Consumer promotions simply don’t work anymore, they’re old world. Bribing your audience with the allure of a car or holiday won’t build your brand, rather damage it.
They remind me of the kid with no friends who bought companionship because they had a motorbike or pony. There is a sense of desperation. Occasionally someone will end up liking what’s really on offer (the person / the product), but more often, once the offer disappears so does the loyalty.
If you’re thinking of running a consumer promotion on your start up, maybe you should think about improving your business model. Reinvest the money and time into your proposition. Something is wrong.
Steve,
I read your blog with interest on Consumer promotions. I too have experienced the lows and the rock bottom lows of consumer promotions, I recently spent $250k of my businesses funds to give our sales team a reason to exist in a cluttered environrment. The learnings that we have made since this launch was make the product look appetising and give the consumer a reason to buy it over everything else that exists and make it affordable so they want it over and over again – that way you can keep these wasted funds and ‘get yourself something nice’ at the end of the day.