The following are the techniques of sales promotion, which are used by a manufacturer or producer to encourage retailers and wholesalers to sell more –
(1) Display and Advertising Allowance – Both the wholesaler and the retailer have a heartfelt desire to sell more and more goods because the more sales, the more profit they will get. For this, they are ready to implement schemes of various types of display or advertisement etc., but they are not able to do so due to the fear of excessive expenditure on them, but if they are given some allowance for performing and advertising, then they Will definitely take interest in demonstration and science work. This leads to increase in sales. Intermediaries also benefit from increased sales. Similarly, while preparing any scheme of sales promotion, provision is made in advance to give display and advertisement allowance to wholesalers and retail traders. Along with this allowance, sometimes some free material is also provided to them for this purpose, such as diaries, calendars, sales-books, cinema slides, hand bills, signboards, catalogs, printed for packing Envelopes, posters, etc.
(2) Providing general and special training – Training has an important place in business promotion methods. General and specific training is given by the manufacturer in relation to the sale of a particular item to the middlemen and sellers. Under general training, he should be given specific and technical information about that particular object. An untrained salesperson, be it salesmanship or salesman or expatriate, can never satisfy the curiosity of his customers. He also hurts the reputation of the business due to his ignorance. On the contrary, a trained salesperson helps in sales promotion by satisfying his customers in all respects. These programs are usually of 3-4 weeks or less duration. In these programs, sellers are made fully aware about the selling of the item and the art of selling. General business ethics and salesmanship training is to be imparted by every trader to his vendors, but specialized knowledge is necessary for such sellers who sell technical goods.
(3) Organizing competition between middlemen and sellers Producers often develop healthy competition between middlemen and sellers to increase sales. Selling margin is allotted to them. For selling more than this amount, the seller who sells the most is rewarded. As a result of this competition, there is an increase in sales, so there cannot be a permanent increase in the remuneration of the seller in this regard. He is rewarded with bonus or any other kind. The main objectives of organizing the competition are as follows:
(i) Creating new customers. (ii) To increase the efficiency and confidence of the intermediaries through competitive spirit. (iii) To discover new markets and to dominate them over a period of time. (iv) Promotion and circulation of new goods in the market.
(4) Organizing Conference Manufacturers sometimes organize regional conferences of their traders in which the problems related to sales and distribution are discussed. Distributors present their problems to the manufacturer and solutions are found through mutual consultation. In these conferences the sales policy is clarified. If any changes are made, all traders are informed about it. Organizing such conferences strengthens the spirit of mutual cooperation, which proves helpful for sales promotion.
(5) Providing Appropriate Credit Facility Creating and following a suitable credit policy is essential for the success of the business. No business can run without credit, but the spread of irrational credit facilities can prove to be fatal for the business. When, how much and to whom, for how long the credit will be given, it will depend on the circumstances. Mere sales growth is not enough, recovery of sales amount is even more important.
(6) Market Research Work – Marketing investigation includes all activities like marketing analysis, sales investigation, consumer and advertising investigation etc. Sales-promotion marketers also take up the task of investigation, but big businessmen get the marketing investigation done independently through unbiased specialists. Exploration may be needed to market the new product because the old item is tied to the sales level, because of a fall, or to bring a new product to the market in a replacement of the old one. This work can be done by disseminating questionnaires, by adopting key method of advertisement, by knowing the opinion of distributors or by consultation with experts.
