What are the methods of May Day promotion?

Market research focuses on determining the direction

In fact, many marketers, before planning a promotional event, often rely on subjective judgment and sales feedback to determine the special price. After the content of the purchase and gift activities was clarified, the promotion plan was quickly finalized. On the surface, this type of case does not have much of a problem, and the sales control is very familiar. After the activity is implemented, the sales volume will also be reflected, but the key lies in whether holding such an activity has a significant effect on increasing the retail market share. Let’s leave aside whether profits can achieve a certain growth, and whether other factors such as brand reputation and first mention rate of the brand can be promoted. Facts have proved that the retail sales (volume) growth rate of such promotions is often within the same level range as that of organic sales, which also shows that the role of such promotions is very limited. Therefore, focusing on market research in the early stage of promotion is of great significance to improving the effectiveness of promotional activities.

Generally speaking, market research should cover at least three aspects: First, understand the changes in consumer behavior of the target consumer groups. This kind of information can be obtained through the company’s daily accumulation of customer data on the one hand; Aspects can also be obtained through the collection of terminal information one month before the event. For example, for an international brand mentioned above, the consumer groups they target are mainly single offices with a monthly income of more than 4,000 yuan or families with a monthly income of more than 10,000 yuan. The consumption characteristics of this type of consumer group are mainly: advocating brand consumption and focusing on life. Enjoy and pursue a simple and elegant lifestyle, easily accept new things, easily influenced by European life, etc. Therefore, when conducting promotions, they specially launched a product that represents Western life, a coffee machine, based on these characteristics. They launched a new product promotion for consumers, and bought a coffee machine and received a free coffee recipe. At the same time, with the help of the "National Day" With extremely strong customer flow, the new products ready for launch were displayed in key shopping malls in super large cities such as Shanghai and Beijing, and a large amount of feedback was obtained, which gained very important information feedback and accumulation of prospective customer information for the subsequent launch of new products. Facts have proved that these efforts have been very effective. Not only has the new product been launched smoothly, but the brand's reputation has also reached a new level. The second is to find out as much as possible what actions the main competitors will take during the same promotion period. When this international brand company was discussing a detailed plan for promotional activities, a "Deep Throat" from a competitor revealed to them a very important information, that is, the content of "buy gifts" and "special offers" during the "National Day" period. . Immediately, they immediately modified the content of the promotion activities and strengthened the promotion efforts, intending to close the door step by step and keep up with the promotion behavior of their opponents. Sure enough, in the following "National Day" promotion, they accurately targeted their opponents. Judging from the feedback from marketers and sales staff at the store, the competitors' SP activities were basically suppressed, and the shopping guides had to Instead, focus on other products without active content. The third is to focus on the analysis of sales data and previous activity data, trying to find out the characteristics of consumption changes and analyze market conditions to improve the effectiveness of promotions. This work should be completed by the marketing managers of each district. When they subdivide regional activity plans, they should combine the characteristics of each city and decompose the content of more targeted promotional activities to improve the effectiveness of promotions. It's like playing chess. The key to a master being a master lies in his grasp and foresight of the overall situation. He knows the opponent's intentions for each move and which chess pieces will be moved next. The opponent can not be led by the nose. ? The same is true for promotions. If we can analyze a large amount of data in the early stage and grasp the changing trends of the market, then the effectiveness of promotions will naturally be greatly improved. An international brand company that we have mentioned repeatedly has also noticed this problem. Through data analysis, they found that the "May Day" and "National Day" promotions over the years have a trend of opening higher and lowering (as shown in the figure below) , with this, the investment in promotional resources such as demonstrations and gifts was increased in the first three days and the last day. At the same time, at the regular pre-holiday mobilization meeting, a promoter incentive plan was released to encourage promoters to actively fight for it in the first three days. "Die to death" with competitors. As expected, three days after the National Day holiday, many companies began to run out of food and supplies, and their gift resources were exhausted. However, the logistics department could not go to work until the 5th. Naturally, the one with the sweetest smile was the international company above.

