23 Super Effective Sales Promotion Tips — How to Crush Your Next Sales Promotion

A sales promotion is a marketing strategy that uses advertising, personal selling, and public relations to present a company’s product or service at a lower price than usual, basically at a discount. Sales promotions are used in many industries, including retail, consumer goods and services, and manufacturing. So, no matter what line of business you’re into, you’ll probably find yourself needing to run a sales promotion. Of course, there are different types of sales promotion, and there are a lot of things to consider. But with the right sales tool and CRM software, you can make things work like a pro. Sales promotions are a great way to boost your business. They can help you attract new customers and retain your existing ones while also increasing your customer loyalty. Here are some of the most effective sales promotion ideas:

 

23 Sales Promotion Tips You Should Use Today

Any business is about selling things — doesn’t matter if they’re products, services, or somewhere in between. So, for all businesses, promotions are a great way to get people interested. However, not all promotions are created equal. If you want people to buy more of your products, you need to use the right tools and follow some basic rules. Let’s take a look at some of the more effective sales promotion tips there are.

Get as big of a bang for your buck as possible

As a business owner, you want to make sure that every dollar spent on your sales promotion goes towards getting as many people as possible to buy your product. To do this, it is critical that you plan and execute a successful promotion.

The following tips can help guide you in getting the most out of your sales promotion:

• Make sure you have enough budget for your promotion—if not, it may be time to reconsider some of the ideas below!
• Consider whether or not a given idea is right for your business and its target audience. For example, if someone likes spending money on coffee regularly but doesn’t like alcohol at all, then they probably won’t respond well to an offer involving drinks!
• Make sure there will be enough demand (and supply) before making any commitments regarding a particular strategy; this will save everyone time and energy later on down the line when trying something new isn’t worth it because no one bought anything from their previous attempt with another method which worked well for them already even though maybe both methods aren’t ideal solutions either way.”

Use coupons

• Coupons are a great way to make money. If you’re selling a product, coupons are a great way to increase sales.
• Coupons can be used to get new customers and repeat customers.
• The best thing about coupons is that they can be used as an incentive for feedback from your clients!

Of course, coupons aren’t what they used to be anymore. Instead of a piece of paper people had to cut out, we now have digital coupons. Digital coupons are an excellent way to earn customer loyalty and drive sales. They are easily shared on social media, used in email marketing and can be customized to feature your brand’s logo or graphics. Digital coupons are also easy to track and measure, giving you valuable insights into what types of deals customers like most.

Write a saleable product description

Your product description is one of the most important parts of your marketing plan. It’s where you’ll describe the features, benefits and value of what you’re selling.

You want to be sure your copywriting style is engaging and interesting without being overly promotional or sales-y.

Here are some tips that will help you write great product descriptions:

• Use a variety of words – Your goal is to get customers interested in buying your products, not making them fall asleep from boredom. Use as many different words as possible when describing your products so that it isn’t repetitive or boring for readers. If a customer can’t tell what something does simply by reading its name, then it’s likely not descriptive enough for them (or me).
• Short sentences – Just because you’re writing about something you’re enthusiastic about, doesn’t mean it should come out as a novel! Try breaking up long sentences and even paragraphs into shorter ones with new sentences so readers don’t get lost in all that text!
• Active language – Using active verbs instead of passive ones makes writing faster-paced without sacrificing meaning! For example: “The user fills out this field” instead of “This field can be filled out by users.” The latter sentence sounds more natural but also less informative than its counterpart because it leaves out key details about who actually did something.”

List the products needed to complete a promotion

It is important to list the products needed to complete a promotion.

You can use a spreadsheet to list the products needed, or you can use a marketing calendar.

Some businesses use marketing checklists to list the products that they need for promotions.

Announce the promotions at the same time

Ensure that all employees are aware of the promotions. This can be done in a variety of ways. Send out an email blast to all staff, post on social media and use a sign in the store. You may also want to include your website link so people can share it with their friends and family members too!

Offer the Promotions on the Right Day of the Week

A lot of marketing experts say you should offer promotions on Fridays. According to data, people are more likely to be looking for deals and sales on Fridays (Black Friday sounds a bell?). So, offer your promotions on Friday (or any other day of the week that seems to work with your customers) to entice buyers with a deal, especially if you want them to come in before they spend their money elsewhere. If you’re giving out coupons on Friday, then offer them again on Monday. That way, your customers will keep it in mind even if they had forgotten all about it over the weekend.

