Push - Pull Strategies for Sales Promotion

Sales promotion decisions are significantly affected by whether the company decides to do “pull or push strategies” to accomplish its objectives.  Such a decision may require a little or a lot of cooperation from resellers.  The requirements to implement one strategy might be little more than to just stock the product by the retailers.

The other strategy may demand more participation from resellers such as the ability to explain to the consumers as to how a product works.

PULL STRATEGY

In case of using a pull strategy, marketing efforts are directed at the ultimate consumer and consumer promotions such as consumer contests and sweepstakes, rebates, coupons, free samples, consumer premiums, etc are used.  If this strategy is also chosen to include advertising, then, there are large advertising expenditures.

The objective of such promotional efforts would be to create sufficient consumer demand to pull the product through the channels, that is the consumers are encouraged to demand the product from retailers who in torn place orders with wholesaler or manufacturer to meet the consumer demand.

Bajaj Auto Ltd. offered a scheme of taking home a scooter at Rs 999 was a sales promotional offer communicated through effective advertising and was essentially a pull strategy.

This strategy may require little promotional efforts from the resellers except to stock input the product on shelves.

A pull strategy is appropriate when

• The product demand as high.
• It is possible to differentiate the product on the basis of real or emotional features.
• Brand consumers show high degree of involvement in the product purchase,
• There is reasonably high brand loyalty and
• Consumers make brand choice decision before they go to the store.

PUSH STRATEGY 
If a firm decides to use push strategy, its efforts are directed at resellers and the manufacturer becomes very dependent on their personal selling abilities and efforts.

The promotional efforts are focused at pushing the product through the distribution channels; the resellers may be required to display, demonstrate and offer discounts, to sell the product.  The communication to resellers is generally through trade circulars or the sales force.                                                                                       

Push strategies generally appropriate for

• Product categories where there is low brand loyalty
• Where many acceptable substitutes are available in the market. 
• Relatively new products are to be launched
• When the brand choice is often made in response to displays in the stores,
• The product purchase is unplanned or on impulse and
• The consumer is familiar and has reasonably adequate knowledge about the product. 

Manufacturers, who cannot afford to engage in sustained mass advertising, often use push strategy and offer effective incentives to dealers.

Retailer promotion: Buy Cadbury’s products worth Rs.3000/- and get any 30 chocolates worth Rs.5 each free.

Through this offer the company is pushing its product to the retailers and now that the retailer has enough incentive the retailer stocks more and thus it becomes essential for the retailer to push the product to the consumers.