How Promotion in Marketing Can Help You Achieve Maximum ROI
Let’s face it — marketing is not easy. If it was, every brand would be a pure success.
Instead, what we see are marketers throwing thousands of dollars into all kinds of sales tactics, hoping that at least some of them will work.
Still, often, your success as a business depends on how well-known and trustworthy you are. We’ve already covered how to approach this in our previous guide on attraction marketing, so if you haven’t checked it yet, it’s time.
Yet, apart from being credible, you also have to prove that your product or service offers better value in comparison with what’s available out there. This is exactly where promotion marketing comes in.
It is the key to getting prospective customers to fall in love with your product or services, not just your expertise. How does it work in real life? Keep reading to find out.
Contents
- What is promotion in marketing?
- Types of promotion in marketing
- Direct marketing
- Advertising
- Sales promotion (aka promo marketing)
- Personal selling
- Public relations
- Content marketing
- Guerilla marketing
- Influencer marketing
- Marketing vs. promotion vs. advertising: What is the difference?
- What are the benefits of promotion marketing?
- 4 top promotional marketing tactics for boosting ROI
- Conclusion
What is promotion in marketing?
Promotion in marketing is a strategy that helps spread awareness about your products or services to drive sales, encourage people to engage with your brand and generate interest.
The goal is to get users to act. At the same time, it doesn’t matter that much whether those users come from ads or organic SEO traffic.
Typically, though, it starts with bridging the gap between those who are aware of your brand's existence and those who aren't. With that awareness comes more engagement, traffic, leads, and sales, ultimately leading to higher ROI.
If you have ever sent out a newsletter, worked with an influencer, or used PR, then you were doing promotional marketing. Yet, let’s look at the different types of this strategy in detail.
Types of promotion in marketing
Of course, there are several ways to approach this marketing tactic. Let’s see the most popular options with examples.
Direct marketing
By now, everyone has heard of direct marketing. But why is it so popular? Because it is relatively easy. This technique focuses on targeting people who have already shown interest in a particular product or service.
As these customers already have your company on their radar, it becomes easier for you to pitch them something. Here, you don’t have to explain who you are anymore.
An example is any e-commerce site that sends personalized emails based on what customers have purchased before or recommends special seasonal products to entice people to buy.
Source: getwpfunnels
Advertising
Source: DASH TWO
Remember that time you saw a billboard that made you do a double-take?
Chances are that you passed a few of them the last time you were driving around town. Or have you ever done a Google search for some item and then started seeing ads for that thing everywhere on social media?
Advertising is another familiar form of promotional marketing. These ads are not just displayed on billboards. You’ll find them while scrolling through social media or watching TV.
Sales promotion (aka promo marketing)
Source: Philips
Promo marketing is quite popular during special holidays like Christmas or even national holidays like Independence Day.
Businesses try to cash on the goodwill of the holiday season by offering discounts in hopes of getting customers to buy more products. Some companies offer cashback, free shipping, or other tempting incentives to encourage people to purchase.
Others offer coupons, flash sales, loyalty programs, free trials, and even giveaway contests — the list is endless. And that’s how we all end up buying two pairs of shoes instead of one and a costume dress you likely won’t even wear.
Personal selling
Source: Freepik
Personal selling involves a one-on-one interaction between you and prospective customers. This gives you the opportunity to personalize your approach to the needs of each client.
There are many perks to this approach, as it allows you to get immediate feedback and insights that help you make quick decisions. An example of this plays out every day in car lots, cosmetic counters, beauty shops, and those B2B presentations — that hopefully don’t put you to sleep.
Unsurprising, this is a very successful tactic. The only trouble with this approach is the fact it is also expensive. Besides, it is quite hard to keep brand values untouched when you scale this strategy.
Public relations
94% of prospective customers can change their minds about buying from you based on the kinds of reviews they read.
Source: BrightLocal
Still, don’t think it’s only on review sites that your reputation matters.
Source: BrightLocal
43% of potential clients will use local news to judge whether they should buy from you or not. It’s no wonder that companies invest a lot of resources into public relations, whether through working with media or doing guest posting.
PR is more focused on building a certain type of reputation or brand image that your target audience will be interested in buying from. This might be centered around public causes that resonate with the public, such as the Ikea Swedish seedballs.
