I hear many people talking about marketing and promotion in the same breath as being the same thing. I don't believe them, because in my experience they are very different, but they are linked by a common theme... your business.
In a nutshell, marketing can be described as everything you do to attract clients into your business but a promotion is a specific event and time based activity to get people to buy your products or services. To understand this difference, I am going to show you what is involved in running a promotion. These are all the elements you need to consider and how you can include them in your business, or your next promotion.
The Reason Why
Canadian advertising man John E. Kennedy is credited with inventing the term 'Reason Why Advertising' as far back as 1905 and every promotion you run should have a strong reason for why you are doing it. Events are the usual 'reason' such as product launches and significant anniversaries. More unusually, I've seen marketers use the birth of a new baby for a sale and even "I need to pay my taxes" to run a promotion. Yes, it is cheesy, but it works.
So not all reasons are good, BUT they are still reasons and they work far better than the "I'm running a promotion this week because I can or should" angle. Remember that the bigger hook or story you can work into a promotion then the bigger the impact. Your customers will respond to a promotion with lots of BANG and that means it will grab their ATTENTION much faster.
Give Them A Discount Or Special Price
However interesting your customers find your promotion, it is not going to work unless you also give them a reason to act now. You have plenty of options here: you can offer a reduced price, a bundled special deal on your products, or a one on one consult with you.
Put An End Date On Your Promotion
Some businesses seem to be in permanent sale mode, so there's no urgency for the customer to buy. They know that this week, next week and right through the year that business has a sale on. That's why it's important you create a deadline for your promotion. If you then you lose credibility. Having a definitive end date creates urgency and a reason for your potential customer to act now or lose out.
Give Something Extra
Successful online marketers have mastered the art of giving bonuses and any good promotion should contain a bonus item for ordering now. Key points to consider are whether your bonus is relevant to the main item being sold, and does it stand alone in its own value. Ask yourself whether your bonus item could be sold on its own and does it add value to the promotion you are running?
TELL People The Value They Are Getting
The first time I 'got' this I saw my sales increase, and although you may think your bonus is valuable, it won't always be obvious to the customer so you must make it clear to them. Even if you do put a value next to the items you are selling, don't assume your prospect or customer has worked it out for themselves. If the total value is £250 tell them it is £250 because if you leave them to add it up for themselves they generally won't do it.
Finally...Tell People What To Do Next
All the above points are meaningless unless you follow through with this one. Tell them what you want them to do. For example; fill in this form, go to this website, click this link. Never, ever leave it up to the customer to find out how to order your products. If it is not clear then they won't make the effort, so just let them know what you want them to do. For example: "To order this Internet Marketing Guide and take advantage of the special price with all of your bonuses worth £350 click on this button now." No mistakes, no confusion...just sales.
Follow these six steps and you are on your way to your most successful promotion ever.
