How To Create Profitable Promotions

From the desk of Karlton Bryan

Promotion and revenue go hand in hand. No matter how long you’ve been in business, or what kind of company you have; keeping your product/service in the forefront of the consumer’s mind is an ongoing process. You want to be the one they remember when they go to buy that hair product or need to get their car fixed.

In simple terms, promotion is about communicating who your company is and enticing your target audience to purchase your product or service. It showcases the marketing messages you put out into the world, and aims to achieve your marketing objectives.

It’s an umbrella term that encompasses any activity that is done for the purpose of “getting your name out there” and creating sales. It is one of the main components that make up a marketing plan.

Think big shots like Coca Cola and Microsoft no longer have promotional campaigns? On the contrary, in order to stay at the top of their fields they devote a great deal of energy to promotion; and they keep it going regularly.

If you aren’t going to the public, but waiting for them to come to you, you’re only creating a one way stream of revenue. In this day and age promotion is a cornerstone of success in business.

"You are measured in life by what you finish...
not what you start!" Karlton Bryan, CEO, Author, Public Speaker

Why Everyone Needs to Promote Their Business

We’ve been discussing how essential marketing plans – and proactive strategies in general - are to success in business. Doing so paints the picture of your company’s vision. It forces you to ask yourself what your product/service is all about, and how it will meet your target market’s need? The groundwork is laid, but how are you going to communicate this with them? This is where promotion comes into the picture….

You can have the best product in the world...but if the world doesn't know about it, it's not doing anyone any good!

“Getting your name out there” is how you are going to create a strong impression in the minds of your potential customers. One way to get into this style of thinking is to see everything you do as a way to do just that. Sure there are standard methods of promotion which can be very useful, but when you “think outside the box” it can really give you an edge against the competition.

The ways of promotion are endless; all you have to do is get yourself into that mind-set. Once you start thinking like the customer, you'll start to understand what THEY want, and then the opportunities of how to provide it, as well as how to let them know about it, shine through.

Brand Awareness

In a marketplace that is full of variety for consumers to choose from, maintaining a presence and reputation amongst all the other brands and products is essential. This is a term called brand awareness, which really just means getting your company and its product/service known, by repetitive exposure of your marketing messages and logo to the public. Promotion is what allows you to achieve this. It also creates interest and curiosity around your product/service.

Consistent Promotion

Equally important to promoting yourself in general, is promoting on a consistent basis. The effectiveness of doing it suffers if you don't commit to it on a frequent basis. This doesn't have to cost a lot of money, there are plenty of cost-effective methods to choose from.

The goal is to “touch base” with the public. If they gain some brand awareness and then you disappear for a while they'll forget about you, “out of sight, out of mind”. If and when you start putting your promotional communications out there it will take a while to catch on again, and plus it looks inconsistent. And as we all know by this point, the key to success in marketing is consistency!

Promotion Plan Steps

1) Go through the different types of promotional methods and determine their strengths and weaknesses

2) Determine the combination of promotion methods you want to implement

3) Decide which of the goals in your marketing plan you want to achieve with your promotional campaign

4) Look at how much money you have in the budget to allot to promotion

5) Decide what percentage of the budget will go to which method of promotion

6) Determine which messages (aspects) your company and its product/service you want to promote

7) Launch your promotional campaign when all the steps of planning (section D) have been completed

8) Evaluate the results of your promotional efforts

Learning Review


o Promotion and revenue go hand in hand. No matter how long you’ve been in business, or what kind of company you have; keeping your product/service in the forefront of the consumer’s mind is an ongoing process. You want to be the one they remember when they go to buy that hair product or need to get their car fixed.

o In a marketplace that is full of variety for consumers to choose from, maintaining a presence and reputation amongst all the other brands and products is essential.

Equally important to promoting yourself in general, is promoting on a consistent basis. The effectiveness of doing it suffers if you don't commit to it on a frequent basis. This doesn't have =o cost a lot of money, there are plenty of cost-effective methods to choose from.

Types of Promotions

Advertising
Marketing Collateral
Public Relations
Traditional Sales
Sponsorship
Sales Promotion
Packaging
Customer Service
Direct Mail
Trade Shows

A promotional plan is an outline of the ways you're going to promote your product/service to achieve your marketing goals. The promotional plan is only one component of an overall marketing plan, yet it often gets mistaken however for the marketing plan, as it outlines where most of the marketing budget will go.

Thanks for tuning in,

Karlton Bryan
CEO, Author, International Speaker

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