Source: YouTube
For this to work, businesses conduct surveys and monitor social mentions to gauge reactions to new product/service launches. They also publish press releases to drum up interest in new products.
Content marketing
Of course, content marketing is on the list. Why is everyone so obsessed with this one? Because it’s effective.
Businesses using it can generate 3x the number of leads compared to traditional marketing — all that while spending 62% less. So, it is not a surprise that a majority of SEO specialists and marketers use this tactic.
Still, content marketing can also be different. It can be purely informational to establish you as the authority in your niche (i.e., attraction marketing). Yet, it can also include product promotions to nudge leads down your sales funnel.
For example, ClickUp is just one example of a company that uses this method very effectively. By sharing project management tips and hacks, they eventually convert some of their audience into customers.
While they have many informational pieces, others are actively promoting their tool by showing different use cases.
Source: ClickUp
Guerilla marketing
Guerilla marketing is one of those examples of promotion in marketing that makes you stand out from the crowd by creating memorable experiences. How does it work?
The idea is to step outside of the box and interrupt the usual patterns. When people think of ads, they imagine them in a particular way. Your task is to do the exact opposite of what the audience expects — something surprising and at least a bit unforgettable.
An example could be the Subway ad we’ve seen above or this Dunkin Donuts banner flying over the sports field below. So, instead of simply showing a typical commercial, you go for a different approach that makes people grasp, laugh, or say, “Wow, that was cool!”
Source: omnisend
Surprisingly, this tactic is cheaper compared to many other methods. On top of this, 90% of customers vote it as being more memorable, and 70% think it’s more personalized. Not bad, ha?
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing can improve a business’s awareness by up to 82%, making it great for promoting your products or services. It works so well because people trust other people, and influencers can really have a lot of impact on their followers.
When you partner with relevant bloggers in your niche, you get introduced to more potential customers who are likely to buy your product/service.
Together with influencers, you can create giveaways and contests, post something on socials, or record a podcast. You can even invite them to your event. Any option works if you choose the right person.
Source: @barbiethemovie
While there are thousands of successful examples, let’s talk about the Barbie movie.
Whether you liked the movie or not, we can all agree that the Barbie fever around its premiere took over the world. And blogger collaborations were a huge part of that success. You could literally see #BarbieTheMovie trending all over social media.
Source: Instagram
Marketing vs. promotion vs. advertising: What is the difference?
Here is the thing: often, people use advertising and promotion vs. marketing interchangeably, which leads to a lot of confusion since they are not the same thing at all. So, what’s the big difference? Let’s break it down.
Marketing
Marketing is used to describe everything from creating awareness about the company, product, and services to making sales and coming up with strategies to ensure the customer is satisfied.
It basically includes all the tactics to make a brand successful and seen in a positive light. Marketing is an ongoing process, and the main goal is to build a long-term relationship between the customer and the brand. Both promotion and advertising are all types of marketing.
Promotion
Promotion is any activity that you use for people to take action, whether it’s engaging with your content, signing up for something, or buying. It is basically one of the tactics that you can use inside your marketing strategy.
Typically, promotion comes down to short-term techniques, like discounts, contests, or newsworthy things that generate excitement.
Advertising
Advertising describes paid promotional tactics like ads on social media, TV adverts, PR, etc. It can be quite expensive depending on the type of ad used and how long the contract is.
As you can see, advertising is a type of promotion that relies on paid campaigns.
Now, let’s recap the whole marketing vs. advertising vs. promotion question:
- Marketing is your big strategy behind everything, covering all activities to create awareness, make sales, and provide ongoing client support.
- Promotion is a part of marketing focused on boosting action and demand.
- Advertising is a type of promotion that heavily relies on paid ads.
What are the benefits of promotion marketing?
We have answered most of the main questions, including “What is product promotion marketing?” But what are the benefits you can expect from this approach?
- Boost brand awareness & increase interest: The more saturated your niche, the more you can’t afford to cosplay a wallflower. That’s why it is so important to use tactics that create a solid brand image.
- Attract new customers and boost retention rate: The more effective you are at attracting clients, the higher your ROI. Besides, the right promotion can help turn one-time casual buyers into lifelong brand advocates.
