How to Run Effective Consumer Sales Promotion Campaigns with Rewards

We all love great sales promotions. Whether it is 30% off, Buy one & Get one free, or a Limited period offer, we are all suckers for good deals. The delight of buying something new + the gratification of allowing us to save money is what makes sales promotions highly effective. 

No matter how successful a brand is, it needs to boost sales. This could be when sales are super low or when they are trying to build a solid customer base. That's when the need for strategizing effective sales promotion campaigns comes into the picture. 

What is a sales promotion campaign? 

A sales promotion campaign is a short-term marketing strategy designed to boost sales, attract new customers, and increase brand awareness. It typically includes discounts, limited time offers, coupons, free samples, cashback, or bundled deals to create urgency and drive conversions.  

These campaigns aim to influence buyer decisions, enhance customer engagement, and improve revenue within a specific timeframe. 

Sales promotions are one of the best marketing devices ever designed and one of the most used advertising channels to scale a business. 

That’s why the market for digital advertising is growing at an incredible pace. The earlier estimates of digital ad spending have surpassed, and the current projections will blow you away. Digital ad space occupies 67.8% of the total media ad spending today. 

Things to consider for running promotional sales campaigns 

To ensure a sale is well-received and delivers a high ROI (Return on Investment), every business must follow the best practices listed below. 

• Keep things simple and clear: Stay away from creating anything complicated for your customers to understand. The easier the promotion, the more the interaction. Be it the offer or the design, keep it simple. 
• Think like a customer: The mindsets of sellers and buyers are different. As a seller, what might seem effective to you might not be appealing to a buyer (or customer). While brainstorming your sales promotion campaigns, put yourself in the customer's shoes. 
• Be cautious of the time zones: Keeping a check on time zones is crucial if you have customers worldwide. You don't want your promotional emails to reach your customer in the middle of the night. For example, if your target audience is working professionals, the chances are that they won't open your email during work hours. So it's best to send your promotions late evening. Experiment with multiple time schedules to see what works best for you. 
• Keep your terms and conditions watertight: Before publishing your promotion, make sure there are no loopholes in the terms and conditions. Keep them precise so that you don’t face any problems in the future. Moreover, ensure that the terms and conditions are communicated to the customers. 
• Offer real value: For promotional campaigns to work, they should provide real value. Your customers will invest if they find the offer valuable enough for their time and money. 
• Create a sense of urgency or scarcity: ‘Urgency’ is one of the best-selling techniques and creates FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) in a customer. The sense of urgency or limited options makes customers take action instantly. To make a significant impact, generate FOMO. Nike is known for the simplicity and directness of its advertisements. 
• Test different ways of presenting sales promotions: What might work for someone else might not work for you. The key is experimenting with ideas and coming up with different ways to present your sales promotions better than before. 

CRED’s Mega Jackpot: A masterclass in sales promotion 

CRED’s 2020 IPL Mega Jackpot campaign is a prime example of how a well-executed sales promotion can drive massive engagement. By leveraging the excitement of the IPL season, CRED managed to boost app downloads by an incredible 700%. 

Their Mega Jackpot campaign offered customers the chance to win luxury prizes—including iPhones, gold, and even Harley Davidsons—simply by paying their credit card bills through the CRED app. 

Did CRED’s Mega Jackpot promotion follow the best practices? 

CRED’s Mega Jackpot campaign showcases how a well-timed, high-value promotion paired with digital advertising can create exponential growth. The campaign’s success underscores the power of social media, strategic incentives, and FOMO-driven marketing in today’s hyper-digital world. 

How to run successful consumer sales promotion campaigns using rewards 

Consumer promotions are successful only if they are exciting and engaging because these two factors trigger customers to make a purchase. 

When done right, consumer promotions help acquire: 

• New customers 
• Convert potential customers 
• Get your current customers to buy more 
• Boost sales and increase revenue 

Your audience is not going to interact until they get something in return. That’s why ‘rewards’ have proven to be the best marketing strategy. 

With that said, here are a few tips to be kept in mind to make your promotions effective: 

1. Run a flash sale promotion 

A flash sale is a marketing campaign that's run for a short time. The idea is to offer discounts that are bigger than the usual sales. Flash promotions are a great way to generate more sales in less time. 

They make the audience buy impulsively because of the big discount and the time limit. Most of us have had the 'OMG 70% off for today! I need to avail that offer soon'-moment. All you need is your flash sale to go viral, and you will be swimming in sales and new customers. 

2. Back your loyalty programs with e-gifts 

Customer acquisition is expensive. Hence, losing your existing customers can turn out to be a big deal. That's why keeping them delighted is crucial. Your product/service might keep them satisfied, but it might not be enough to retain them for a longer time. 

So boost your customer loyalty programs with exciting rewards and e-gifts. This hooks the customers and makes them stay with your brand for a long time. 

An excellent example of this is Uber's loyalty program, where they offer their customers reward points every time they ride or use Uber Eats. These points can be redeemed as rewards. 

