Sales Promotion Techniques
Sales Promotion Techniques 1
Marketing firms use sales promotions every day, but different companies use different techniques. According to Axia College Week Seven Supplement (2008), advertising and marketing have been with us for a very long time. In fact, in ancient Greece and Rome, advertising was etched on stone tablets and walls (Axia pg 407 chapt 13). As times change, advertising techniques also change. Sales promotions have evolved into the following classifications: discounts and deals, increasing industry visibility, price based consumer sales promotions and attention getting consumer sales promotions. The marketing team for Target stores do an excellent job of sales promoting through the “discounts and deals” technique. Every Tuesday, new DVD releases hit the market. Prices are always similar between the competitions. Target however, focuses on the discount and deals technique. Target offers its consumers a Target exclusive DVD, made only for Target stores. For a few dollars more, the consumer will get a collector’s item DVD with an extra disc, which is exclusive only at Target stores. This reinforces the product and rewards the consumer. What makes this technique so effective for Target is that the product is only sold at Target. The competition sells a similar item without the bonus features. The downside to this technique for Target is that they have to offer similar products every Tuesday in order to keep the consumer from shopping at the competition. Many companies try to increase industry visibility but no one does it better than the Microsoft marketing team, in my opinion. Microsoft advertises almost everywhere. Microsoft tries to increase industry visibility by holding trade shows and advertising on promotional products. Almost every computer worldwide promotes Microsoft. They Sales Promotion Techniques 2 build awareness through online ads, television commercials with celebrities and now are increasing their visibility
Marketing firms use sales promotions every day, but different companies use different techniques. According to Axia College Week Seven Supplement (2008), advertising and marketing have been with us for a very long time. In fact, in ancient Greece and Rome, advertising was etched on stone tablets and walls (Axia pg 407 chapt 13). As times change, advertising techniques also change. Sales promotions have evolved into the following classifications: discounts and deals, increasing industry visibility, price based consumer sales promotions and attention getting consumer sales promotions. The marketing team for Target stores do an excellent job of sales promoting through the “discounts and deals” technique. Every Tuesday, new DVD releases hit the market. Prices are always similar between the competitions. Target however, focuses on the discount and deals technique. Target offers its consumers a Target exclusive DVD, made only for Target stores. For a few dollars more, the consumer will get a collector’s item DVD with an extra disc, which is exclusive only at Target stores. This reinforces the product and rewards the consumer. What makes this technique so effective for Target is that the product is only sold at Target. The competition sells a similar item without the bonus features. The downside to this technique for Target is that they have to offer similar products every Tuesday in order to keep the consumer from shopping at the competition. Many companies try to increase industry visibility but no one does it better than the Microsoft marketing team, in my opinion. Microsoft advertises almost everywhere. Microsoft tries to increase industry visibility by holding trade shows and advertising on promotional products. Almost every computer worldwide promotes Microsoft. They Sales Promotion Techniques 2 build awareness through online ads, television commercials with celebrities and now are increasing their visibility
References: Axia College. (2008). Week Seven supplement: Retrieved October 19, 2008, from Axia College, Week Seven, MKT/230—Marketing Course Web site. Schonfeld, E. (2008). In Microsoft’s Advertising Corner, Ultimate Fighting Champion Rashad Evans. TechCrunch. Retrieved October 19, 2008, from http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/09/19/in-microsofts-advertising-corner-ultimate-fighting-champion-rashad-evans/