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IDEA TO ACTION QUOTE: This may seem simple, but you need to give customers what they want, not what you think they want. And, if you do this, people will keep coming back - John Ilhan
 Sales promotions are simply incentives to customers to buy. Together with advertising, personal selling and public relations they make up what marketers call the promotional mix. If you want to promote your business through sales promotion, you need to consider what your objective is before you can decide what technique to use.
To clear old stock to make way for newer stuff, you should consider BOGOF, or buy one get one free. This is not the same as selling at half price because it forces the customer to take 2 items in one go, thus reducing your stock.
If you are looking to build awareness for your business then you could give away free samples. Sampling and free trials give customers the opportunity to experience products, often in small quantities or for a short duration, without purchasing the product. Do not forget to consider the cost of the samples. In fact, use this method if you expect to gain business worth more than the cost of samples. So, if you give away free juice worth 3000/= to 10 people, out of whom two become customers who give you business worth 5000/= then your promotion worked well. If, however, you end up with three new customers who spend 2000 /= on your juice then it wasn't successful.
To guard against this you could offer free products on condition that a purchase is made. This is what happens when you get a free toilet bag for every dress you buy.
Another form of sales promotion involving free merchandise is premium or "give-away" items. Premiums differ from samples and free product in that these often do not consist of the actual product, though there is often some connection.
If the objective for your business is to encourage customers who have already bought from you to come back, then you could offer a discount on the next purchase.
One thing to remember is that while you are promoting your products you are likely to see a spike in sales. Question is, where will the sales settle after the promotion ends? If higher than normal, then you have gained new customers, or they are buying more. If the same or less, then your promotion was not successful.
Also be careful not to over promote, to the extent that customers only purchase when you have a promotion. | 