Market research is only to ensure that the direction of promotional activities is correct and to provide a basis for good promotional ideas. However, if a formed promotional activity plan lacks the finishing touch, then no matter how good the case is, It is also difficult to jump out of numerous promotional activities. Therefore, giving the project a wonderful SLOGAN is another key factor in the success of promotional activities. It can not only serve as a unified slogan for media promotion, but also facilitate the overall communication of promotional activities.

From the perspective of the small home appliance circle, many small home appliance merchants have relatively neglected the role of SLOGAN. Usually, the activities have been carried out and the intensity has become stronger, but it is almost difficult for the personnel involved in every aspect of the activities to It is not important for consumers to form an overall impression. Moreover, when summarizing promotional activities afterwards, it can only be generally labeled as a summary of monthly promotional activities, which does not allow people to form an overall impression. It's like if a pretty and smart child doesn't have a name, the person he likes can only call him "baby".

At present, in terms of SLOGAN creativity and publicity, only Philips is doing a relatively good job, and it seems that only Philips has this kind of processing capability. For example, during the "National Day" period, Philips put forward the commemorative slogan "Philips, China 20 Years" and hung it in various stores to remind consumers that Philips was holding a 20th anniversary promotion to attract attention.

So, we believe that a wonderful SLOGAN should not only refine the entire activity plan, but more importantly, be able to deliver the SLOGAN to consumers and the media through various means to build momentum for the activity.

Gifts are the top priority of activities

Gifts have played an increasingly important role in promotions. This has been generally recognized by the industry. The key is It lies in how to use this method to stand out from the many and varied gifts. At present, we find that many manufacturers' gifts are becoming increasingly homogeneous. For example, induction cookers provide the same pots and shovels as standard products, and it is difficult to have special products that stand out. During the National Day period, Airmate's induction cooker bundled a certain brand of pots with a joint promotion event, which was spread through soft articles and promotional POPs. Many consumers were enthusiastic about it, and at least it produced an "eyeball effect." In addition, Philips, which is very solid in marketing work, bundles its main coffee pot with coffee beans of a certain brand, displays them in piles at the shopping mall, and supports them with special offers, which has also won the favor of many consumers. Therefore, when planning the "National Day" promotion activities, how to play tricks on gifts has become an important criterion for testing the working ability of the marketing department.

In general, a major trend in gifts is to become more refined, branded, and high-quality. The key to how to differentiate yourself from competitors, or how to make old trees sprout new shoots without twisting the medicine, lies in the daily accumulation and thinking of market personnel. We suggest that market staff should pay attention to contacting professional gift suppliers on weekdays to obtain new gift information in a timely manner. At the same time, they should pay attention to "brainstorming" and often analyze what kind of products are suitable for what kind of gifts, and how to package a small number of highly relevant gifts. For gifts, maximize the promotion effect of gifts on products, work hard on packaging, form, content and other aspects to broaden ideas. Take coffee machines as an example. Commonly used gifts include coffee beans, coffee cups, and grinders. Can you give away other related products? What about creamers imported from SWISS or fancy coffee recipes? Or like a certain brand of air conditioner, during the National Day, the cabinet air conditioner was launched, and the fashion product that was popular in TV shopping was given away - the stepper. In short, if the gifts meet the three conditions of being new, fashionable, and useful, the effect will not be that bad.

Media promotion is essential

Another important factor in the National Day promotion is media promotion. The focus of media promotion lies in the choice of media and the timing of communication. For example, an international brand company mentioned repeatedly above invested more than 2.1 million yuan in national media promotions during the National Day period, such as a month-long subway advertisement in Shanghai, a well-known column in education (ratings (groups consistent with its target consumer groups) invested in a month of TV advertising during prime time, and also used barter + cash and other forms to launch a large number of soft-text promotions in mainstream media in various cities. It is precisely because of this kind of media momentum that promotion has another effect: the first mention rate of the brand has also been improved to a certain extent.

