A promotion strategy is a step or tactic taken by a businessman in marketing his business products. In a marketing system, a business person needs to think of various ways to market products to the general public.
It aims to expand the distribution of buyers or consumers, so that these business people have a great chance of success in running their business.
If you have a business, the step you need to take after setting up the business is to expand product distribution.
Why does marketing strategy play an important role in a business? Then, what is an effective promotion strategy for a business, both for beginners and reliable businessmen?
Check out the following explanation.
Why does a businessman need a promotion strategy?
Product marketing certainly has a role to increase the selling power of a business product among the public. These products can be in the form of goods or services that are available and generally have an important role for consumers.
Therefore, a businessman needs to implement a marketing strategy to achieve targeted profits in doing business.
Not only that, the application of a sales marketing strategy also plays a role in enhancing the product or brand name that is characteristic of the business products that you have. With a strategy, the activity of introducing products to the general public becomes easier.
In addition, this business tactic also acts as a way to maintain business in the long term.
This means that the business can provide benefits for both business people and workers in the business for a long time. In fact, if possible, this business can become a hereditary business that has a high existence among the community.
The Most Effective Promotion Strategy for Your Business
There are several strategies you can do to market your business products, including:
1. Know the Target Market
Target market means the target that you will aim for when running a business, be it a business that produces goods or services. The target market is an important point in determining sales marketing strategies to find out how much consumer interest is in the products you sell.
In addition, the introduction and determination of this target market can also be carried out before you produce a new product or just for product evaluation.
When you have new ideas about business products, you need to introduce your target market. This relates to the idea that you will pour into a business product.
By knowing the target market, of course you know the tastes of existing consumers or products. So you can combine the ideas you have with the wishes or models that are popular with consumers.
In addition, the introduction of target markets also aims to evaluate products that have been circulating in the market. When there are many business competitors, a businessman needs to take further action to advance his business.
This is so that the business you are running is able to compete with other competitors. Therefore, the step you can take is to identify your target market.
That way, this method of promotion can provide direction to improve business products both in terms of product composition, in terms of price, and packaging.
Determine the Mission You Want to Achieve
The next promotion strategy is to determine the mission that will be achieved after you promote your business product.
Actually, this step was carried out before the promotion of business products. You need to know the purpose of the product promotion that you are going to do.
This is because the application of product marketing aims for several purposes such as creating a good impression among consumers, determining the quality of business products, creating products that can compete with other business products, and of course increasing consumer purchasing power for business products.
Because this step is related to the application of product marketing, it is necessary to determine the goals or missions that will be achieved after the promotion.
3. Making a Concept Map as a Promotional Strategy
The next step you need to take as a form of business tactic in doing marketing is to compile a concept map. The concept map will later contain an outline of the steps in carrying out product promotions.
With a concept map, your product marketing will be more focused and not out of topic.
In addition, in the plan you can make many steps. If the first step you take fails or doesn’t meet expectations.
Then you can take other steps to achieve the business targets you want. This concept map serves as a guide for product marketing that you will do.
Apart from that, you can also add business-related concepts that are outside the subject of product promotion such as product evaluation systems, product designs, and other things.
This way of promotion is a start for a businessman in doing product marketing. Of course, carefulness and thoroughness are needed in compiling a concept map related to product marketing that will be carried out.
Not only that, as a businessman you also need to monitor the market environment.
This aims to provide anticipation or an alternative way when the work concept that has been neatly arranged for the implementation of product promotion does not run smoothly or experiences problems in the middle of the road. So you don’t need a long time to solve the problem.
4. Take advantage of Social Media
As a businessman, of course you need to keep up with the times, such as the use of social media that has many users. Social media that you can use, such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, even the TikTok application.
To increase your consumer reach, you can use promotional services on social media. However, you can also buy social media accounts from several people who are used to carrying out social media account transactions that have many followers.
That way, you only need to use the account directly and start promoting the business products that you have.
However, promotion with social media also requires a sales marketing strategy that you need to apply to get maximum results so that the opportunities for profit are even greater.
There are several promotional tactics that you can apply by utilizing social media, such as:
a. Pay attention to the upload time
When you want to upload a photo or video related to your business product, the first step you need to pay attention to is when to upload the content. Especially if you do live streaming product promotions.
Estimate an upload time that allows followers of social media accounts to see the promotional content you have without having to scroll too long.
Not only that, another strategy that you can do is to provide certain notifications related to the time of product promotion that you are going to do, especially for live streaming marketing on social media accounts.
So that followers of your social media accounts know in advance and can take their time to see the product promotions that you will be doing.
b. Create interesting content
The next promotional strategy that you can do through social media is to create content that is interesting and different from the others. This content can be in the form of animated videos or pictorial illustrations that are able to provide a product description to potential customers.
