The promotion plan is composed of the following;
Component 1: Target Audience
The first and main component of a promotional plan is the target audience, without which there can’t really be a successful promotional or any other roadmap and strategic marketing plan.
The target audience is the type of people for whom your campaign targets are made.
- the one who will purchase the product
- target right to get the right audience
Whether your promotional plan is part of a digital marketing plan or an email marketing plan, it’s highly recommended that you know who your target audience is.
In terms of my example (the free promotional planning template, which you can download at the end of this post), the target audience happens to be very broad. More accurately, there’s no specific target audience because the promotion is basically addressed to all people who live within the country where the promotion takes place.
That’s no problem at all.
Defining your target audience doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to identify your buyer persona, the ideal customer, who would definitely use your product or service. It simply means that you know who you’re talking to and about. The people you’re talking to might be a non-specific target group that would potentially be interested in what you have to offer.
However, before getting to know who your target audience is, you first need to define and analyze your audience. The snapshot below from RestoHub gives us a clear idea of some of the main parameters that should be defined when it comes to the target audience of a restaurant:
We understand that by defining the aspects shown in the image above, it becomes far more likely that not only are we going to address our publicity and marketing efforts to the right people, but we’ll also offer them a solution to a problem they may have or a product or service we know they need and will use more than others.
What I believe you’ll find really interesting is seeing what the potential results of the general consumer demographic analysis might look like:
Although my promotional plan sets a rather broad target audience, your target market might have characteristics similar to the one above.
In any case, keep in mind that defining and observing your target market will give you a very clear picture of the type of people who are drawn to your business and products.
Learn More: The Ultimate Guide to Developing Buyer Personas (with Templates!)
Component 2: Promotion Name
the name of the promo campaign
The second element that is necessary as one of the main components of a promotional plan is the promotion name – in other words, what the title of your promotion campaign is.
A promotion name needs to be catchy and original, something that will grab the attention of new customers as well as existing current customers while successfully conveying the idea behind the promotion.
Component 3: Promotion Type
Another factor that’s essential to be identified and included in the promotion plan is the promotion type.
Here’s a list of some promotion types specifically for restaurants:
- $$$ off the bill (discount)
- A free drink or dish when a customer spends more than a certain amount
- Loyalty coupons
- Order one, get another one for free
- Referral offerings
- Special offers on slow weekdays
- A free cocktail with a social share
- Component 4: Key MessageThe fourth component of your promotional plan should be to come up with the key message(s), which is something like your mission statement. Think of it as a catchphrase that will give your audience a bit more information about what your promotion is about and how they will benefit from it.Component 5: Promotional Products & Swag
A component that can totally elevate your promotion and should be part of your promotional plan is branded swag and products.
Because they usually include your logo or your company’s slogan, you should think of promotional products like a distribution channel that can help bring awareness to your current promotion as well as your business as a whole. When you choose to include promotional products in your marketing mix, you basically take your promotion out to the world and thus have more of a chance of getting your message across to your audience.
Component #6: Notes
Notes are the final component that I think is very helpful in a promotional plan.
Although it might sound too simple or even needless to mention, notes will help you write down and therefore keep track of additional comments, information, and promotional ideas or actions you might want to take. In other words, try to use notes as a tool that’ll help you make sure you’re not forgetting any brilliant ideas that will fire up the effectiveness of your promotional plan.