Quick answer: Sales promotion helps producers lift sales quickly, launch new products, smooth out seasonal demand, win new markets and keep existing customers. It also supports advertising and personal selling, earns cooperation from dealers, helps meet competition and builds goodwill and trust in the product.
| Area | Importance |
|---|---|
| Sales | Increase in sales, demand for new products, seasonal products, low-yield areas |
| Customers | New markets, retaining customers, new uses, trust, goodwill |
| Marketing support | Media effectiveness, personal selling, distribution, middlemen cooperation |
| Control | Direct control, facing competition |
The importance of sales promotion cannot be underestimated. It is an important component of the marketing program.
The producers can have a number of advantages through operating sales promotion plans.
It can be a specific tool for the sales promotion strategy.
Importance of Sales Promotion to Producers
Following are the advantages or importance of sales promotion to producers:
1. Increase in Sales
Sales promotion plans to aid in personal selling efforts and makes advertising effective.
It attracts consumers and stimulates them to make larger purchases, leading to increased sales.
2. Improves the Effectiveness of Media Activities
The sales promotion plans make the advertisement and other media activities more effective to achieve sales targets.
These plans create “help” in proving the information of advertising truthful. These give pulling power to ads.
Related: 28 Important Functions of Sales Promotion.
3. Help Personal Selling
Trade and sales force promotions also support the firm’s personal selling process.
The salespeople can use demonstrations, distribution to free samples, contests methods to push the sales.
Sales promotion aimed at the company’s own sales force might motivate salesmen to get new customers, selling a new product.
Sales promotion might provide them sales portfolios, videotapes on new products, displays, and other sales aids.
4. Efficient Distribution
Sales promotion aimed at dealers encourages them to stock new items, buy in larger quantities, buy early, pay early or stress a product in their own promotion efforts.
Dealers can be motivated to sell special items through merchandise allowances or contests.
5. Increase in Demand for New Products
Through the distribution of free samples, cash rebates, coupons, premiums plans and consumer contests a producer can easily promote the demand for new items.
Related: 13 Factors Influencing the Designing of Sales Territory.
6. Regular Sale of Seasonal Products
A producer can maintain regular sales of seasonal products by giving off-season discounts, price cuts or premium packs.
7. Able to Capture New Market
Sales promotion plans help the producer to capture the new markets and new dealers easily.
New sales areas can be developed by offering incentives to channel members.
Salesmen can also be motivated to open new markets through incentives and inducements.
8. Easy to Maintain Existing Customers
Sales promotion creates repeat purchasing.
Distribution of sample packages, calendars, pen sets, cigarette lighters, watches, diaries, keyrings, calculators, notebook, and other points of sales materials help maintain existing customers.
Related: 17 Powerful Consumer Sales Promotion Techniques.
9. New Uses of the Product
Sales promotion methods can suggest new uses of products to the customers which increases sales.
10. Creates Trust in Products
Sales promotion plans are helpful in promoting sales especially in those territories which yield low sales and small profits.
In such areas, sales promotion efforts may be increased and the interest and demand of the consumers can be stimulated.
11. Effective Measure to Face Competition
With the sales promotion plans in operation, a producer can make his competing position strong.
Rather, he can disrupt competitors marketing strategies.
He can motivate them to sell the products on a priority basis and to maintain maximum stock with them.
Related: Top 5 Important Determinants of Promotion Mix.
12. Direct Control
In the sales promotion program, the producer has direct and full control over his promotional efforts and plans.
Thus, he can achieve maximum results at minimum costs, He has direct control in deciding the types, areas, time and costs of promotional plans.
13. Increase in Goodwill
The repeated use of sales promotion plans helps to build a good image and identity of the products as well as of the firm.
It ultimately influences the sales volume and widens the market share.
14. Promotes Sales in Low Yielding Areas
Sales promotion plans are helpful in promoting sales especially in those territories which yield low sales and small profits.
In such areas, sales promotion efforts may be increased and the interest and demand of the consumers can be stimulated.
Bonus: 20 Key Nature and Characteristics of Retailing.
15. Cooperation from Middlemen
The various promotional incentives offered to dealers and channel members help to achieve their cooperation in trading.
Promotional gifts and trade discounts will motivate them to sell the products on a priority basis and to maintain maximum stock with them.
Thus, now you know the advantages or importance of sales promotion to producers.
Related:
- Sales Promotion: Meaning, Features, Importance, Objectives
- 16 Factors Responsible for Rapid Growth of Sales Promotion (Explained)
- Project Report: Meaning, Characteristics, Need & Objectives
- 17 Key Features of an Ideal Compensation Plan (Explained)
- Marketing Audit: Meaning, Process, Characteristics, Objectives
