Marketing your products and services with sweepstakes, contests, loyalty programs or coupons is a proven way to get new customers and keep existing ones. How could giving something away or providing incentives go wrong? Trust us, it can. To ensure success, try to avoid any of these 7 deadly sins of promotional marketing.
- Greed: Asking for money.
We know for many companies, the primary goal of promotional marketing is to increase sales. However, requiring a purchase may not only turn people off, it might be illegal! Be sure to always provide a no purchase necessary component for your promotion as required by law.
- Gluttony: Wanting too much from your customers.
This one goes hand in hand with Greed. In return for your incentive, it is understandable to want to gain a lot of information from your customers. But if you ask too much, your run the risk of running them off. For example, if you ask lengthy survey questions or ask for phone numbers, they may decide not to participate at all. Instead, stick to asking for only the basic information you need to run your incentive. You will be surprised how engaged people can be if you are up front about what is needed!
- Lust: Trying too hard.
We get it. You really, really want people to know about your promotion. But when a potential customer is bombarded with ads and calls and emails to the point that they get fed up, you will have lost a participant. Or maybe a customer. Seeing several ads while online, getting 2 direct emails, and seeing a targeted social post about your promo is enough to creep out any potential user. Make sure that ads are not over-targeted to the same group, and that you limit your emails about the promotion to your house list.
- Sloth: Not putting energy into your promotion.
Don’t launch a promotion without a plan to get it out in the market! Many companies think putting an incentive on their web site is enough. They don’t think about how people will find their web site or provide any ads or word of mouth to get eyeballs on the web site. We have seen some of the greatest ideas fail miserably because someone got lazy and forgot to hit the streets with the news about the promotion. You should have a plan in place before launch for how you will spread the word: ads, bloggers, social, events – all of these could help make your promotion a success, but you must work to make it happen.
- Envy: Wanting what your competitors have so badly, that you end up losing existing customers.
Running a promotion to lure your competitors customers away could be a great way to get new leads, but excluding your current customers in the process may alienate those most loyal to you. Be sure to reward your current customers, too, either with a loyalty or rewards program, or a sweepstakes or contest that encourage incremental usage and sales.
- Wrath: Angry customer service experiences.
Some of the best promotions have gone awry with one angry interchange from one customer service team member to a customer. That’s all it takes. Make sure your team is on the same page about the promotion, how it works and what to do when a customer gets upset. That means on social channels, on the phone, email and in person – in this age of recorded word and conversations, you don’t want to be the next viral sensation that puts your brand in a bad light. Be prepared with a plan to keep anger from escalating.
- Pride: Not seeking out expert advice.
This really should be #1 in order of importance because it is the biggest, deadliest promotion killer. Everyone thinks they can just run a simple giveaway, but unless you are a promotional marketing and legal expert, you need to ask for help or you could make costly mistakes that could run you thousands of dollars in legal fees and fines. Protect yourself by admitting you don’t know what you don’t know and ask for help.
Call us if you need help or have questions and we can help get your promotion launched without any of these deadly sins!
To read more posts by Marden-Kane, please visit our main blog page or subscribe to our email list.