Sales Promotion Strategies
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Promoting your business is an important part of your daily activities. After all, if customers are not showing up, then you can't make a sale. To promote your business in an effective way, consider using the tried and true sales strategies of "Push" and "Pull." Whether you use coupons, giveaways or incentives for your best salesperson, you will see your bottom line increase.
Push Sales Strategy
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The push sales strategy emanates from manufacturers who "push" their product through the supply chain to the consumer. Incentives are offered that give each middle-carrier motivation to convince the next person to buy the product. Traditionally, this technique includes premiums, wholesale discounts and buy-back guarantees.
This technique is not only for the big players who vie to get their product carried by other retailers. If you have a small retail outlet or own a service-providing company, you can still benefit from this strategy. Offering a bonus to your staff for selling the product or service of-the-week is a "push" technique. Give customers a free item for referring a friend to your business.
Pull Sales Strategy
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The "pull" strategy works by getting the end consumer interested in the product to create a demand. When the demand is there, the supply chain pulls it through, as retailers ask suppliers and distributors, who in turn ask the manufacturer about the product. If your business has the resources, you can launch a campaign to get end consumers excited about your products. Television, print and electronic advertising options lend themselves to the pull strategy.
Combining Push and Pull
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To bolster sales, try combining the two systems. For instance, offer your customers coupons, free gifts or a frequent customer loyalty incentive to drive traffic to your business. These activities fall under the "pull" strategy.
At the same time, offer your sales team an incentive such as a vacation contest, extra commission or a better parking space for selling a particular product or moving a certain volume of merchandise. This falls under the "push" strategy.
By combining the two methods as part of an overall promotion, you will be matching motivated buyers with an eager sales team to increase sales growth.
References
Writer Bio
Thomas Ferraioli began writing in 1993. His work has been featured in national publications like "Parents" and "U.S. Catholic." Ferraioli owns a cleaning service and is a Catholic youth minister. He holds a bachelor's degree in communications and business from Seton Hall University and was a recipient of the Pope John Paul II Award from the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J. for his work with youth.