“Push and Pull” methodologies are promotional strategies to get your product or service to market. The origin of these two terms refers to the supply chain and how the demand for the product is generated.
1. Push strategy:
A push promotional strategy involves taking the product directly to the customer via whatever means, ensuring the customer is aware of your brand at the point of purchase.
It is “Taking the product to the customer”
The term ‘push strategy’ describes the work a manufacturer of a product needs to perform to get the product to the customer. This may involve setting up distribution channels and persuading intermediaries and retailers to stock your product. The push technique can work particularly well for lower value items such as fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs), when customers are standing at the shelf ready to drop an item into their baskets and are ready to make their decision on the spot. This term now broadly encompasses most direct promotional techniques such as encouraging retailers to stock your product, designing point of sale materials or even selling face to face. New businesses often adopt a push strategy for their products in order to generate exposure and a retail channel. Once your brand has been established, this can be integrated with a pull strategy.
Examples of push tactics:
-Trade show promotions to encourage retailer demand
-Direct selling to customers in showrooms or face to face
-Negotiation with retailers to stock your product
-Efficient supply chain allowing retailers an efficient supply
-Packaging design to encourage purchase
2. Pull strategy:
A pull strategy involves motivating customers to seek out your brand in an active process.
It is “Getting the customer to come to you”.
‘Pull strategy’ refers to the customer actively seeking out your product and retailers placing orders for stock due to direct consumer demand. A pull strategy requires a highly visible brand which can be developed through mass media advertising or similar tactics. If customers want a product, the retailers will stock it – supply and demand in its purest form, and this is the basis of a pull strategy. Create the demand, and the supply channels will almost look after themselves.
Examples of pull tactics:
-Advertising and mass media promotion
-Word of mouth referrals
-Customer relationship management
-Sales promotions and discounts