You can also provide a brief but detailed explanation in the description of the product you are promoting, so that it is easier for consumers to understand the business product which is the main topic in the marketing that you are doing.
c. Use hashtags and captions
Hashtags and captions are components that you need to include when you want to upload content on social media. This aims to make it easier for followers of your social media accounts or other users to find the content that you upload.
Apart from that, captions also function as a medium to remind reviewers of the business products you are promoting so that these products are easy to remember and have a great chance of being sold in large quantities on the market.
5. Work with Influencers
One of the effective promotion strategies is to work with influencers. Generally, someone who works as an influencer will certainly have a high number of followers.
Therefore, you can use it to help the success of the business you are doing.
You can recruit several influencers to become brand ambassadors for the business products that you have. So, the influencer will only promote the product that you have.
Not only that, if you have a more budgetary budget. So, you can open or place product promotion advertisements on television screens.
Of course, by making the influencers you recruit become players of the ads you post.
In addition, these influencers can also promote business products on their social media. Then, the large number of followers or people who like the influencer will tend to follow his advice.
Therefore, the distribution of consumers to the business products that you have is wider, so that you are able to increase sales of business products and provide greater profits.
6. Provide the Best Service
The best service is one way of doing business. Not a few of the waiters or employees of a business both large and small scale provide services that do not provide satisfaction to consumers.
Such as the attitude of the service which is less friendly so that consumers feel uncomfortable in making transactions.
Not only that, sometimes there are services that are too excessive. Such an offer that is forced will give a bad impression in the eyes of customers.
Therefore, you need to provide the best service to customers who are able to give a good impression of the product and trigger customers to repurchase business products.
7. Provide Tester for New Products
The next way of promotion that you can do is by providing product samples or testers for consumers. If the business product that you have is in the form of food or drink, then you can do this easily by providing product samples.
Of course, even though only samples are given to consumers, the tester packaging must be in good condition and maintain quality.
This good quality does not only cover the condition of the product but also includes the condition of the surrounding environment as a place to market business products. Therefore, in carrying out product promotions, determine a comfortable place for consumers to find out more about the business products that you are selling.
In addition, the cleanliness of the place or marketing location is also an important concern. This, of course, aims to give a good impression on business products and attract consumer sympathy to feel the tester of the product that you are marketing.
If the business product that you have is in the form of material that is not for consumption but for use like skincare products, then the tester that you can provide is in the form of a whole product. You can show and provide opportunities for consumers to feel the use of business products.
However, if your business product is in the form of a service, then you can provide a detailed description of the services you will provide. You can also apply these services if the service has an easy application.
8. Promotions with additional price discounts
Another sales marketing strategy that you can do is to give discounts on the products you have. This, of course, aims to attract the sympathy of potential consumers to buy the products you are marketing.
In giving discounts or discounts, the thing you need to consider is the aspect of the benefits you get. Adjust the price discount with the capital you spend so that it doesn’t have an adverse impact in the form of a loss for the business you have.
As a businessman or business owner, you cannot only rely on the employees or staff you have at work.
However, you need to get involved directly, even if necessary, you can go into the field to find out the real market conditions. So that you can determine a sales marketing strategy that you can apply, mainly related to giving discounts on business products.
Do you give the discount to all types of products or only certain products.
You can also determine how the discount system that you will apply to attract consumer purchasing power and of course still provide benefits for the company.
9. Promotion with Shopping Points
The point system is one way to increase sales of business products that you have. With the point system, consumers will be more interested in buying products in larger quantities because the points that will be obtained will be even more.
So that the opportunity for consumers to get bonuses from buying the products you sell is also getting bigger. Not only that, in applying the point system to buying and selling business products, you also need to provide attractive bonuses.
Then determine the number of points that have been collected from the results of shopping for business products that have been carried out.
So that when consumer points meet the requirements to get a bonus, you can offer it whether the consumer will immediately exchange it and the consumer can get a bonus according to the number of points that have been collected.
Or will these consumers save points until the number of points collected can be used as a medium of exchange for even bigger bonuses. In this case, the tactics of a businessman play a very important role in increasing sales or achieving sales targets.
10. Promotions with Guarantees for Certain Products
The next promotional strategy that you can do is to provide guarantees or guarantees for certain products that have high price levels and have complex constituent components.
The application of this method aims to give confidence to consumers that the goods sold are quality business products and of course guaranteed safety until the validity of the guarantee.
In addition, with a guarantee, consumers will feel safer and calmer when the business product is damaged, so there is still an opportunity for customers to ask the manufacturer to solve the problem.
If the problems that occur are at a difficult level or the damage is in a severe condition, the producer will provide a replacement product for the consumer.
11. Provide Free Shipping Facilities
Shipping costs are costs that are borne by consumers when purchasing goods. As a businessman, especially those of you who run an online business, implementing free shipping is a way of promotion that has a lot of interest when consumers buy a product.
