A promotional plan outlines the tools or tactics you use to achieve your marketing goals. Here’s why you need one.
Promotional Plans make your marketing goals happen
Promotion plays a key part in your marketing plan, yet it is very often overlooked. Promotion forms part of the 4 Ps in the Marketing Mix (a popular term used to describe all the essential elements in your marketing). For example, your marketing goal might be to sell 100 units of product this month through social media, email campaigns, print advertising and competitions.
Your promotion plan will detail specific promotions such as:
- Launch offers and discounts
- Members and loyalty discounts
- Value added bonuses
- Free gift with purchase
It also includes the timing and budget for these activities for the year.
You can implement a Promotion Plan on the wholesale side (with your stockists) and the retail side (direct to your customers) of your business.
A plan specifically for business-to-business and with your stockists is called a Trade Promotional Plan.
The benefits of a Promotional Plan
- Your product and brand stay competitive in the marketplace.
- Sales promotions offer an incentive to new stockists, prospect and existing customers to buy more or trial new product lines.
- Customers love great offers and the feeling of getting something ‘extra’ in their purchase.
- As a supplier, you get preferential treatment from stockists which helps to build a stable
- You can use promotions as an opportunity to generate trials of new products.
- You become the ‘preferred supplier’ in your category because you are thinking outside the box, and not just about your needs.
- If you choose your promotion activities wisely, you achieve incremental sales and possibly halo effect sales as well (where promotion of one product encourages the sale of another product in your range).
Want more articles like this? Check out the business marketing section.
Promotion is a powerful selling tool and when you align it with your marketing activities you get real results.
What are your thoughts on Promotional Plans? If you have one, why not break down your marketing goals and detail your offers in your promotional plan?