subject: Promotional Incentives Launch Products And Increase Sales [print this page] Promotional incentives are a powerful marketing strategies which brand advertisers can use to engage and excite consumers. They play a key role in launching new products, lifting sales of existing products, and cultivating customer loyalty. From the smallest "mom and pop" retail stores to the largest brands in the world, promotional incentives encourage people to experience products they might otherwise ignore.
Creative Ways To Leverage Promotional Incentives
Giving away free items is one of the most effective ways to stimulate a response from your target market. Little excites customers more than the chance to receive something with a high perceived value for free. There are a variety of ways in which you can use free promotional incentives to motivate your audience to take action.
You can give your customers something for free in exchange for trying a new product or service. For example, Starbucks recently launched their Via brand of instant coffee and used promotional incentives to spearhead the effort. They organized a Via Taste Challenge to encourage customers to try their instant brew. Customers in the Los Angeles area were asked to order a cup of Via. In return, they received a coupon that could be redeemed for any cup of coffee in the future.
You can also use promotional incentives to create a surge in sales volume around your brand. For example, Este Lauder launched a promotion in October 2009 called "Your Beauty. Your Style. Your Profile." They invited women to visit participating counters and receive a free makeover and photo. The photos were emailed to women so they could be uploaded easily to dating and social networking sites. The Este Lauder logo was in the background of each photo, strengthening their brand.
Using Promotional Incentives To Collect Customer Information
In the Este Lauder example, the promotional incentives were emailed to women who received makeovers. That means in order to receive their digital photo, women had to provide a working email address. This mechanism helped Este Lauder to create a database of customers to whom they could market their products in the future. For example, they can email these customers a targeted holiday promotion focusing on the products that were used during the makeovers.
Mobile promotions such as music download promotions can offer this same advantage. When consumers visit your customized landing page to download your promotional incentives (e.g. free music downloads), you can require them to provide their contact information. In doing so, you'll build a database of customers for future marketing efforts.
The Advantage Of Delivering Promotional Incentives Online
When your promotional incentives are delivered online, your expenses are limited to whatever it costs to fulfill redemption. For example, suppose you're offering free music downloads to people who spend $70 at a certain clothing store. Provide a website address and promo code on their purchase receipt that directs them to your download site. They can redeem your promotional incentives online, assisting you to maximize your costs while exposing customers to your brand and products.
Or, suppose you want to deliver a "buy three and get one free" promotion to customers' mobile devices. The cost of delivery is practically zero. The same is true for launching instant win games, skins promotions, offering free ringtones, and other digital promotional incentives. While the cost is low compared to traditional advertising channels, the impact on your audience is high.
Why Promotional Incentives Are Effective
Brand sponsors realized long ago that promotional incentives were a potent trigger for stimulating a response from their market. Each year, billions of dollars are spent to launch promotions that improve brand awareness, drive traffic and sales, and strengthen customer loyalty.
The reason promotional incentives are so effective is because people always enjoy the chance to receive free products they consider valuable. Whether the incentive is a free tank of gas, limited access to an online fee-based service, or free song downloads, consumers are happy to participate. In some cases, they'll increase their purchase order or buy new products in order to take advantage of a promotion. In other cases, they'll willingly exchange their contact information to receive your promotional incentives.
Your marketing campaigns are ultimately designed to sell your products. The challenge is to motivate your audience to buy them. Digital promotional incentives excite your market, educate your customer on your products, and encourage Digital promotional incentives will excite your market, educate them about your products, and encourage customer loyalty to your brand. And they'll do so at a lower cost than using other advertising channels. Now is the time to explore how promotional incentives can drive traffic and increase sales for your company.
by: Cyndi Walker
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