Consumer promotions can provide your business with a short-term boost in product sales or services requested. However, promotions should be thought of as an "add-on" to your existing brand advertising and marketing strategies. If you are considering running special consumer promotions, there is good rationale for incorporating them into your marketing mix.

Reasons to Promote:

• Create a general hype in sales
• Launch a new product or service, generating initial trial
• Announce news about an existing product or service, e.g., a new form, package size, product use, bonus offer, extended service, location, etc.
• Offset new competition or other competitive threat
• Induce repeat purchases, product upgrades or services used
• Announce a tie-in product or service, e.g., free suntan product with the purchase of sunglasses
• Capitalize on holiday or seasonal occasions, e.g., Valentine's Day, President Day Sales, Back-to-School Sales, Holiday Sales
• Enhance product or service awareness

Who Is Your Primary Target For the Promotion?
When planning a promotion, it is important to know which customers you are trying to reach. Will your promotion target new users or current customers? Deciding on a target audience will depend on factors such as current sales trends, competitive activity, seasonality or a combination of factors. Targeting your customers is key to a promotion's success. You also need to know your customers' behavior, reading or listening habits or use of the Internet. Once you have determined which customers to target and how to reach them, you can decide how to best use your available funds.

What Is Your Promotion Budget?
Your marketing budget should include an allocation for promotions, both planned and contingency (i.e., for unexpected events). How you create awareness of the promotion will depend on how much money you have to spend. Think about hidden promotional costs, which can reduce the cost efficiency of the promotion if overlooked. Luckily, there are many forms of media available at all different price ranges. Just be sure that the cost of your promotion will not outweigh the benefit.

What Type of Promotion Works Best?
Promotions come in different forms, with different budgets, and can yield very different results. Sometimes it is a good idea to conduct a test promotion before launching a large-scale effort. This can help you to stay within your promotion budget and ensure that your promotion tactics are sound. As a starting point in figuring out what promotion will work best for your business, research common promotion techniques in your industry and review the effectiveness of competitors' promotions.

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