What promotions should my business have?

Business promotions like the Dunkin Donuts portable food truck generate buzz around a brand that can't be duplicated through other business activities ... photo by CC user Tianliu on wikimedia commons

After hitting the ground running and making some quick sales, you have begun to stall in your effort to attract new customers.

With most of the low hanging fruit picked, you need to get more systematic in how you track down more clients.

What promotions should your business offer? Below, we go over a few strategies that you should give integrate into your marketing plans if you hope to remain viable over the long term…

Engage your fans through social media

Your best customers are the ones that buy from you repeatedly and rave about your products without being paid to do so.

Instead of sinking more time and money into ad creation, why not focus on building brand awareness and promoting your business where your super fans live online?

With social networks being unfathomable in their size, most of them will already have accounts, so engaging them on these platforms can be sources of tremendous leverage.
The marketing team behind cookie manufacturer Oreo understood the power that sites like Twitter could wield during live events like the Super Bowl, so when it went out during the third quarter of the 2013 event, they leapt into action.

Ten minutes later, they posted a picture with a spotlight Oreo with the glib slogan, “You can still dunk in the dark.” Internet users ate it up, and the quick post on Twitter garnered media mentions and social media shares for days afterward.

The amount of money that you’ll spend on social media is minimal (usually just per month fees for professional social management software like Hootsuite, and even these programs usually have free options for those just getting started), making for an astronomical return on investment from well executed social media campaigns.

Bribe your current customers to bring new ones into your business

Everyone loves easy money, which makes the power of a customer referral program too alluring to ignore. Dollar Shave Club uses its passionate fan base to further grow their sales in this fashion, offering its members $5 in store credit for every friend that they get to sign up for a membership.

What makes the institution of this style of promotion even more attractive is that your current customer base usually refer people that are just like them, making them far more likely to be loyal customers than the random prospects that you attract via other marketing channels.

With automated tools that alert your fans to its existence, a referral program can be run with a pittance of time spent on maintenance. With software running the show, and the promise of an easy payday for those that know a potential customer, it is a tactic you can ill afford to not try.

Give away products or experiences

Nothing generates buzz around your company like giving away free stuff. While it can be something that you make or sell, those that think bigger can enjoy greater long term rewards for their boldness.

Online casino sites are known for offering money, vacations and lots of other promotions.  You can visit Mansion Casino Australia, which offers entries in a draw that awards trips to Japan, to any customer that deposits a set amount of money when they start up an account with them.

Those with their heart set on winning the adventure of a lifetime might choose this online gaming site over others, resulting in more revenue over the life of the contest, and a greater probability of loyalty long after the contest has concluded.