It’s easy, but is it on target? iAnything Promotions

Apparently, if you really want an iPad, there are good odds you can get a free one, or at least it appears that way. You can’t help but notice the barrage of “Win a Free iPad” promotions running everywhere. They are promotions online, in print, on store windows — you name it. I decided to do a test this week and count the number of free iPad promotions that I noticed randomly throughout the day. The count for the week was 32. These were just the ones I noticed.

So what is the problem with this you ask? Well nothing technically, other than I wondered how many of these promotions actually resonated with their intended audiences? Some of them certainly did, as they were on tech or gadget-related blog sites and other geek and tech-savvy properties. Other promotions were on everything from a candle shop to an African artifacts store. While I am sure some of their shoppers and passers-by are intrigued by a free iPad, or anything else they can get for free, how effective is the campaign in acquiring new customers?

Promotions such as these should tie to your brand, products and services or, at the very least, resonate clearly with the psychographic nature of the core audiences. Running promotions using random items that just happen to be hot may bring people to your site or store, but are they truly targeted customers? The only thing that matters is whether or not they are likely to spend money. Who needs visitors to their site or store just taking up bandwidth or space? No one.

So, when you are thinking about your next promotion, try to match the promotion to the interests and motivations of people who buy your products or services. And here’s a crazy idea, ask some of your best customers what would interest them? Real customers are a wealth of knowledge, and many will be happy to give you their opinions. When you do run a promotion, measure how many visitors you acquire based on the promotion and how many of them actually become customers.