20 Sales Promotion Examples for UK Small Businesses.
Discover how short-term sales promotion campaigns can spark interest in your business.
Sales promotion is a way to capture interest and generate demand for your products or services. It’s a short-term marketing strategy designed to spark excitement from consumers and motivate buying behaviour.
By adopting different promotional strategies, businesses can appeal to niche target markets and boost conversions. Think end of season sales promotions, new customer incentives and more engaging hooks to grab the attention of potential customers.
This guide will dive into what exactly a sales promotion entails, the types of sales promotions you can carry out and tips you can apply to your business. Learn how to create sales promotion materials with Adobe Express.
What is a sales promotion?
A sales promotion is any technique designed to increase sales. It aims to persuade your target audience to become customers by boosting their interest with a specific hook. Methods of sales promotion include ‘buy one, get one free’ offers or extra benefits to purchasing, like free delivery, extra gifts or discounts.
Well-designed sales promotion incentives drive more sales for your business – it’s all about making your customer’s decision to do business with you easier.
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Sales promotion pros and cons.
If executed correctly, a sales promotion marketing strategy should drive higher sales for your business. But while there are lots of advantages to sales promotion, you may come across some disadvantages too.
Here are the main ones to consider:
Advantages of sales promotions.
- Entices new customers to try a product for the first time.
- Can increase customer engagement with your brand.
- Ramp up sales by attracting new and existing customers.
- Help to clear out old stock.
- Increase website visits.
- Increase enthusiasm and excitement for your brand.
- Make the most of major marketing calendar moments like Black Friday, Halloween and Christmas.
Disadvantages of sales promotions.
- Sales and offers can hinder profit margins.
- Offering sales and promotions too often could damage your brand quality perception.
- Devalue your brand.
- Customers may delay purchases, expecting sales.
- Teams may struggle to keep up with demands.
- Extra marketing material costs.
- Could make it harder to sell at your standard price point.
20 sales promotion ideas and examples for inspiration.
Small businesses can try various tactics to promote their sales and offers. Experiment using these sales promotion examples in your marketing strategies:
1. Buy one, get one free deals.
Entice customers using a buy one, get one free deal, where your customer buys an initial product and receives another for free. The promise of free products can help to inspire new and existing customers to make a purchase.
2. Free delivery for a limited period.
Offering free delivery can help nudge your customers into purchasing. Added time pressure helps create a sense of urgency and, if they’re on the fence, no delivery fees could be the push they need to commit to the sale.
3. New customer discounts.
Offering discounts to new customers is an effective way to build your customer base and encourage those all-important first sales. Creating sales promotion Instagram Stories like ‘new customers unlock 15% off’ can help to attract potential buyers and persuade them to choose your product over other brands.
4. Flash sales.
Flash sales can be a great way to generate hype for old or out of season stock. They create a sense of urgency among your customer base and encourages them to buy now. You can advertise flash sales as banner ads or across your social media to drive website traffic.
5. Competitions and giveaways.
Customers enjoy interactive elements to their purchase. For example, a spin the wheel pop up can be used to generate leads while also allowing customers a chance to win products or services. Advertising competitions or giveaways can attract potential customers to try their luck.
6. Membership rewards program.
Sales promotions can be used to target existing customers as well as new ones. Rewarding loyal customers is a good way to secure repeat purchases. Invites to join a ‘club’ and receive money off or a stamp system with a free product after a certain number of purchases could encourage further sales.
7. Sitewide sale.
A sitewide sale is when there’s a set discount across most of your website. This can be a great way to clear stock between seasons to create warehouse space for new or rotated stock. Create eye-catching adverts to attract customers to shop your sale.
8. Free samples.
Free samples can help to grab the attention of potential customers. By offering a glimpse at what you can offer customers it may help to sway them into making a purchase. This is particularly popular with complex, or subscription based products or services.
9. Mailing list sign up discounts.
Signing up for email newsletters is free for the customer, but getting a discount helps them to save money. This sales promotion idea hits two birds with one stone. Capture customers email data and persuade them to make a sale.
10. Clearance sales.
A clearance sale allows you to clear out excess inventory while selling it at a reduced price. A well-planned clearance sale promotion can increase website traffic and attract those customers looking for a bargain.
