Retail, CPG and Logistics

Critical pitfalls to evade in trade promotion management

B2B-focused trade promotions are often an integral part of the marketing strategy for many businesses in the retail, CPG (consumer packaged goods), and manufacturing industries. Taking the form of offer deals or discounts, physical displays, bulk purchasing, financial rebates, gamification, and competition, and many more, trade promotions are a great way to:

• Introduce new products.
• Enter new markets.
• Raise brand awareness.
• Encourage repeat purchase.
• Build brand trust.

There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to managing an effective trade promotion. However, businesses often fall prey to critical trade promotion management mistakes, resulting in trade promotion failure.

Six mistakes to avoid in trade promotion management 350

Whether you are venturing into a new market, introducing a new product, or trying to build brand trust, the trade promotion planning process is challenging. Failing to consider the unique needs of the target audience or the different strategic needs of different products, even the most well-intentioned marketers can fail to achieve the desired outcomes.

Here are six critical trade promotion management mistakes you must avoid at all costs:

Not running enough advertisements

One of the common challenges of trade promotion is the lack of engagement from the target audience. This often occurs when the trade promotion campaign does not have adequate advertisement support. You must consider reaching out to your customer base, having clear, simple, and enticing advertisements, leveraging social media platforms, and adjusting advertising efforts based on engagement levels.

Targeting the wrong audience

Many marketers make the mistake of jumping the gun and developing a trade promotion without understanding the target audience. This can result in a promotion campaign that fails to reach your target audience or excludes a new customer segment you want to target, leading to a failed trade promotion campaign.

Implementing too complex and unclear trade promotion mechanic

A complex or unclear trade promotion mechanic can confuse the customers, and they may simply avoid the promotion. If they cannot recall what they need to do, how to win, or what they can get out of the promotion, it will lead to a lack of engagement and a failed trade promotion campaign.

Relying on tradition instead of data

Marketers also often make the mistake of running on “autopilot”, running the same promotions – that had been successful in the past – year after year without thinking why they worked or whether they will work for the current customers. However, without data-driven insights backing your trade promotions, they will potentially fail – especially in today's highly dynamic market landscape.

Ignoring the competition

Competitive trade promotions can mean your campaign does not get enough engagement. This often becomes an issue when you fail to consider the competition and that they will also try to engage the same target audience. Working with stakeholders to pre-empt the competition can help you avoid this issue.

Adopting a “one-size-fits-all” approach

Another trade promotion management mistake you must avoid is not understanding the nuances of different promotions, how they fit your brand, how your customers react to them, and what drawbacks they might have. As a result, you risk missing out on opportunities or wasting your budget – leading to a lower ROI.

Four tactics to optimise trade promotion and overcome trade promotion management mistakes

Despite these common challenges, there are ways you can achieve effective trade promotion management and optimisation if you follow a few simple tactics. Here are four strategies that can help you overcome any trade promotion management mistake and optimise your campaign:

• Update your systems and processes – replacing spreadsheets and legacy systems – with the help of integrated tools to help facilitate effective data tracking and centralised trade promotion management.
• Focus on balancing traditional and digital channels to harmonise your promotion strategies and ensure a seamless user experience.
• Foster collaboration with different stakeholders - aligning goals and strategies - to ensure optimised business planning.
• Leverage advanced planning and analytics tools to improve trade promotion management, optimise budget allocation, enhance decision-making efficiency, and improve trade promotion ROI.

How can Infosys BPM help?

Infosys BPM can help you leverage next-gen technological solutions for trade promotion management and optimisation. Infosys BPM trade promotion services offer end-to-end visibility into your promotion campaigns, accurate and timely monitoring and reporting of campaign performance, and accelerated trade promotions with the right consultant partners. You can leverage our:

• Business process consultancy services
• Managed trade promotions services
• Technology consulting and implementation services
• Analytics advisory and data cleansing services

To improve efficiency and effectiveness, enhance customer experience, and avoid critical trade promotion management mistakes to ensure successful campaigns.