The Promo Trap: Common Mistakes Brands Make Without Data
Let’s talk about the traps brands fall into when they’re not using data to plan promotions.
Too often, brands treat promotions as routine—just plug them into the calendar, offer a discount, and hope for the best. But this “set it and forget it” mentality leads to wasted spend, shrinking margins, and missed opportunities. Without data, gut instincts rule—and gut instincts rarely outperform smart planning.
Here are some of the most common promotional mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. Copying Last Year’s Calendar Without Question
It’s easy to repeat last year’s promo plan, especially if it seemed to “work.” But shopper behavior, competitive activity, and retailer priorities shift every year. What worked once may not work again.
Better move: Reassess your promo calendar annually based on updated data. Look for seasonality, event performance, and new retail dynamics before locking in.
2. Running Promotions Without Retailer Support
Promotions without retailer backing—no feature, no display, no secondary placement—are often invisible to shoppers. You're discounting without driving meaningful awareness.
Better move: Coordinate with retailers to secure features and displays wherever possible. A promo without visibility rarely delivers real lift.
3. Giving Deep Discounts with Minimal Lift
Deeper discounts don’t always mean better performance. If you’re dropping price without measuring the result, you may be giving away margin with no return.
Better move: Measure lift relative to discount depth. If your $2-off deal performs no better than $1-off, you’re just bleeding margin.
4. Using the Wrong Tactic for the Channel
Promotions should align with the retailer’s pricing strategy. Running an EDLP (everyday low price) model at a hi/low retailer, for example, means your promotion might not even be noticed.
Better move: Tailor tactics to the channel. Use high-impact, short-term deals at hi/low accounts; consider consistent pricing strategies for EDLP-focused partners.
5. Skipping Post-Event Analysis Altogether
Without looking back at what worked—and what didn’t—brands keep making the same mistakes. Promotions become a cycle of guessing and hoping, rather than a strategy built on results.
Better move: Analyze every event. Track lift, ROI, trade spend, and post-promo dips. Use that data to refine future strategy.
👉 Want to go deeper on how to evaluate performance? Check out our post: The One Question Every Brand Needs to Ask After a Promotion: Did It Work? — it breaks down exactly how to assess impact, identify what moved the needle, and build a smarter plan moving forward.
Real Story: The Heirloom Wake-Up Call
One emerging brand was running deep discounts every six weeks. They weren’t using a formal calendar or measuring ROI—just going with their gut.
Sales did bump up a bit during promotions, but margins kept shrinking. Worse, their baseline velocity never improved. It felt like they were spinning their wheels.
Finally, they took a step back and ran the numbers. Out of five promotional events, only one actually drove a positive return. The rest were costing more than they were worth.
It was a turning point. They stopped over-discounting, started aligning with retailer priorities, and focused on fewer, better-supported promotions. The result? Healthier margins and baseline growth.
The Takeaway
When you don’t evaluate promotions, you end up rewarding bad habits—and burying the strategies that actually work.
Promotions are powerful tools—but only when used intentionally. Smart brands don’t just promote to check a box. They use data to guide every decision, learn from every event, and continuously improve. That’s how you go from playing defense to driving real growth.
Frequently Asked Questions about How to Avoid Common Trade Promotion Mistakes
Q: What are the most common trade promotion mistakes CPG brands make?
A: Many CPG brands fall into the trap of copying last year’s promotion calendar without asking whether it worked. Others run discounts without retailer support (like feature or display), which results in poor lift. Some give steep discounts without measuring ROI, or they use the wrong tactic for a given retailer (e.g., EDLP at a hi/low store). One of the biggest mistakes? Skipping post-event analysis entirely.
Q: Why is it risky to copy last year’s trade promotion calendar?
A: Relying on last year’s promo calendar without evaluating performance can lock you into repeating underperforming strategies. Without data-backed analysis, you risk wasting budget on events that didn’t—and still don’t—drive profitable results.
Q: How important is retailer support in trade promotions?
A: Retailer support (such as being featured in circulars or getting display space) is critical. A promotion without support often leads to weak sales lift. If your promo is buried on the shelf, customers might never see it—no matter how deep the discount is.
Q: What happens if you run trade promotions without measuring ROI?
A: Without tracking ROI, it’s impossible to know which promotions are working and which are just draining margin. In one case, a brand realized only 1 out of 5 of their frequent discounts was actually profitable—after months of guessing and gut-based planning.
Q: How does the wrong promotional tactic hurt performance?
A: Using the wrong strategy for the retailer can sabotage your promotion. For example, running an EDLP (Everyday Low Price) tactic in a hi/low retail environment won’t generate the same kind of urgency or shopper engagement. Tailoring your strategy to the retailer’s pricing model is essential.
Q: What is the risk of skipping post-event promotion analysis?
A: When brands skip post-event analysis, they miss the opportunity to learn from what worked and what didn’t. This leads to repeating bad habits while potentially ignoring high-performing strategies. Over time, it weakens both ROI and brand health.
Q: Can you share an example of a brand that corrected these promo mistakes?
A: Yes. One emerging brand was running heavy discounts every 6 weeks based purely on gut instinct. While sales lifted slightly, margin eroded—and the brand’s baseline didn’t improve. Once they evaluated their promotions, they discovered only 1 out of 5 events was actually profitable. They adjusted their strategy, cut ineffective discounts, and started focusing on high-ROI events.
Q: What’s the key takeaway for brands running promotions today?
A: Always measure your promotions. If you don’t evaluate them, you risk rewarding ineffective strategies—and missing out on the ones that actually work. Data-backed planning is the foundation of profitable trade spend.
