B2B Promotions – A Win-Win Proposition

C.J. Smith, Director, Security Services, Promotion Watch, Inc.
Published Friday, Mar 2, 2018

As consumers, we all have experienced the fun and excitement that’s associated with opening the box of cereal to see if we’ve received a winning game piece; or we’ve twisted off a bottle cap to see if there’s a winning message revealed. Promotions are a tried and true staple of the marketing industry. It’s a business strategy that has had great success generating consumer interest, enticing first-time purchases and, most importantly, generating incremental sales.

So, you may be surprised to learn that many of these same consumer promotion strategies can be, and have been, equally successful in the business-to-business (B2B) world. B2B promotions parallel consumer promotions in many ways, and more specifically, their success and results can provide significant ROI.

Who likes a chance to win? The answer is simple – everyone! And when I say everyone, I mean, even business customers… and of course, the business wins too in a B2B promotion when you’re the sponsor.

So, how are the most successful B2B promotions executed? There are various approaches to this and arguably many ways to execute a B2B promotion, but here are some B2B promotion tips to get you started:

Determine your Target Audience

This could be your end customers, other suppliers in the trade that might benefit from your products or services, or your resellers, distributors, sales force, etc.

Develop a Method of Entry to Meet Your Objective

For example, if you have a new product or service to promote, perhaps you’ll want to require an entrant to view a new product benefits video prior to entering. Or, if your objective is lead generation, perhaps you’ll want to make entry contingent upon the completion of a sales call from one of your reps.

Offer an Enticing Prize

This doesn’t mean you have to give away a car, trip or pile of cash – although that probably would entice countless entrants! In many cases, an appropriate prize may be a product or service you offer. What better way to show off the benefits of your company than to award a lucky B2B winner the opportunity to win one of your products or services? However, the prize can also be something that’s compatible with your business, related to the promotion event, or even merchandise that’s just plain fun – like an iPad. Just be sure to include your logo on it.

B2B companies appear to be on a steady increase in the number of trade promotions they’ve offered over the recent years. Logically, it makes sense. There are a myriad of trade groups and industries that operate in a particular business segment. B2B promotions offer companies a cost-effective and targeted strategy to reach potential new customers, generate leads, introduce new products and services to their customer base and increase incremental sales.

Hmmm. All of that sounds very familiar to me (i.e. consumer promotions). Ultimately, the win-win is reached when your entrants have a chance to win a desirable prize; while you, the B2B promotion sponsor, win by reaching your B2B promotion objective. And we all had some fun and excitement in the process.

Good luck with your B2B promotion!

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