Give everyone one sale per purchase, not per customer

You want your customers to feel like they’re getting the same deal as everyone else. You don’t want them to feel like they have to buy more so that you can give them the discount. For example, if you’re giving away a free gift with any purchase over $100, make it so that each customer gets one free gift regardless of how many items they buy (and regardless of what their total bill is). This way, no matter how much money they spend or how many things they buy from you during the promotion period, they’ll still get just one free gift.*

Mint Enough Mini-coupons

Some of the best ways to get people in your store are through giving away freebies, so make sure you have enough mini-coupons to hand out to customers who come in during that time period on that day only. It’s important that you have enough for everyone who wants one because people love free stuff.

The last thing you want is for a customer to walk away disappointed because you ran out of mini-coupons and they couldn’t get their hands on one before they left!

Consider handing out physical coupons

Have employees hand out coupons or pass them out to customers while they’re helping with something else. Employees should only hand out coupons to customers who come in during that time period on that day only. They should not hand out coupons to customers who are not there during that time period on that day.

Bring Your Branding Into It

Your sales promotion strategy should be consistent with your brand. Your company’s identity is what makes it unique and memorable. To ensure that you are reaching the right audience, you need to stay true to this identity when creating your sales promotion tactic.

Creating a strong brand personality will help you communicate more effectively with customers and prospects because they will be able to relate to the personality of your business better. Staying true to this personality means that everything from logo design and color scheme down through product descriptions should reflect who your company is at its core so that people can connect with what makes it special.

Create an Intriguing Offer

Offers are a great way to get people interested in your product or service and get them to take action. You can offer a discount, freebie, special deal or a limited-time offer to get people interested. You can also add bonuses like shipping for free when someone buys a certain product or service from you.

Empower Your Salespeople

By empowering your sales team to do their job, you will see an increase in productivity and a higher return on investment. Here are some tips to help you empower your salespeople:

• Train them thoroughly and make sure they have the tools they need to succeed.
• Make sure they understand what’s expected of them from management and from their customers. This can be done through specific training guides or by just having regular conversations with them about what’s important for growing the business. It’s also important for your managers to show that they care about each employee’s success, which means giving honest feedback when needed and providing recognition for achievements when possible (commonly known as “rewards”).

Provide Added Value to Your Customers

• Provide Added Value.
• Make it easier for your customers to do business with you by providing added value. For example, if your products are generally costly and bulky, offer free shipping on all orders over $50 or ten percent off all purchases made online in exchange for allowing them to check out with their payment information already filled in on future orders. Those who take advantage of these offers will appreciate not having to enter their credit card information every time they place an order while still feeling they are getting some benefit from doing so (the ten percent discount). This also serves as an incentive for customers who might otherwise have been tempted by a competitor’s price because there is no extra hassle involved for them when placing an order at your site—they simply click “checkout” and then fill out the form required by whichever method of payment they choose; it’s almost like ordering something online has become part of their daily routine!

Run a Social Contest or Challenge

Contests are effective because they create a sense of urgency, get people engaged with your brand and can be used both as an incentive to buy or to increase awareness of your product or service.

Make sure it is something that people want to do. If the contest doesn’t interest people, then don’t run it! Think about what will make participants want to participate in the contest and share their experiences on social media channels. For example, if you are running an online video game tournament for gamers, then make sure you have prizes that appeal directly to this target market (e.g., Xbox games console).

Work on Your Incentive

You can also use incentives to encourage people to buy. This might be a free gift with a purchase or money off, or perhaps you are offering a discount on your products or services.

Incentives are an effective way of getting people excited about your products and services and motivating them to buy. They can also be time sensitive so don’t delay – start thinking of some ideas now!

Make Your Offer Accessible (maybe with a QR Code)

If you’re not familiar with QR codes, they are those black and white squares that look like a barcode. They can be used to access information or links on your product packaging. You can also use them in digital marketing materials like ads, posters and brochures.

An important feature of QR codes is that they provide quick access to your website or landing page; this makes it easier for customers to get the information they want while they are in-store shopping or online browsing at their leisure.

QR Codes can contain all kinds of data including:

• A URL (web link)
• Email address
• Phone number

The best part about using a QR Code is that once you’ve created one for print purposes, it is easy to create one for digital advertising as well because the process remains exactly the same! This means less work for you!

Have a Clear Call to Action

Before you start selling your product or service, you need to make sure that the offer is crystal clear for potential customers. This means not only explaining what it is but also why it’s great, who would benefit from it (including how they will benefit), and how much it costs.

It’s also important to provide a call-to-action on the sales page so that visitors know exactly what they should do next if they want to buy the product or service. And finally, don’t forget about providing a way for people to contact you if they have questions about the offer!