Of course, the provision of free shipping has certain requirements in buying and selling that you do. Such as giving free shipping when consumers buy more than 2 products or consumers will get free shipping if they buy products at the minimum shopping price that you have set.
This will provide greater profit opportunities for you. Because most consumers would prefer to do shopping without having to bear shipping costs.
In addition, consumer purchasing power is increasing and of course the number of products sold is also increasing.
12. Promotion with Special Price
The next promotion strategy that you can apply is by giving special prices to all products. You can give this special price when there are holidays, there are certain celebrations, or at the turn of the year.
This can attract consumers to buy the product you are promoting.
Apart from that, this method is a tactic when you want to do a warehouse clearance and release a new product.
However, what you need to pay attention to is maintaining the quality of business products. Because in this case, there are several manufacturers who carry out warehouse clearance and the products sold are products that already have several defects.
So that there is a negative impression on consumers of these products. Therefore, as a businessman, you must be able to place a promotion strategy according to the circumstances of the business you are running.
You also need to estimate how the prospects are from selling the products you sell.
Will the product still have a high presence in the market in the future, or will there be a need for changes in terms of composition, physical design, or packaging.
So that the products you previously sold can run out on time even long before the release of new products.
This of course aims to minimize losses and increase your chances of making a profit. So that the business you do can take place in the long term and the business products you sell are able to compete in the market with other products.
13. Promotion through Reseller Opening
A reseller is someone who sells goods from suppliers without stocking goods. Of course, resellers will benefit in the form of commissions which will be given in accordance with the provisions of each product sold.
As a businessman, opening resellers for business products is one of the sales marketing strategies that can expand product distribution.
Through resellers, more and more parties will promote the business products that you have. So that the product is well known among the wider community.
And of course it will increase the chances of selling the product. Not only that, by opening a reseller you also don’t need high costs to advertise or promote products.
15. Promotion through Activity Sponsors
Not a few companies carry out product promotions through sponsoring certain activities, be it activities related to private events, activities related to certain educational institutions, even social service events.
This promotion method certainly provides other benefits for producers besides participating in various kinds of activities organized by certain parties.
By promoting activities, you can simultaneously introduce your business products to the general public. Of course, you will also get more and more working relationships and be able to expand the sales range of the products you have.
So do not be surprised if some business people or certain business owners apply this method a lot because this method has a level of ease in implementation even though it requires quite a long time. However, the benefits are not small.
Just like when you promote through sponsoring social activities, from these activities you can give charity to others. You can also expand your working relationships as well as market the products you have.
Not only that, in sponsoring the activity you also have the opportunity to give consumers a good image of the products you have.
15. Promotion by Doing Giveaway
Giveaway is one way of product promotion that is often done to increase the existence of the brand that you have. This method is the distribution of products without charge and occurs randomly to consumers through the official website and social media.
Of course, in implementing this giveaway, followers must meet the terms and conditions that apply to get these business products. You can give giveaways regularly to attract consumers’ interest in buying the products you have.
Actually, the application of this giveaway is almost the same as giving a product tester to potential customers.
However, there are significant differences, such as in the provision of product testers, so you only need to provide a small amount of the product that you are marketing or give potential customers the opportunity to experience the product you are selling.
In contrast to giveaways which will provide the complete product to potential customers or followers who take part in the giveaway for free and through randomization of the winners.
16. Organize Events and Become a Sponsor
Holding events and becoming a sponsor can be the most effective promotion strategy for your business.
Events generally gather many people or audiences at one time.
If you become an event sponsor, these people will see the existence of your business, whether it’s your brand, logo, tagline, products sold, and so on.
This can be one of the tricks to increase public brand awareness of the business and products you sell.
18. Join the Business Community
High thirst for knowledge is one of the capital that you must have before building a business. And currently, there are various platforms that accommodate the business community to expand business relationships.
Not only that, through the business community you can also get new knowledge about the business world, you know. For example, knowledge related to promotion tips, how to expand the target market, to how to build cooperation in running a business.
18. Join the Promotional Program from the Marketplace
Apart from social media, the emergence of the marketplace has also been the impact of internet development in Nigeria.
You can use this to run bigger promotions and reach more consumers, you know.
Selling on the marketplace can be an effective promotional strategy because this platform provides a product category menu that makes products easier for consumers to find.
For example, if you run a skincare business, when registering a product on the marketplace, you will be asked to narrow down the product categories being sold. That way, consumers can more easily find the products you sell.
Not only that, usually the marketplace is also a seller program to nominate products sold in ongoing campaigns. A tempting promo will certainly increase your store’s visibility and business turnover on the marketplace.
So, always follow the development of promotional programs from each marketplace and learn how the impact of these promotional programs will be if you nominate your shop to join.
If you feel that the promotional program offered can have a positive impact on your sales on the marketplace, then don’t hesitate to register immediately.