What Does "Transpromotional" Mean?

Also known as transpromo, "transpromotional" is a term used to describe a type of sales process that seeks to combine the benefits of completing a transaction with the act of promoting some type of good or service. The idea is to generate interest among consumers that ultimately leads to the purchase of additional products. There are several different ways to apply the concept of transpromotional sales, including the use of inserts in correspondence mailed to customers and even promotions that occur during a purchase in a brick and mortar situation.

One of the most common examples of transpromotional activity is the inclusion of inserts into hard copy mailings to customers, such as a monthly invoice detail or a bill for a recent purchase. It is not unusual for banks and other types of companies to also place inserts when mailing account statements. The idea is that the recipient will open the envelope to extract the invoice and also encounter the inserts touting other goods and services. Assuming the inserts are interesting enough for the consumer to actually read the product description found on the inserts, the potential for generating an additional sale is increased.

One alternative to transpromotional strategies that involve mailing inserts along with an invoice, bill, or account statement is to include a promotional advertisement directly on the statement or invoice detail. This is usually in the form of a short promotion of a particular good or service using one or two sentences strategically placed below the account detail. As part of the promotion, the ad may include a web address or telephone number, complete with a discount code to save money on the purchase. Here, the idea is that recipients don’t even have to focus on anything but the actual statement to be exposed to an offer for another product.

Even in brick and mortar scenarios, it is possible to utilize the concept of transpromotional sales to generate additional income. For example, when a server in a restaurant checks on customers at the end of the meal and offers them a chance to purchase a dessert at a discount, this is effectively promote consumption of an additional product, which in turn will increase the total value of the transaction to the restaurant. When successful, transpromotional techniques introduce consumers to products that they hopefully will enjoy and continue to purchase along with the goods and services they already buy from a given supplier.