The Power of Promotions
Promotions, things like special-offer coupons or in-store events, can
be a great way for a small business to grab some quick attention. But
done without strategy and as the sole substitute for other marketing
media, promotions may end up costing more than they’re worth.
Rule No. 1 of promotional events is know who you’re looking to
attract and target the event or the promotion accordingly, says Tom
Egelhoff, owner of SmallTownMarketing.com (www.smalltownmarketing.
com), a marketing consulting firm in Bozeman, MT, specializing in
mom-and-pop, low-cost advertising. “Depending on the size of your city
or neighborhood, a promotion may bring in tons of people who are elbow
to elbow in your store, but they’re not buying anything and they don’t
come back. That means the promotion will cost more than it’s worth,” he
explains. “Having a promotion for a specific target market rather than
everyone might be a better tactic.”
Private sales for your best customers or those that have shown a
past willingness to purchase high-margin goods might be a better
place to focus promotions.
Some other Egelhoff suggestions:
- Try direct-mail coupons.They’re an inexpensive
way to promote your business with a special offer
and they’re easier to target using specific postal
routes, for example. Also, with this approach, companies
can measure and test which promotions are
most effective with which customers, again lessening
any possibility that the promotion fails or is too
costly, Egelhoff says.
- Be experimental. A retail store could do an instore,
non-advertised promotion on a particular piece
of merchandise to see if it appeals to customers
before launching on a larger scale. Shop-with-a-buddy coupons are
another Egelhoff suggestion to wring more from your promotional
dollars. This would entail requiring coupon recipients to bring in a
friend to redeem the coupon value, although each person would benefit
from the promotion, be it a special price or gift offer.
- Think signage. For service professionals like painters or landscape
architects, taking advantage of their investment in signage
is a no-brainer way to promote, Egelhoff says. Check with your customers
to see if you can place your sign outside their home while
working on a project. On weekends, when vehicles aren’t in use,
park them, with your logo proudly displayed, in legal parking spots
in high-traffic areas where they’re bound to attract attention. “It’s
like a mini-billboard,” he says.
Whichever tactic you choose, Egelhoff advises not to do promotions
too often and never in lieu of other marketing or advertising
tactics. Says Egelhoff: “Promotions don’t take the place of regular
advertising. You have to be out there on a regular basis.” BA
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