The point of sale is the place where consumers go to make their purchases and satisfy their needs and desires, but it is also the perfect place to motivate them and give them reasons to purchase certain products or services that they very possibly would not acquire were it not for the appropriate techniques and incentives, called promotions, which together with another tool called visual merchandising have high impact power not only to promote the purchase at the same time, but to establish a closer relationship between the brand and the consumer.
Introduction
Every day organizations strive to create new products and services or simply innovate them, all with the sole purpose of creating competitive advantages in relation to their rivals and thus being able to ensure a much larger market share, being in the preference of consumers and obviously generate more profits than any other. Unfortunately at present these special characteristics or competitive advantages have been decreasing, because due to the rise of technology these advantages are each time easier to match and even improve, and what once was an advantage becomes something generic. It is no longer enough to create competitive advantages by focusing on tangible characteristics of the good or service, we have to use other tools such as visual merchandising, focusing specifically on promotions at the point of sale or purchase as some call it.
In order to better understand this topic, I am going to cite the concept of some words which will facilitate a better understanding of the topic discussed:
Visual merchandising: " It is the set of techniques aimed at making products available to the consumer, obtaining a return on the investment made in the establishment ". one
Sales promotion: "consists of short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service." two
From the previous concepts we can understand that promotions at the point of sale refer to incentives and a set of techniques whose purpose is to motivate buyers, clients or consumers to acquire a certain product or service at the time.
Although sales promotion includes much more tools such as rewards for being a regular customer, coupons, refunds, etc., I will only focus on a single tool which is Promotions at the point of sale, because in some way it is it encompasses others seeing it from the point of view of visual merchandising.
Promotions at the point of sale are very important, since many of the times they reinforce the advertising presented in the mass media, supermarkets and shopping centers are a very good example of the application of this tool, we can observe in large stores such as Wal-Mart, Soriana or Chedraui, exhibitors or special stands to promote a certain product, whether it is new or simply presents new characteristics such as the size, presentation, etc. Generally, this type of promotions are always accompanied by creative ideas that manage to attract and capture the attention of customers, that is where the importance of Visual Merchandising lies, imagine an employee promoting a new product on a simple stand or shelf equal to everyone else obviously wouldn't get much of the customer's attention.Visual merchandising exploits people's creativity, since it is no longer enough to create ordinary stands or exhibitors, currently we opt for stands out of the ordinary, creative and attractive in such a way that without the need for a person to be present if only I can sell the product. Here are some ways to promote at the point of sale:
• Samples: they are offers of a small quantity of a product, this tool is the most effective way, but also the most expensive, to promote a new product. 3
• Global price packages (also called discount-inclusive offers): offer consumers savings over the regular price of a product. They can be individual packages that are sold at a reduced price (for example the 2 × 1), or two related products in the same package (such as a toothpaste and a toothbrush).4
• Advertising specialties: also known as promotional products, they are articles or tools engraved with the name of the advertiser, their logo or message, and that are given to consumers. The most common items are T-shirts, calendars, pens, key chains, coolers, and caps.
• Contests, sweepstakes, and games: give consumers the opportunity to win something, such as cash, travel, or items, through luck or extra effort.6
As you can see these three ways of promoting in addition to sharing the characteristic that they can be carried out at the point of sale, they also have another very important characteristic: the 4 require a special and striking physical place.
Promotions at the point of sale are made with two main intentions, the first is to position a new brand, product or service, as it is much cheaper than doing large advertising campaigns, it also has the advantage of having a direct and direct relationship with potential customers, the second is to consolidate, lift or reinforce an already mature brand, product or service. Now, the immediate benefit of investing in promotions at the point of sale is to increase our sales during the duration of the promotion, it is never advisable to have the same promotions for a long time, it is important to vary, we can well base ourselves on special dates, seasons or important events in order to give variety to our promotions.
Although it is true that large companies have understood it very well, small and medium-sized companies have not yet managed to grasp the great importance of this tool, many of the times this type of business invests in developing new and innovative products / services to later fail in the market.
I believe without a doubt that the best way to excel and compete in such a demanding world (such as the business world) is not to limit ourselves to the use of a few tools, but to use our creativity and complement each other, If you are the owner of a small or medium-sized company and you have not yet tried the benefits of these tools, I invite you to do so and also to reflect on more than a thought, a reality:
“ As of today, promotions are no longer exclusively a strategy to reactivate the sales of a product at a certain time and have become part of a set of tools designed to bring the brand closer to the consumer and make him incorporate it in their consumption and purchase habits at the point of sale. ”7
Reference sources:
1. Online course, taught by: Jonny Martínez, at www.liderazgoymercadeo.com
2. Kotler, Philip and Gary Armstrong, Marketing. Version for Latin America, eleventh edition, Pearson Education, Mexico, 2007.
3. Kotler, Philip and Gary Armstrong, Marketing. Version for Latin America, eleventh edition, Pearson Education, Mexico, 2007.
4. Kotler, Philip and Gary Armstrong, Marketing. Version for Latin America, eleventh edition, Pearson Education, Mexico, 2007.
5. Kotler, Philip and Gary Armstrong, Marketing. Version for Latin America, eleventh edition, Pearson Education, Mexico, 2007.
6. Kotler, Philip and Gary Armstrong, Marketing. Version for Latin America, eleventh edition, Pearson Education, Mexico, 2007.
7. Knowledge.