It’s also a good idea to remember clarity in every part of the sales promotion campaign. For example, try to use these sales promotion tips about clarity:

• Be clear about what you are offering, why it is good and what people should do if they want it.
• Make sure people know what they are getting with your offer. This seems obvious but a lot of businesses get this wrong, creating confusion, which is a deal-breaker for most.
• Make sure that your offer is simple and easy to understand so your customer can make an informed decision.

Send Out Reminders

Sending out reminders is one of the best ways to keep people interested in your product, service or offer. Reminders should be personalized and relevant and sent at the right time. The right format also matters. For example, a video reminder is far more effective than an email reminder because videos have a higher chance of getting shared on social media, thus reaching more people. And last but not least, you should send your reminders to the right audience: customers who have already made purchases from you or those who have shown interest in your offers by signing up for newsletters etcetera

Cross-Promote with Related Brands

• Be clear about what you are offering, why it is good and what people should do if they want it.
• Give a reason to buy now.
• Make your offer readily accessible (with a QR code).
• Provide time sensitivity (a reason to buy now).

Incorporate New Technology and Emerging Trends Into Promotions

• Incorporate New Technology and Emerging Trends Into Promotions.
• Think about new technology that might be useful for your business. For example, you could use a QR code to give away an instant discount on something or create a mobile app that gives your customers access to exclusive information about your business.
• Try to use new technology in your promotions. For example, if you’re selling tickets online for an event (like this), try using social media to spread the word about it and get more people interested in going because they heard it was awesome! Or if you’re selling some kind of product through Amazon (like this), make sure those who are interested can find out how much cheaper it is than other places online by using special codes provided by their friends who’ve already bought one themselves before making their purchase decision later today afternoon after lunchtime snack break time over coffee break time during working hours tomorrow morning when everyone else goes home early so I’ll have time alone at home after work too late tonight when everybody else comes back at night too tired tomorrow morning so I’m finally done working early today afternoon once again tonight already tired yesterday evening after lunchtime snack break time during working hours tomorrow night when everyone else goes home early so finally had dinner with family last night before sleeping now since waking up from bed after sleeping all day long yesterday afternoon instead of coming back home

Tell a Powerful Emotional Story

Stories are not just stories. They help us understand each other’s experiences, find sympathy, and learn from the past. We learn from stories because they create an emotional connection with the storyteller and/or the story itself. For example, if you were to explain why you chose a particular product or service over another competitor’s offering without any context or backstory, it could feel like you are just listing off a bunch of features and benefits that are not particularly interesting or unique. However, if you explain why your choice was important to you (perhaps because it helped solve a problem in your life), then suddenly there is an emotional connection between the audience and yourself which makes this information much more compelling. Storytelling is especially effective when used alongside sales promotion activities because they allow sellers to provide value while making their offers more appealing at the same time. Remember, however, that a more authentic story can be a lot more touching than one that’s been exaggerated for effect — so dig deep and tell your stories from the heart.

Create Scarcity (Buy Now or Never!)

Allow your customers to experience the benefits of their purchasing decision faster than if they wait for the product or service.

For example: “Buy now, and get 10% off our best-selling video course. This offer expires in 30 days.”

Give a Reason for People to Buy More Than One Item

Give a Reason for People to Buy More Than One Item.

Offering free shipping on additional items, discounts on additional items, or a free gift with the purchase of multiple items is an easy way to encourage customers to buy more than one item at a time.

• Free Shipping: Offer free shipping on all orders over $100 dollars (or whatever amount you choose). This will make customers more likely to add more products to their carts. If you don’t have the budget for this option or want to keep it simple, just offer flat-rate shipping and charge less than what it would cost if they were ordering multiple items individually.
• Discounts: Offer 5% off when they buy 2 products (e.g., two pairs of shoes) or 10% off if they buy 3+ products (e.g., three pairs of shoes). You could also draw attention by offering 20% off all full-price items! If you want something really simple that won’t break the bank but still gets people thinking about buying in bulk? Try adding an asterisk (*) next to each item so people know there are savings waiting for them down below…
• Free Gifts: Give away something small as a thank-you gesture when someone buys multiple products from your store.

Consider Selling Gift Cards at a Discount.

The most common way to use gift cards as a sales promotion is to discount them. However, you don’t have to be limited by this concept. If you’re willing to experiment with your promotional plan a bit, there are many ways that selling gift cards at a discount can benefit your business and be an effective marketing tool:

• Use gift cards as an incentive for customers who buy something else. For example, if they spend $100 on qualified purchases in one transaction, they’ll get $10 off their purchase of any value from the store’s online catalogue.
• Promise that every $50 spent will earn them another $5 in free points or money off future purchases (with no limit). This is especially useful if you’ve got a loyalty program set up—you’ll be able to keep your existing customers coming back more frequently because they’ll want to redeem more points or save more money!

