Sales Marketing
How to use sales promotions and tracking to increase your profits
By Nicholos Poma
There are times when a company may find it necessary to increase revenues or revive slumping sales. One tool at a company’s disposal is promotional sales. This practice is proven effective at drawing new customers, but is just as effective at increasing the sales with your established customer base. However, it’s important that your company track the performance of these promotional sales so you’re better able to recognize which ones perform the best.
Good Ideas
Promotional sales can includes such things as offering a certain percentage off the price of a service or product - a popular offer used by many companies. Retail tends to be the most active participant in this practice, however service companies are finding it to be an effective tool as well.
If your company is just beginning to test the waters in sales promotions, it may not be necessary to invest in redesigning your current database right away. One possible solution is to create a small database which will track all of the revenue generated by your promotional offers. Most databases have the option of importing data. This will prevent your company from having to create an additional expenditure until it is clear that the promotional offers have the desired effect on sales.
Another promotional offer could be as simple as offering free shipping. This is especially effective if your company is web-based or your primary business is conducted through catalog orders. Giving your customers a break in the cost of shipping can go a long way in increasing sales.
Probably one of the biggest promotional offers is the “buy one and get one free” approach. This leaves your customers with the sense that they have really received a great bargain. It is also a possibility that they will buy one item for themselves and one for a friend or family member, which could increase your customer base by promoting exposure of your product.
The Importance of Analysis
Of course it is important that you evaluate the ramifications of offering promotional sales to increase short term revenue. The only trouble with promotional offers is that if they are over used, either by your company or a competitor, they will soon become part of your customer’s expectations of you and the promotional offer will lose its effectiveness.
Once you have determined which promotional offers are the most effective for your company, it’s time to permanently add this data to your existing database. This will help you better track the performance of your offers and will give you an indication as to whether you should possibly change tactics or keep on with the same techniques.
