Grow Sales with
Rebate Fulfillment Processing
By Donna Kutter, President, Dare Marketing Inc.
Whether your product is a new entry to market or at the mature stage of its life cycle, a great way to boost sales, introduce customers to other products and collect market data is to offer a rebate. Fulfillment of that rebate, however, can involve too many details for the average company. That’s why some choose to outsource rebate fulfillment processing.
Rebates vs. other POS options
As a marketer, you want to encourage the consumer to pick your product over that of a competitor at the point-of-sale (POS). There are two basic strategies to achieve this. You can develop a complex programme involving manufacturing, packaging, shipping and special displays or, you can use the straight forward rebate:
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Rebates are relatively simple to implement: A rebate basically requires promotional material and rebate fulfillment processing that can be outsourced.
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Rebates deliver customer information: You can learn who your customers are, where they’re located, and more. But a warning. Don’t make rebate processing onerous for your customer or you may undo your programme’s benefits.
Design your rebate programme for success
Step one is to define your objectives. Do you want to drive sales, gather market information, or introduce consumers to a new product? This will determine the type of rebate that you offer. Then:
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Design the rebate for consumer appeal.
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Determine what your retailer needs for success.
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Develop the systems: from retailer support to rebate processing and rebate fulfillment.
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Design communications materials for success every step of the way.
Rebate fulfillment processing
Rebate processing involves receiving the rebate request from the consumer, data entry, picking, packing, delivering and tracking the rebate to the customer. Because rebate processing involves important customer data, there are a number of things to consider when outsourcing to a rebate fulfillment processing company. It is important that:
You choose a rebate fulfillment processing company that can handle online and mail in submissions.
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The rebate fulfillment processing includes a confirmation email to customers and a portal where they can quickly learn the status of their rebate.
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You have access to all rebate fulfillment processing information real time through a client portal.
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Your rebate fulfillment processing partner uses personnel who are security checked and work in their facilities – not from home. Rebates involve Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and consumer privacy must be taken seriously. Dare handles all rebate fulfillment processing on their premises.
Rebate fulfillment processing is time consuming and can distract you from more important, strategic functions. You need a rebate fulfillment outsourcing partner who attends to the details of your campaign carefully and communicates effectively. Focus on what you do best: marketing programme design. And let rebate fulfillment processing professionals take care of the rest.
Need more information about outsourced Rebate Processing? Want to learn more about designing a Rebate Fulfillment Processing programme? Contact Dare Marketing for help.