11. Limited time offers.
This sales promotion technique is focused on creating a sense of urgency, crafting the narrative that the customer will miss out if they don’t make the most of the deal. The time restriction acts as a purchase trigger.
12. Lifestyle discounts or deals.
Lifestyle discounts can help customers feel an affinity to your brand and may make them more likely to buy from you than competitors. For example, offering student or blue light discount will attract these specific consumers to choose your business to make the most of these deals.
13. Bundle offers.
Bundle offers work for you and your potential customers – they’re a win-win. Not only do they get a discount and a better rate from buying multiple items, but you also get to increase your sales. Bundle gifts can easily spark interest in your business.
14. Free gift with purchase.
Offering customers a free gift when they make a purchase with your business is a great incentive to persuade them to buy, and it can work on both existing and new customers. It’s also a good way to entice your customers to spend a bit more to qualify for the free gift.
15. Coupon or voucher code.
Providing discount codes to shop from you also encourages customers to buy into a good deal. Plus, they’re a good way to thank current customers and encourage them to continue to shop from you.
16. Donation to a charitable cause.
This sales promotion method allows you to use your potential sales for good. Inform your customers that for a period of time you’ll be donating a portion of your proceeds to a charity. This may persuade your customers to purchase from you and support the cause over competitors who aren’t offering the same.
17. Abandoned bag promotions.
If your customers have items in their bag and they haven’t checked out yet, there’s an opportunity to send them a promotion to try and secure the sale. Offering a discount on the items they’re interested in could entice them to come back later and complete the purchase.
18. Influencer affiliate links.
Partnering with an influencer allows you to leverage their audience as well as your own. As their followers tend to trust their judgement, having affiliate links could help to drive sales. Giving the influencer a discount code to share with their following will also add further incentive for customers to make a sale.
19. App-exclusive deals.
Offering app-exclusive deals encourages potential customers to download your app to benefit from them. They can then use your app when making purchases to unlock discounts.
20. Referral promotions.
This sales promotion method involves giving your existing customers a referral code to share with someone they know, to give them a discount code on a first purchase. The person who shares the code should also receive an incentive, to make them more likely to pass on the referral.
Collection ID
(To pull in manually curated templates if needed)
Orientation
(Horizontal/Vertical)
Width
(Full, Std, sixcols)
Limit
(number of templates to load each pagination. Min. 5)
Sort
Most Viewed
Rare & Original
Newest to Oldest
Oldest to Newest
Premium
(true, false, all) true or false will limit to premium only or free only.
Tips to create effective sales promotions.
Sales promotion doesn’t need to be complicated – it’s simply a marketing strategy designed to drive customers to your brand. Here are some best practice tips to apply to your small business:
- Think about your target customers. Your target market will affect the kind of promotion you choose. Once you know who you’re targeting, you can tailor your sales promotion to suit them.
- Promote sales on the right channels. Where you promote your sale depends on your chosen audience, whether it’s a video on social media or a poster or brochure in a physical store.
- Think outside the box. Stand out from the crowd and create an enticing sales promotion that cuts through the noise. Make use of current trends and tap into what your demographic enjoy.
- Offer value. The offering should be valuable enough to motivate customers to spend at your business.
- Define goals. Make sure you have clear goals for each sales promotion. For example, applying a discount could lead to a short-term increase in sales.
Good to know.
What type of sales promotion is the most effective?
The most effective sales promotions depend on your target audience, and what you’re selling. Free trials can be a great way to entice new customers to a subscription or service-based offering, while vouchers or coupons may help to sway potential customers into committing to the sale.
How can I impress customers when selling a product?
Great customer service is key to attract, maintain and impress customers. Even if you’re selling online, having a ‘contact us’ button that’s easy to find and good aftercare goes a long way. When selling or advertising, present yourself as an expert so you come across as knowledgeable in whatever it is you’re selling.
How many sales promotion methods should I use?
How many sales promotion methods you should use depends on your marketing strategy. Some sales promotions could work alongside or in tandem with each other, but as always you should be aware of the affect that sales can have on your brand. Too many promotions could discourage customers from buying your stock at full price or tarnish the perceived quality of your brand.
Is Adobe Express free?
Yes, our free plan offers many core features including thousands of templates, photo editing and effects, animation, and 2GB of storage. See our pricing page for details and to compare plans.