Refinement is the key factor to ensure implementation.

One of the biggest mistakes made by many marketers is to ignore the key issue of whether promotion execution is in place. Especially for important promotions like the "National Day" promotion, any problem in any small link may affect the final promotion effect. As mentioned above, investment in promotional resources. The refinement we are talking about includes not only the refinement of the copywriting, but also the refinement of the activity plan and the refinement of the monitoring links. For example, the distribution of leaflets may not be taken seriously by people, but imagine that during the event, the store's supply of leaflets is distributed in less than three days, and customers no longer want it. Will it affect sales? In addition, the segmented activity plan must not only ensure that the company's sales staff can understand and execute it, but also ensure that agents and retailers can understand and execute it. Generally speaking, the detailed plan should at least confirm the shopping malls in the local city that can participate in the event, whether special offers can be implemented, whether the agent's inventory can meet the forecast sales volume during the promotion period, which shopping malls can implement stacking and poster output, and which shopping malls can Need to be stationed for temporary promotions, whether purchase and gift activities can be carried out, whether demonstrations can be carried out, etc. After that, the marketing department should provide work guidelines or implement the work and responsible persons of each link through training, conference calls, etc.

As the saying goes, "A journey of a hundred miles will take half a mile", the key is execution. A good promotional copywriting, if it cannot be executed in place and there is no corresponding monitoring link, can only be a blank piece of paper and a lot of nonsense.

As the "May Day" Golden Week approaches, all related and unrelated industries have come up with unique tricks and new tricks. Various promotional activities are in full swing, and all businesses are aiming to make a fortune. Full of water. Home furnishing companies are no exception.

"May Day" promotions detonated in advance

Recently, reporters visited many home building materials stores in Beijing and found that many home furnishing companies such as flooring, furniture, and sanitary ware had launched promotions early. Some companies even advanced their promotion activities by more than half a month, starting the May Day price war in advance. The Beijing Home Depot store started a promotion as early as April 7, offering a discount of 150 yuan for cabinets purchased over 1,000 yuan, as well as other discounts.

Since April 20, Hongnai Flooring has launched a nationwide promotion of super solid wood. All stores have simultaneously launched multiple preferential activities including discounts, gifts, full store discounts and group purchase discounts. and will last until May 7. At the Home Depot Wukesong store, the discount on Hongnai flooring can be as low as 56% off.

The promotion activities of Lanjing Lijia Dazhongsi Home Furnishing Plaza are also in full swing. Except for special products, products in the sofa bed furniture hall and 6 building materials exhibition halls are all discounted by 15%. The activity starts from April 23 , as long as half a month.

In addition, April 12th is the eighth anniversary of IKEA Beijing Store. More than a hundred products are on sale at special prices starting at 50% off. Not only are "IKEA fans" busy, but also online IKEA Beijing purchasing agents are doing business. It was booming, and a lot of money was made. Taking stock of the major home building materials stores in Beijing, they are all scrambling to play time cards and promotions. There are very few who have not been involved in the "May Day" promotion. According to industry insiders, this phenomenon is no longer new. Home furnishing companies that are accustomed to doing promotions during the May Day period have all moved their schedules forward in the past two years, and this year’s promotion period is even earlier. Li Binghua, executive vice president of Beijing Yezhifeng Decoration, believes: "It is a common practice for merchants to expand sales during the 'May Day' promotions in advance or for a period of time. Now the home appliance industry has extended the 'May Day' promotion period to 1 month. In the future home furnishing industry, this approach is likely to become mainstream. ”

Most consumers welcome early promotions

If merchants fight hard, then consumers will. Do you want to buy it or not?

The reporter learned during the investigation that there are many people who have home purchase plans during this Golden Week, and some consumers even canceled their original travel plans in order to enjoy the promotional discounts.