Provide Free Shipping for Online Orders.

Providing free shipping is a great way to increase sales and help boost your online business.

• Free Shipping can increase sales because it makes an item more accessible to more people.
• Free Shipping can increase customer loyalty by providing a better overall experience with your brand.
• Free Shipping can improve customer satisfaction by making the shopping process easier and less stressful for the buyer
• Free Shipping increases online reviews, which helps establish trust between you and potential customers who don’t know much about your company yet

Include a Bonus With the Purchase of Something Else.

Include a Bonus With the Purchase of Something Else

Offer a free gift with purchase. Including an item as a bonus for purchasing another makes customers feel like they’re getting something in addition to what they were already planning on buying. Be sure it’s something that will bring value to your customer, though—no one wants to get stuck with something useless.

Include a discount for buying multiple items. This is one of those tried and true sales techniques that can increase sales by as much as 50%. While it’s true that most people don’t need more than one thing from you at any particular time, offering them the chance to save money when they do buy multiple items has proven itself time and again as an effective way of increasing sales volume without sacrificing profit margin too much!

Offer free service with purchase: If you provide any type of service, such as landscaping or cleaning services (and who doesn’t?), then offering this service free of charge could be one way to entice customers who would otherwise not buy anything from you at all!

Consider Open Box Offers

Open-box offers are a great way to get rid of old stock. This is a sales promotion technique that many retailers use to clear out their inventory and make room for new products.

The term “open box” describes an item that has been returned or refurbished by the manufacturer, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the product was damaged in some way, so don’t worry about having to buy something with a past! Open box items are usually sold at discounted rates—typically up to 30% off retail value—and are often accompanied by additional incentives like free shipping or instant discounts when you add them to your cart.

 

How to Boost Your Sales Promotions

Taking a look at this long list of sales promotion tips and ideas, you may be intimated by the task, especially if it’s your first time planning a sale promotion. Of course, it pays to take the time and really think about all the angles, but there are ways to give your sales promotion campaign a better shot at becoming a huge success. I’m talking about using the right tools for the job. Consider, for example, coupons. How are you going to hand them out? Sure, you can give customers physical coupons if you have a retail store, but what about online businesses? Besides, even retail stores need the tools to back up sales promotion with email marketing and notifications, and that needs a good tool.

RunSensible is an all-in-one CRM and sales tool that includes a powerful sales promotion feature to help you create and launch promotions with a few clicks. You can use RunSensible to easily generate coupons with specific discount rates and send them to your customers and leads via email or text messages. Don’t let your sales promotion go unnoticed — use RunSensible’s email marketing tools to let your contacts know about the promotion, track their reactions to the email, and segment them based on that or any other criteria, like their location or age. Get RSVPs or set up automatic reminders to help create scarcity (see above) and awareness. RunSensible gives you all the tools you need for a successful sales promotion campaign that will ensure you make the most of these sales promotion tips.

 

Key Takeaways

Remember that sales promotions can help boost your business! You just need to make sure you’re doing them right. For example, if you’re going to give out mini-coupons, be sure there’s enough to go around, so customers don’t feel like they’ve been shortchanged on their shopping experience. Also, don’t forget about all the other tips we talked about today—like getting as big of a bang for your buck with each promotion, having employees hand out coupons while helping customers with other things (like checking out), and making sure everyone gets one sale per purchase instead of per customer—because those will help ensure success too! We hope these ideas will help you create a successful promotion that brings in new customers and increases sales. As always, it’s essential to test different strategies and see which ones work best for your business. So, good luck with your next sales promotion — let us know how it turned out in the comments section below.

 

FAQ

What is a sales promotion?

A sales promotion is a marketing strategy where you use discounts and coupons to get more people to buy your products or services.

What are digital coupons?

Digital coupons are the new form of the old paper cut-out coupons. They’re mostly used by online businesses.

How do I hand out digital coupons in my sales promotion?

You need to use sales tool software with sales promotion and email marketing features like RunSensible to generate and deliver digital coupons to your customers.

Are sales promotions only for retailers?

Not at all. All businesses operate by selling one thing or another, whether it’s a product or service, and using sales promotion can help increase their sales figures.

What do I need to start my sales promotion campaign?

Assuming you have your products or services ready to go, you will need a sales tool and CRM software to help you create, track, and manage your coupons. RunSensible lets you get even more out of the campaign using email nurture programs and reminders.