Promotion planning is a necessary step when considering sales building programming.
The following chart is designed to guide you through the promotion planning and evaluation process:
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Steps
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Guideline(s)
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Preliminary
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- Project timing, type and dollar level of competitive promotion activity.
- Develop a calendar of competitive activity to help determine the competition's strategy. The competitive calendar can also help preempt a competitor's promotional activity.
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Preliminary
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- Consider the brand's promotional history, purchase cycle, seasonality and budget.
- Were any previous promotions for this brand unusually successful or unsuccessful? Are there findings from previous promotions that can be applied to the current promotion?
- Is the brand seasonal? If so, what is the best time for promotional activity.
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Setting Strategy and Objectives
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- Determine the objective(s) of the promotion. Make sure the objectives are measurable and have specific time frames.
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Setting Strategy and Objectives
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- Develop the promotion strategy, specifying how each objective will be achieved.
- Determine the target audience. Is the goal to reach a specific group of people or as many people as possible?
- What is the promotion budge?
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Setting Strategy and Objectives
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- Examine the available promotion tactics.
- Select the tactics that best fit the objective, target audience and budget.
- For maximum impact, find creative ways to integrate consumer trade and sales promotion.
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Setting Strategy and Objectives
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- Specify and schedule the program's logistics. Determine the approval process.
- Select the types of media to be used.
- Determine how the creative will be developed and executed.
- Determine who will notify sales, finance, marketing research, etc. of the promotional plan.
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Execution
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Monitoring
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- Monitor the promotion as it progresses.
- Is the program over or under budget?
- Do funds need to be reallocated to this program?
- Can funds be taken from this program and used elsewhere?
- Are strides being made toward meeting the program's objectives? If not, what will it take to get the program back on track?
- Should the program be supported with advertising?
- Are stores keeping the product in stock and readily available to consumer?
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Evaluation
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- Evaluate the promotion. Were objectives met?
- Was the program unusually successful or unsuccessful? Why?
- Should this type of program be repeated?
- What findings can be taken from this program and applied to future programs?
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Once you've decided that a coupon promotion fits into your marketing plan, it's time to determine the fundamental factors in creating the promotion.