Ms. Wang, who lives in Beiyuan Homestead, is one of them. She happily told reporters: "I originally planned to travel to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, and the itinerary was already booked, but when I saw that building materials were on sale, and the event lasted for a month, I decided not to go and stayed at home. Decorating a house. We are usually very busy at work, and we only rely on weekends to buy building materials. But this project is too big to be completed in one or two times. How long will it take to do it piecemeal? It’s almost the same!”

Miss Elena, the director of a foreign company who plans to renovate the apartment next month, is also very satisfied: “I am a perfectionist, so every tile and even every junction box must be carefully polished by myself. Choose carefully. If you choose the way I do, 7 days is definitely not enough. Fortunately, the sale comes early this year, so I can have plenty of time to visit more stores and enjoy the discounts, which is great!

Mr. Li, who had just finished the renovation the summer before last, was more depressed: "It would have been great if we had launched promotions so early the year before last! I don’t have to run around the building materials market in Beijing under the bright sun in just seven days on May Day! ”

There are still many consumers who have made a lot of calculations and decided to wait until the May Day holiday to make a purchase: “The price of building materials is only the most affordable during the May Day holiday. Although there are many Merchants are already doing promotions, but I think it’s more safe to buy on May Day. Because during this period, in addition to participating in promotional activities provided by the company, you can also enjoy promotional discounts in stores or supermarkets. This price is definitely the cheapest! ”

Be a smart buyer

Although all businesses are launching promotions with great fanfare, but who is the cheapest? How can you buy the best quality products for the least money? ? Here, experts give consumers some advice:

1. Four ways to save money

-Group buying

Practice has proved: Large groups fight forever It is more powerful than going alone, and its achievements are more brilliant. Nowadays, in the forums of major home furnishing websites such as Sina Home Furnishing Channel and Oriental Home Decoration Network, there are so many group buying information that it is dizzying to say that you like a certain brand or are willing to go to a certain building materials store. You can find allies here

Advantages: ① It can save costs to the greatest extent; ② Occupying a relatively active position in the purchase and service process, you can have higher security and enjoy Better service.

Disadvantages: ① It is difficult to recruit people in advance; ②. Because it is a collective action, freedom of movement is restricted

-Online shopping

With the popularity of online shopping, experts predict that online shopping for home building materials will also become a consumer hotspot in the next few years.

Advantages: ① Since store rent is eliminated, online shopping can be cheaper. Quite a few; ② The purchase agreement signed directly between the relevant website and the brand can also guarantee good after-sales service.

Disadvantages: It is difficult to guarantee the quality and after-sales service, and it is difficult to protect rights.

Disadvantages: p>

-Buy clearance samples and decoration specials

Many stores will have some clearance samples, or they are "out-of-print" products from the manufacturer, or they have slight flaws, so they are lower than the original price. Many. There are also some special items that are actually not defective, but have to be reduced in price due to store decoration.

Advantages: Cheap.

Disadvantages: The samples are defective, and it is difficult to find special decoration products.

-Purchase leftover materials

It is inevitable that there will be leftover materials during decoration. Many owners will donate their own decoration leftover materials to other owners through community forums, or work with other owners. Other owners exchange materials they need.

Advantages: Save money and worry, maximize resources, turn waste into treasure.

Disadvantages: Quality cannot be guaranteed, there are no relevant documents for transactions, and it is difficult to protect rights.

2. Three Tips for Buying Promotional Products

Tip 1

Be aware of it with your eyes, ears and heart - ask more about special offers and read more Comparing more and "buying" when the price is low is the most economical way. But the most important thing is to keep in mind: when you see something you like and the price is right, don’t hesitate and do it when it’s time to make the move.

Tip 2

Check the products carefully. If the price war is fierce, don’t let the cheap products go to your head. Look carefully to see if the building materials are damaged. , stains or imperfections.

Tip 3

Don’t forget to ask about after-sales service, keep relevant documents and certificates, and don’t wait until a problem occurs to find that there is no way to complain. It’s not difficult to become an expert. As long as you grasp these few things, I believe you can become a smart buyer.