10 ways to...Promote a new offer
No matter how good your new product or service is,it won't do as well as you deserve unless you promote it properly.Try these road-tested techniques.
Your key customers are the most likely to buy your new offer,so make them feel valued.Arrange one-to-one meetings to tell them about the benefits in advance of the main launch.
Make your customers work for you.Offer them a reward,such as a discount on their own order,for introducing a new contact to the new product or service.
Use established products or services as door-openers.Give away taster sessions,free samples or discount vouchers when you make a sale of an existing product.
Introduce a special introductory price or a two-for-one offer.Always check your margins and the duration of the offer before you announce a promotional price; do not leave yourself committed to a loss-maker.
Create point-of-sale material that list the benefits of the new offer.If applicable,put a sign up outside the premises,and update your website with a banner that promotes the new offer on the home page.
Ask your staff to spread the word.Brief them fully about the benefits of the new product or service,and encourage everyone - not just salespeople - to tell customers.
Use your customer database to tell everyone about the new product or service (but make sure you comply with data protection laws).Add brief details to everyday emails,too,and include leaflets in outgoing correspondence to save on postage.
Team up with a local business whose products or services attract similar customers.Agree to promote their new offer,while they promote yours.If appropriate,combine forces to see off a competitor.
Make the most of free advertising.If you apply online,web directories such as yell.com and Thomson Local will include your business listing under a product or service category without charge.
Try to get publicity for the new offer.Which magazines or newspapers have the sort of readers who would want to buy it?Create a press release that sells the benefits to readers and include photographs if you can.