phone store may give customers electronics such as iron, toaster, fan as gifts when they make a purchase. A delivery company may give clients packaging nylons for free, a spa may offers clients voucher for free thirty minutes of massage during the week. A boutique may give customers laundry bags as gifts.
