Page 244 - Duct Tape Marketing

228 Part IV: Getting the Word Out without Advertising

ߜ Samples: Businesses introducing new products or trying to win over
competitors’ customers offer samples or free trials to prove their advan-
tage and get their products into circulation. First, be sure that your
product will show well in comparative tests. Second, accompany the
sample with a bounce-back offer that prompts the customer to make an
after-sample purchase or to take a follow-up action (for example, sub-
scribing to your newsletter) to cement the new relationship.

ߜ Events and experiences: Events draw crowds, spurring increased sales
and sometimes even attracting media coverage. (See Chapter 15 for
advice on getting your business information to the media.)

ߜ Coupons and rebates: A coupon provides an offer that a customer can
redeem at the time of purchase. A rebate provides an offer that a customer
can redeem following the purchase, usually by filling out and sending in a
form. Fewer than 2 percent of coupons in circulation are ever redeemed,
and yet coupons remain a popular promotion staple. They catch reader
attention when placed in ads, and they provide a measurable way to
reward customers with price reductions. When using coupons, protect
your profitability through small-print advisories stating expiration dates
and that the coupon is not valid with other special offers.

Promotions are especially important to restaurants, hotels, retailers, and con-
sumer product businesses. They are less appropriate for service profession-
als or for business-to-business marketers who may lose a degree of esteem
and dignity by sending out pricing or other buying incentives.

Staging cross-promotions and
cooperative promotions

Promotions benefit from critical mass — which is why businesses team up to
participate in cooperative promotions or cross-promotions that bring together
the media budgets, consumer incentives, customer corps, and staff energy of
not one but two or several businesses or organizations.

Before forming a promotional partnership, be sure you can answer yes to the
following questions:

ߜ Do your businesses operate without directly competing with each other?

ߜ Do your businesses serve customers with the same or very similar
profiles?

ߜ Are your businesses equally respected by your customers?