50 Sales & Marketing Promotional Plans – Next Set of 15
Hello, we are back with more promotional plans. Our ’50 Promotional Plans’ have been compiled to help retail businesses reach their target market more effectively. With so many creative promotional models already out there, retailers can use the best fit for maximum visibility, better profitability, enhanced branding and increased sales.
We have previously discussed promotional ideas such as Happy hours, Free Trials, Customer Support, Complementary Products, Group Discounts, Cross-Promotion, Motivational Offers, Fun Offers, Group Offers, Free Service, Refills with Product, Attractive Bundle Sale, Giveaways, Free Shipping , Referral Schemes and Block Renewals. These promotional ideas were well received by our readers and now we are back with the following 15 schemes for you.
1) Senior Discounts: Special discounts for seniors, a gradually growing segment with specific needs, is a great idea. In fact, there is a site entirely dedicated to this segment: seniordiscounts.com. Through senior-specific programs, you can promote any product or service seniors may need and build a whole new market segment. For example, Super Religare Wellness had a scheme where they gave a 10% discount to all seniors. Even Ayurcare offered special discounts to seniors for their therapies and detox programs.
2) Niche Customer Discounts – Select the target segment you want to focus on, for example a particular membership cardholder that fits their profile, and offer them a discount. For example, a high-end restaurant offering discounts to Club Mahindra holders would bring an exclusive focus to an attractive new segment.
3) Agreements with banks: An agreement with banks to provide special discounts to customers who use their bank cards at your point of sale provides access to many potential customers at a negligible cost. Several banks are ready to do this.
4) Early bird customers: What about early riser schemes where customers get special discounts for buying early? Such schemes entice customers to buy early to take advantage of the discount. From trips to wellness centers and even corporate training programs, early booking incentives are always a great way to promote your products and services. Wild Frontiers, an adventure travel site, offered a 5% discount for early registrations, while VITS Wellness Centre, Andheri, offered a special limited time discount for early couples.
5) Reward the client for their efforts: Reward your client for the efforts they make for their own good. ‘Fitness First’, a gym, rewarded its customers for losing every kilogram, with a discount of Rs 500 for every kilogram lost.
6) Use short codes effectively: Let your customers enter a contest on the spot, and in the process, get their mobile numbers too. Give a gift or a discount to whoever participates in the contest. Subway used this scheme by asking customers to enter a contest: Subway obtains customers’ contact details such as mobile number and email id, while the customer gets discounts or gifts.
7) Special Event Promotion: A special event like an anniversary, a festival or a special day like Valentine’s Day is a good time to offer a promotion scheme. Give a special discount to those who register or buy on occasions such as Children’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Teacher’s Day, etc. For example, the Gold gym offered a special discount for couples who joined the gym on Valentine’s Day, and Big Cinema gave away free tickets for women on Women’s Day.
8) Price Guarantee: When real estate prices are falling and people are not buying due to uncertainty, a promotional scheme that offers to transfer the benefit of the price in case of lower prices in the future boosts sales. A limited period offer for those who book during the period protects them from future price fluctuations. Aparna Constructions in Hyderabad has offered such a promotional scheme in view of the uncertainty in the real estate market to calm the fears of clients and provide them with a window of opportunity to invest.
9) Surprise gift: Offer a surprise gift along with a service. Getting something for free at the most unexpected moments is always recorded as one of the most memorable experiences for customers. It does not matter if it is a small or large gift, the important thing is that you have made the client feel like the lucky one. For example, Jaipan sells a combo pack of home appliances, such as a vacuum cleaner, toaster, blender, and roti, and offers a surprise gift!
10) Social causes: If your service has a social element, offer a promotional price with it. Times Matrimonials, for example, offers a discount for those who wish to advertise in their matrimonial column with no dowry requirement (or no caste and religion restriction). They also offer discounts for the elderly and widowers and customers with disabilities.
11) Environmental cause: An environmental cause such as energy efficiency could focus on a specific scheme aimed at its customers. For example, the Indian Energy Efficiency Bureau had asked that a specific segment, BPOs, provide a star rating for BPO buildings for energy efficiency. To promote the scheme, the Bureau has announced a waiver of a hefty registration fee of Rs 1 lakh for the first 100 applicants.
12) Buy More, Get More: Buy 1 item get 10% off, 2 items get 20% off, and 3 items get 30% off. The more you buy, the bigger discount you will get. ‘Allen Solly’ offered this offer in Chennai for its menswear and womenswear sections. Similarly, Bombay Dyeing did this with their sheets!
13) Old for New: This is an attractive scheme, especially at a time when consumers are buying more. Every replacement thought comes with the problem of what to do with the old. Big Bazaar has launched a scheme where the customer can take the old and exchange it for new things. It takes care of two problems for the customer: getting a new product and getting rid of the old one.
14) Establish a strong relationship with your customer – Knowing who is buying your products and building a trusting relationship with them is what every retailer wants to do. Ranbaxy offered an innovative promotion scheme of a scratch card + SMS for its medicines. When customers purchase medication, they are provided with a scratch card that has a unique code, which must be sent via SMS to Ranbaxy. When the customer buys the same medicine three times and sends an SMS with the unique code each time, they get a PIN, which they can use to get the fourth medicine for free. Ranbaxy also provides the option for the client to receive medication reminders, a good way to stay in touch with the client and reinforce the thought that you care.
15) Attractive additional charges: A nominal charge of Re.1 for a normal service, such as charging for jewelry, attracts customers even more than a free service campaign. Reliance jewelery recently offered a Re. 1 manufacturing charge schedule on jewelry purchased from its stores.
50 First 15 Promotional Plans