Promotions are wonderful things – an opportunity to get people as excited about your product as you are. They should also deliver an equal win for both you and your customer. But what if they don’t?
So, how did your last promotion go? Did the activation see an increase in sales? Were products flying off the shelf and record books rewritten? Were customers humming with excitement? Did you carve up a larger slice of the market share pie and witness confetti-worthy profits? Or, was it less humming and more ho-hum? In fact, are you looking at the ROI and wondering if it’s really worth the effort?
You can actually learn a lot from a promotion that underwhelms – but you need to take the time to look. Because in principle, promotions should work, so it’s vital to find out which cog in the wheel slipped. Without it, you’re doomed to repeat the same mistakes next time.
By auditing your activation strategy, it’s likely that a few things will be laid bare for all to see. One of them might be whether your resellers were truly engaged. It could be the offer simply didn’t resonate with the end user.
At Cocktail, we’re all about identifying even the smallest details to make sure every cog plays its part. We’ve made a name out of mixing the right ingredients to get measurable results for our clients – with experience across product launches, trade events, incentive programs, sales promos and channel promotions.
While price will always play a big part in buyer decisions, ultimately, it’s about how big the idea is that will help translate your promotion into a successful one.
So, what is a ‘big idea’ anyway? Forget about marching bands, parading elephants and jet flyovers – it has nothing to do with the size of the spectacle. In fact, the biggest ideas are typically the simplest ones. They are the creative nuggets that have you yelling “aha!” and can be communicated with just a few words yet have everyone smiling and nodding and understanding immediately. Those ideas are the sparks that power red hot promotions!
Think about a promotion of yours that fell flat. More often than not, it’s because it just didn’t excite either the reseller or the end customer. There was no spark or It was too confusing or elaborate to create buy in.
Smart promotions rely on simplicity to make things easy to understand:
– A concept resellers can communicate with ease.
– A foolproof process.
– And a shiny incentive that excites, delights and simply compels people to buy.
It’s factors like these, along with other areas such as how well the promotion is merchandised, which can make or break any promotion activation. By using clever creative to create something simple and seamless, not only are you well on the road to a strong promotion, you’re on track to reap the rewards.
Coming up with a winning promotion is one sure way to increase sales, but one major component many overlook is how your product is displayed at the point of sale.
When was the last time you saw your product as a shopper sees it, in the retail environment? Your product has the potential to close the sale on its own and on the spot through clever point of sale (POS). The kind of POS that calls out to you and demands to be picked up, even without a salesperson in sight.
After all, as well-trained as our resellers can be, just like us, they also can’t be everywhere at once (and most shoppers would prefer they weren’t following them around!). That’s why it falls to cleverly crafted POS to act as the ‘silent salesperson’ for your product.
Of course, silent doesn’t mean it can’t be LOUD. In fact, getting a customer’s attention is the name of the game in this winner-takes-all sport. Your brand wants to display its best self to lure a potential buyer closer. The better it looks, the more likely a shopper will consider it the leader – and seek it out.
It goes without saying you should be periodically auditing how your brand looks in a retail environment – by itself and also when compared with others in the segment. Does it jump out and look like the preferred choice? And most importantly, would a customer choose it without the help of a salesperson? There are plenty of clever ways to give your product more ‘shelf esteem’ through great POS – and Cocktail is on hand to give you more aisle appeal.
Don’t delay reaping the rewards a winning promotion can give you, it’s time to ask where Cocktail has been all your life. We know all about creating highly successful promotions and we’ll take care of everything to make it happen for you. Big ideas, small fuss. Contact us today to learn more.