It is a bit tricky to set up a loyalty program that ensures great returns on your investment. Don’t worry! We got your back. Here is an actionable guide for you: “The Anatomy of Ideal Reward Points System for Your Customers”. 

3. Give discounts that your customers can’t resist 

Our inbox is bombarded with several discounts and offers every single day. They are everywhere. But do you end up buying all of it? Nope. Why? Because timing, the offer itself, the presentation, and the CTA together play a crucial role for a promotion to convert. 

No matter how big the discount or promotion is, it has to be appealing. An excellent example of this can be Grammarly, for converting free yet engaged users to convert to paid users: 

4. Give discount vouchers on purchases to increase future sales 

Giving discount vouchers for the next purchase can considerably increase future sales. If a customer knows they are getting something in return while buying, they will keep buying more in the future. It is as simple as that. 

To make things exciting, set buying scales. For example, The below gift voucher from Desigual gives $30 off on the next purchase of at least $150. Set time limitations and create FOMO to persuade customers to purchase even if they were not planning to. 

5. Give gift vouchers as rewards 

Consumer promotions may not always be tied with more sales. Sometimes, there could be indirect benefits associated. 

For instance, SaaS companies need a lot of reviews for their products on listing platforms. They can incentivize their users with gift vouchers to write reviews. For example, SEMrush offers a $25 Amazon gift card for an honest review on G2. 

Delight your happy customers by going beyond the traditional monetary perk. Our rewards infrastructure can help you send out points, payouts, benefits, personalized to your customers’ needs. Turn your loyal customers into your brand advocates. 

6. Give small gift offers 

Just like giving vouchers, providing pre-decided gift offers can nudge your customer towards making a purchase. The offer might not play a central role, but it will stay at the back of their minds. It creates excitement. It makes the customers think they are getting more than they are paying for. That small gift is what will differentiate you from your competitors. 

We also recommend that you go digital with rewards and gifts. By the way, digital gifting is not just vouchers. Digital gift vouchers aren't just a piece of paper or a line of code. Here are some experiences gifting ideas that change their perception. 

Going digital with gifts and rewards can further help you with hassle-free scaling. Here is how - “Physical vs Digital Gifts: A Thorough Competitive Analysis and Beyond”. 

7. Free samples are the key to new customers 

How many times have you not purchased something because ‘god knows how it might turn out?’ Many. It is very often that customers are curious about the product/service but not confident enough actually to buy it. 
 
They need a little nudge that will make them take action. That nudge is a free product/ service. If they like it, they’ll buy it. If they love it, they’ll buy more of it and probably tell others about it too. Providing free samples is an excellent way of building trust and a new customer base. 

8. Organize contests and sweepstakes to generate excitement 

Organizing Contests & Sweepstakes are beneficial for increasing brand awareness and generating excitement. Running such promotional offers often keeps your customers bound to you. When they are around for a while, they may end up buying something. 

Social media is a great way to reach customers for contests; the interaction is more fluid and easy. Another advantage is that you can ask people to enter their contact details while entering. Doing that will make them more accessible in the future. Next time you send out an email, you’ll have a bigger audience, which equals more sales. 

9. Give branded gifts that will make your customers happy 

No one wants a gift card from a who-knows-where salon for a free haircut. It isn’t exciting enough. If a customer makes a big purchase, show them that it means something to you. Give a branded gift that will make them happy, and they will want to come back. As a brand, this also makes you stand out from the crowd. 
 
Plum has an extensive catalog of branded gift cards that will leave your customers content. They’ll be happy and excited to buy from you again. 

10. Run seasonal sale offers 

Seasonal sales are perhaps the most popular type of sales campaign. Don't we all wait for the end of the year sales or the summer sales to get the best deals? These sales have the power to affect customers' purchasing decisions according to their wishes. 

A person wants to buy a TV but then realizes that there is a sale two weeks later, which will give them a heavy discount. Will they buy it? No. They will put the purchase on hold unless there's a dire need. Seasonal offers are the best way to get as many sales as possible. 
 
The customers acquired during this stage will stay with you because they know you keep offering these fantastic seasonal discounts often. 

11. Run hyper-targeted sales and promotions 

Hyper-targeting is a form of advertising that targets a particular audience. You can select the audience based on their age, niche, place, or other factors that might contribute to more conversion rates. 

These promotions are personalized and can be seen only by a selected audience. Running hyper-targeted campaigns means a higher chance of your audience getting converted. Personalization and choosing the right people is the key to success. 

12. Give limited-time promo codes 

Nothing is more satisfying than seeing the tag of "price drop" or applying a "discount code" on your favorite products. The person knew the price before, which was higher. 
 
That reduction in the price just before checking out gives a sense of achievement and excitement. Running these promos for a limited time creates a sense of urgency to boost the campaign. 

13. Gamify promotion  

No matter how old someone is, the excitement of winning something in a game can't be explained in words. That's why we often see those 'Spin & Win' promotions being used on most shopping websites to evoke the emotion of 'play and win.' 

