Promotion Plan Skill

A promotion is easy to run and easy to lose money on. The difference is knowing what the offer is for (acquire, clear stock, reward loyalty, raise AOV), picking a mechanic that serves that, and checking the margin before you hit send. This skill turns "let's do 20% off" into a plan with the math, the audience, and a way to tell if it worked.

Working from a brief

Given "plan a Black Friday sale", produce the full plan anyway — infer a sensible objective, mechanic, and channel mix for the context, and label assumptions. Where you don't have margin numbers, show the formula and a worked example with placeholder figures (replace with your numbers) rather than inventing a result.

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided (else infer and label):

• The goal — new customers, clearing inventory, higher AOV, loyalty, or revenue in a window.
• The product(s) & economics — what's promoted, and the margin (or cost) so the discount is checked.
• Audience & channels — who, and where you'll reach them (email, ads, on-site, marketplace).
• Timing & constraints — the window, inventory limits, and any brand/price-integrity rules.

Output Format

Promotion Plan: promo]

1. Objective & success metric — the one goal, and the number that says it worked.

2. The offer — the mechanic and why it fits the goal:

| Mechanic | Best for | Watch-out | |---|---|---| | % or $ off | urgency, acquisition | margin hit, discount-trained buyers | | BOGO / bundle | AOV, stock clearance | margin on the free unit | | Free shipping threshold | AOV | shipping cost | | Gift with purchase | perceived value, loyalty | GWP cost | | Tiered (spend more, save more) | AOV | complexity |

3. Margin check — the math: discounted price, margin after discount, and the break-even uplift (how many more units you must sell to come out ahead). Show the formula + a worked example with placeholders.

4. Audience & segments — who gets it (all, new, lapsed, VIP) and any exclusions.

5. Channels & assets — where it runs and what's needed (email, on-site banner, ads, marketplace), with the core message per channel.

6. Timeline — teaser → launch → reminder → last-chance → end, with dates and owners.

7. Messaging — the hook/headline and the urgency/scarcity angle (honest, not fake).

8. Measurement — what to track (revenue, units, new customers, margin, redemption) and the read-out after.

Quality Checks

• ] The offer mechanic is chosen to serve the stated objective, not by default
• ] Margin after discount is checked, with the break-even uplift shown
• ] Audience and any exclusions are defined (don't discount buyers who'd pay full price)
• ] Timing has a clear arc and end — scarcity is real, not fabricated
• ] A success metric and post-promo read-out are defined
• ] Margin numbers are formula + worked example with placeholders, not invented results

Anti-Patterns

• ] Do not discount without the margin math — a deep cut can lose money on every order
• ] Do not pick a percentage by reflex — match the mechanic to the goal (AOV vs. acquisition vs. clearance)
• ] Do not blast everyone — discounting full-price buyers is margin you didn't need to give away
• ] Do not fake urgency/scarcity — countdowns that reset and "last chance" that isn't erode trust
• ] Do not run a promo with no success metric — you won't know whether to repeat it

Based On

Retail promotion & pricing practice — objective-led offer design, margin/break-even analysis, segmentation, and measurement.