Contests, sweepstakes, demonstration models, video promotions, dealer displays, signs, point-of-purchase racks, and small samples are just a few of the types of non-price promotions. You can use non-price promotions in three ways: with your sales force, with your distribution channel, and with your customers.
Sales Force Promotions
Contests are one of the most common sales force promotions. If salespeople achieve a goal, they can win a vacation trip, a cash reward, or an expensive item. I personally do not care for sales force contests because they don’t pay off as well as distribution channel promotions. If salespeople work for you, they have only one product to sell. If they are doing a good job for you already, they really can’t sell that much more.
Manufacturers’ representatives, distributors and retailers are another matter. They may sell ten to fifteen, or even more products. You will get a significant sales increase if you can get them to double or even triple the time they spend selling your product.
Sales collateral materials
Sales force sales collateral materials include:
- Models or demonstrators, sales people can get into a rut, and a model can liven up their presentation.
- Videotapes. Include funny elements and non-sales materials.
- Fliers, buttons, posters, free tickets, and other premiums. Sales people enjoy having little items to give out to customers, and it help to motivate them.
Distribution Channel Promotions
Contests for distributors can be effective because they have the potential to dramatically increase the time the distribution channel spends on your product. You should coordinate a contest with your sales and other marketing objectives. Set a clear goal for a contest that includes your long-term as well as short-term benefits.
Support Materials
You can furnish point-of -purchase materials such as displays, posters, banners, selling cards, sales brochures, or signs to help promote your product. Distribution channels are often quite willing to use your materials if these materials will help them sell more.
Advisory Boards
Another tactic is to have an advisory board, or a distributor or retail council, based upon a contest or sales performance from the previous years. You can hold meetings in resort locations and make the position a reward for top performers. Boards and councils can also give input regarding promotional programs in the next year.
Consumer Programs
Premiums are an effective consumer program. Other types of promotions you can use are packages, in-store displays, contests, and demonstrations.
Packaging
A product package sits on a store shelf where you can look at it. Use your packaging every now and then for a promotion. Some packages have premiums right on them. Photos of famous soccer players, a picture puzzle, content information, and rebate offers can all be placed on packages. This is an effective strategy. Many more people will see your product’s package than will ever remember your ad. And the people who see the package will be hot prospects.
Contests
Contests for consumers have a dramatic appeal, and they can be quite inexpensive, because the prize only needs to be given to one person. If you have a big or unusual prize, people will remember your name. Another positive point about a contest with one big prize is that you can have people enter it for a long time – as much as four to six months. This extends the contest’s exposure and extends benefits to you.
Some contests give prizes to many participants. Because they give away many prizes, they have to have smaller prizes, but even with the smaller prizes, these contests are expensive. As a result, I don’t think contests that give away smaller prizes are worth running.
Displays
In-store displays can be an effective way to motivate customers to buy. A retailer can use a large display in the front of the store to promote its business and to merchandise products. Manufacturers can furnish displays to stores or dealers or use them at trade shows. Displays work well because they can provide a dominant image that will get people’s attention.
Demonstrations
Many grocery stores have people either giving out free samples or demonstrating products every Saturday. That’s a smart strategy. It exposes people to new products, and it generate immediate sales.
Demonstrations catch people in a buying mood and let you close a sale on the spot. Retailers should have demonstration areas and have employees’ manufacturers’ salespeople, or local inventors show off products as often as possible. Demonstrations create an action orientation that customers seem to like.
Action Steps
Non-price promos are effective, do not cost very much, and are often easy to execute. Try to run two to three such programs each year. The programs you can choose from are:
- Sales force promotional materials
Contests
Collateral materials
Fliers, premiums, and models to pass on
- Distribution channels promotion
Contests
Support materials
Advisory boards
- Consumer programs
Packaging
Contests
Displays
Demonstrations
……………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………
