Consumer-Oriented Sales Promotion
Organization Overview
Tropical Limited is the manufacturer and distributor of tropical juice in the country. The company has been in the soft drink market for the last three years and has received a positive growth. In its growth strategy, Tropical Ltd has decided to diversify its product offering by introduce a new product in the market. The company has developed Tropical fruit juice made of fresh fruits. The company believes that the new product will help the company increase its market share and compete with other well-established brands. To successfully introduce the new product in the market a lot of promotion campaign is required to create consumer awareness as well as attract sales. One of the promotion methods that will be conducted is consumer-oriented sales promotion aimed at getting the customer to try the product and create the potential for them to switch to the products. As a marketing manager of the company, I have been given the role to select the Consumer-oriented sales promotion techniques that can be used when introducing the new tropical fruit juice.
Types of Consumer-Oriented Sales Promotion Techniques
The most common types of Consumer-oriented sales promotion techniques that can be used when introducing tropical fruit juice include free samples, coupons, discounts, and premium offer and personality promotion (Pacheco & Rahman, 2015).
- Free Samples
Free sample involves giving target customers small units of samples free of charge for them to test. In promoting tropical fruit juice, the company’s sales agent will offer potential customers will small amount of free juice for them to taste. Free samples will be offered at retail stores such as supermarkets where the company’s products are sold. The advantage of giving the free sample is that the customers may like the product and switch to it. A free sample may also help the company to collect feedback from the customers and improve the product. The disadvantage of using free sample is that it may not generate sales and it is very costly to the organization (Valette Guizani & Merunka, 2011).
- Coupons
Coupons will be issued to customers upon the purchase of other company’s product and customers will get tropical fresh fruit juice at a reduced price. Some coupon will also be inserted in magazines and newspapers, and the customers will get the product at a reduced price. The main advantage of using coupons is that it increases traffic to the retailers. Coupons are also able to reach customers from different locations. The disadvantage of using coupons is that they are costly to the company and may fail to influence sales.
- Discounts
Discount involves offering the product at a relatively low price for a given period. The advantage of the discount is that it stimulates short-term sales of the product. The disadvantage of discount pricing is that it may fail to create repeated sales in the long term.
- Premium Offer
The premium offer involves offering an extra quantity of the product at a regular price. Premium offer helps in attracting short-term sales, and it can help to create loyal customers. The disadvantage of premium offer is the high cost involved in offering the extra quantity of the product.
- Personality Promotion
This type of sales promotion involves getting famous personalities such as famous musicians, actors, and sports personalities. The advantage of using personality promotion to the company is that it helps to attract short term and long term sales. It also helps to promote company’s brand as well as create brand loyal customers. The disadvantage of the promotion method is that wrong choice of personality can kill the product (Valette Guizani, & Merunka, 2011).
Danger of Abusing Sales Promotions and What Can Be Done To Avoid Falling Into the Sales Promotions Trap
There are several dangers associated with abuse of sales promotion. Overuse of sale promotion by the company may lead the brand to lose perceived value. The cost of carrying out promotion may lead the company to undergo loss if the promotion is carried out for too long. Overuse of sales promotion may also change consumer buying behavior, and most customers start switching to products with promotions. It can also result to competitors using promotions extensively leading to a price war that reduce profit margin (Pacheco & Rahman, 2015).
To avoid falling into sales promotion trap, the organization should set short-term and long-term marketing objectives. Sales promotion should only be used to meet short-term marketing objective of the organization. Therefore, sales promotion should be conducted for a short period of time (Pacheco & Rahman, 2015).
Reference
Pacheco, B. G. & Rahman, A. (2015). Effects of sales promotion type and promotion depth on consumer perceptions: the moderating role of retailer reputation. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 25(1), 72-86.
Valette-Florence, P., Guizani, H. & Merunka, D. (2011). The impact of brand personality and sales promotions on brand equity. Journal of Business Research, 64(1), 24-28.