Sometimes we need to remember that the prime objective of a promotion is to promote a product – not its price.
Over use of price in a promotion makes it more important than the product and leads to commoditisation. So, it’s dangerous for the business as well as being “follow the crowd” marketing.
Now is a really exciting time for marketing professionals to uncover and use really strong “reasons to buy” in their promotions because shoppers are not just driven by price. Shoppers buy products that add value to them and price is just one of the components they consider in making a buying decision. How else would Apple get to be the biggest company in the world selling some of the most expensive IT products and rarely cutting prices? Another example are eBooks. Many of them cost more than paper books but sales of eBooks continue to grow dramatically. In both examples price is not the prime driver in the purchasing decisions. Shoppers have other reasons to buy.
Let’s get more creative and give shoppers some strong reasons to buy other products at the shelf edge. Stores can really capitalise on tickets that sell and take back control of price promotions.