- Create more demand and push sales rates higher: All promotional moves drive the demand while the demand drives sales, which drives profit — you get the picture.
- Gain an edge over the competition & help people differentiate your product: Your marketing can help make you more visible compared to others in your niche. After all, the easier it is to spot you from others, the better it is for your brand.
- Educate new and old customers about your brand: It's not always about making a sale. Sometimes, helping customers form a relationship with you can impact your overall growth.
- Broaden market penetration: Get your brand everywhere and take over the world (or at least your niche) while at it.
4 top promotional marketing tactics for boosting ROI
We have come a long way in answering the question, “What is promotional marketing?” While we looked at a few promotion in marketing examples, you might still have reasonable questions on how to apply these tactics in real life.
You already know about collaborating with influencers, creating quality content, and doing something big and bold, but those are not the only options out there. What else can you try?
Email marketing
Source: Content Marketing Institute
Email marketing is nothing new. You can send weekly/monthly newsletters, share new product launches, events, special offers, and discounts, or remind people of items they have forgotten in their carts.
No matter what the goal of your email is, ensure that it doesn’t look like a bland ad. Instead, try to make it fun and easy, like you’re talking to a friend. Besides, doing A/B testing is a great idea to see what tactics people respond to the most. How can you polish this strategy?
- Keep your emails simple, short, and punchy.
- Use a lot of quality visuals (but optimize them).
- Throw in a few reviews and user testimonials in your emails (when they fit).
- Create different emails for onboarding new clients, cart abandonment reminders, follow-ups, new feature alerts, etc.
Social media
Source: @aleyda on X
Almost every business has social media channels, which are some of the most powerful tools for promotion. Apart from using your socials for ads, you can also create other funnels with short-form video content, engaging posts, regular interaction, etc.
How can you maximize the effects?
- Create clear buyer personas to find proper social media for your promotional activities. For example, typically, LinkedIn is great for B2B businesses, while TikTok and Instagram are better for B2C brands. Still, you can test all of them and see how it works for you.
- Encourage reviews, shares, and tags from users.
- Engage with customers' feedback as warmly as possible.
- If possible, integrate tools like chatbots for quick answers to FAQs.
- Don’t forget to leverage relevant trending hashtags, challenges, etc., to increase your awareness.
Referrals
Source: Cello
People trust people, and referral programs are a great way to tap into that to promote your business. Generally speaking, referral marketing is one of the most efficient strategies in terms of ROI.
Think about it — you don’t even need a sales team. You turn your followers and customers into your salespeople. And guess what? Referred customers have a 16% higher lifetime value compared to those who are not referred.
Why? Because people trust, you know whom — people. Your referrers are more convincing because they are sharing their genuine experiences. That’s why this tactic doesn’t look salesy. To leverage this more effectively, try doing the following:
- Offer good incentives that encourage people to bring in more friends.
- Show off and celebrate the best-performing customers.
- To make referrals, you can use referral links, which help track everyone’s progress.
Affiliate partnership
Affiliate marketing is another high ROI promotion in marketing technique where another brand (could be a business, an influencer, etc.) partners with you to promote your service or products in exchange for a commission. This is a great way to reach a whole new audience.
Source: Walmart
This is an extremely popular tactic to improve sales. Yet, to make it more successful, here are a couple of things to keep in mind:
- Decide, from the start, what your promotional marketing objectives are — the clearer, the better.
- Understand your audience — create a buyer persona, figure out which channels are most effective and which tactics they resonate with the most.
- Make sure you have a verifiable system for tracking KPIs to reward your partners properly.
- Pay on time to create trust.
- Maintain a friendly yet professional relationship with your affiliates.
Conclusion
After reading this guide, you understand why it is safe to say that building a successful business without promotion marketing is nearly impossible.
Yet, here is one last crucial piece of advice — if you haven’t been using any of the techniques we talked about above, don’t try to integrate all of them right away. One step at a time is the best thing you can do for sustainable growth.
Choose something that seems like the best option now, and start polishing that tactic. Over time, you can add more and more tactics. Trial and error is unavoidable here, but it is also the best way to learn and become better.
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