Marketers must decide how to promote and distribute the promotion program itself. A $2-off coupon could be given out in a package, at the store, via the Internet, or in an advertisement.
All indications are that the U.S. market is poised for growth in the green, leafy lettuces category, and that salads are increasingly important as a component of everyday American diets.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are already the fastest growing category in U.S. supermarkets. This fact is propelled by the strong consumer trend to eat more fresh produce. Per capita fresh vegetable consumption in the United States (excluding potatoes) increased to a record 100.9 pounds in 1982, up from 89.1 pounds in 1972. According to the USD A, which tracks trends in the sale of specific vegetables, fresh lettuce consumption increased 28% between 1962 and 1982.
Many companies fail to evaluate their sales promotion programs, and others evaluate them only superficially. Yet marketers should work to measure the returns on their sales promotion investments, just as they should seek to assess the returns on other marketing activities.
Most of this lettuce consumption takes place in the form of salads, although some is used as garnish on sandwiches. A study done for Progressive Grocer Magazine in 1984, by Leo J. Shapiro Associates, polled American consumers at random about their salad usage. The results, which are projectible to the population at large, were:
- 21% are serving more salads
- 72% are serving the same number of salads
- 7% are serving fewer salads
The length of the promotion is also important. If the sales promotion period is too short, many prospects (who may not be buying during that time) will miss it. If the promotion runs too long, the deal will lose some of its “act now” force.
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