It doesn't matter if a person doesn't want to buy anything from your website; if they see something similar to the Spin-the-Wheel, they will click on it. This serves as a perfect opportunity to impress them with gamified rewards. Give them a significant discount or a gift on their purchase, and there's a big chance they'll buy from you then and there. 

14. Offer rebates 

Rebates are another way of making your customers happy. They don’t give an immediate discount but rather a payback after a specific time. Even people who might not have wanted to buy your product could purchase it because they’ll get the amount back. 

Now how is this beneficial for business? You might get sales because of the rebate, which you wouldn’t have obtained otherwise. If they like the product, they’ll buy it in the future, even if there is a rebate or not. 

15. Cheer your customers with holiday sale promotions 

Like Seasonal Sales, you can boost your sales by organizing unique promotional campaigns for holidays. You can add a special touch by following the holiday theme to get the most out of it. Believe it or not, a customer loves seeing that a brand passes the vibe check. It gives the brand or company a human touch. Plus, the discount is going to attract customers which automatically means more sales. 

5 Mistakes to avoid while running sales promotion campaigns 

Here are some mistakes you should avoid while running a sales promotion campaign: 

• Insufficient research: Before planning anything about your promotion, conduct thorough research around your customers and your industry. Understand the likes and dislikes of your customers and plan accordingly. Knowing your competitors and their strategies is also equally important and creating competitive battlecards help you identify any gaps between yourself and other players in the market which then allows you to plan accordingly.. 
• Not having a clear goal: Think about what you want from your consumer promotion. Is it more sales? New customers? Or something else? Defining your goals is one of the most crucial steps to making your consumer promotions successful. 
• Not keeping track of your performance: The idea is to recalibrate the promotion strategy based on each campaign's performance. Tracking the performance shall help you gauge signals about your customers' receptive or aversive to. 
• Getting stuck with one strategy: A strategy might work brilliantly the first time you use it. It might even work a second or third time. But if you are stuck with it for a more extended period, the growth will decrease. Try new marketing methods, get creative. Experiment with ideas to understand your customer psychology. 
• Ignoring the power of social media: Social media might not have been a priority ten years back, but it is essential today. Almost the young crowd and a significant part of the rest of the population are hanging out on social media platforms. Having brand awareness on social media can do wonders for your consumer sale promotion campaigns. 

Examples of sales promotion campaigns 

Examples of Sales Promotion Campaigns 

Let’s see how brands have done it in the past and witnessed success. 

1. Starbucks – “Starbucks for Life” Campaign 

Every holiday season, Starbucks runs its hugely popular “Starbucks for Life” sweepstakes—a gamified promotion that rewards loyal app users. Customers earn game entries by making qualifying purchases using the Starbucks app or card. They then play an online game to collect digital game pieces and win prizes. 

Prizes range from free drinks for a week, a month, or even "Starbucks for Life"—essentially one free drink or food item every day for 30 years. Smaller rewards include bonus stars (loyalty points), free drinks, holiday merchandise, and more. 

This campaign drives: 

• Increased app usage. 
• Higher purchase frequency. 
• Stronger engagement during peak holiday periods.  

2. Grab 

Grab’s referral programs are another excellent example of how timely promotions can do wonders for a business. One of their referral programs went viral because it included attractive rewards. The promotion was about getting both referrers & referees onboard and rewarding them with $10. These promotions helped ‘Grab’ acquire new customers while building customer loyalty. 

3. Dominos 

Dominos is another brand that saw a 10X incremental return on investment of £113,000—doubling on their targets with 4:1 returns). Through timely sales promotions and personalized digital ad campaigns in the UK, Dominos reached 3.1 million customers. 

Coming back to the big question—how to run successful sales promotion campaigns? 

The time to plan consumer promotions is enormous. That is when you could be working on your actual product or service and enhancing your consumers’ experience. And earning money, of course. If the campaign fails, the possibility of which is considerably high, the loss again is massive. 

Your consumer promotion can fail if it doesn’t cut through the noise of promotions your target customers are surrounded with. Promotional campaigns can also fail if you are not using the right tools, your audience is not interacting, or simply because you are targeting the wrong audience. 

Elevate your sales promotion campaigns with Plum 

Running a successful sales promotion campaign requires more than just discounts and flashy offers—it demands strategic planning, customer-centric rewards, and seamless execution. Whether you’re aiming to attract new customers, boost conversions, or retain loyal buyers, the right rewards and incentives can supercharge your promotions and maximize engagement. 

However, managing rewards at scale—ensuring automation, personalization, and easy redemption—can be overwhelming. That’s where Plum makes it effortless. 

With Plum’s rewards and incentives infrastructure, businesses can: 

• Automate reward distribution to streamline sales promotions. 
• Offer diverse rewards from 21,000+ global options, including e-gift cards, cashback, and experiences. 
• Provide seamless redemption with multiple choices tailored to customer preferences. 
• Integrate effortlessly with CRM, e-commerce, and marketing platforms. 

Why settle for generic sales promotions when you can create memorable, high-impact campaigns with personalized rewards? Visit Plum today to explore our solutions and elevate your next sales promotion campaign!