- Promotions and settlements · TPM
- Operations Manager, CFO / Finance, Plant / Operations Director
- Retail and branch networks, Manufacturing, Logistics and warehousing
Promotion report template: a printable one-page review after the campaign
In short
A promotion report is a one-page review written after a campaign that compares what was planned with what happened. It records the goal, terms, customers, baseline, sales, cost and the decision to repeat, change or stop the activity. A short report written on a fixed date does more good than a long one nobody reads. The sheet below can be printed and filled in by hand or copied into any document tool.
What the report is for
A promotion report exists to close the loop. A campaign is planned with a goal and a budget. When it ends, someone must say whether the goal was reached, what it cost and what should happen next. Without a report, the lessons stay with the person who ran the promotion, and the next one starts from zero.
The report should be short enough to be written the week the data is ready. One page is the right size. Anything longer tends to be postponed, and a late report is a report nobody acts on.
Printable report sheet
PROMOTION REPORT no. ……… / ………
Prepared on: ……………………………… by: ………………………………
| Campaign name | …………………………………………… |
|---|---|
| Owner | …………………………………………… |
| Period of the promotion | from ……………… to ……………… |
| Review period (including after-promotion weeks) | from ……………… to ……………… |
| Goal (volume, distribution, trial, clearance, loyalty) | …………………………………………… |
| Customers and products covered | …………………………………………… |
| Terms (discount, free goods, bonus, thresholds) | …………………………………………… |
| Budget line | …………………………………………… |
| Measure | Planned | Actual | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline sales (without promotion) | |||
| Sales during the promotion | |||
| Sales in the weeks after | |||
| Cost of discounts and free goods | |||
| Bonus triggered | |||
| Margin on the additional sales | |||
| Net result (margin on additional sales minus total cost) |
What worked: ……………………………………………………………………………
What did not: ……………………………………………………………………………
Decision: repeat / change / stop. Reason: ……………………………………………………
| Prepared by | Reviewed by (finance) | Decision by |
|---|---|---|
How to fill it in, line by line
- Copy the goal from the plan. Do not rewrite it after the fact. The report compares the result with the goal as it was set.
- List the terms as they were agreed. Not as remembered. The agreement or campaign record is the source.
- Fill the Planned column from the plan. If no plan figures exist, write that. It is a finding in itself.
- Fill the Actual column from sales and settlement data. Use the same cutoff dates as the plan.
- Include the weeks after the promotion. Customers often buy less right after a promotion. If you omit the after period, the effect is overstated.
- Add every cost. Discounts, free goods and any bonus that the additional volume triggered. A bonus crossing a threshold can add cost not visible in the sales report.
- Calculate the net result. Margin on the additional sales minus the total cost. The arithmetic is explained on promotion ROI calculation.
- Write the decision. Repeat, change or stop, with one sentence of reason.
An illustrative example
The numbers below are illustrative. A campaign planned 40 additional units, delivered 30, and cost more than planned because a bonus tier was crossed by two customers. The sheet shows this in three rows: additional sales below plan, bonus above plan, net result negative. The decision may still be "change" and not "stop": narrow the customer list, move the threshold. But the report makes the discussion about facts, not about impressions.
Keeping reports comparable
A report is most useful when it can be compared with the one before. Use the same layout every time, the same measures and the same cutoff rules. When every campaign is described differently, the review meeting turns into a discussion of definitions. Once the format is fixed, patterns emerge: a certain type of customer reacts to free goods, another only to a threshold bonus, a third to nothing at all.
Keep the reports in one place, grouped by customer and by year. When the same customer is planned next season, the sales manager can open the last two reports before drafting the offer. That one habit saves more time than any template.
Who reads the report
- Sales manager: uses it to plan the next promotion with the same customer.
- Finance: checks the cost against the budget line and the accruals.
- Director or owner: uses the decision column to see which activities are worth repeating.
Write for the reader who was not in the room. A report that needs a meeting to be understood has not done its job.
Common mistakes
- Reporting turnover only. Growth in sales is not growth in profit. Include the cost.
- No baseline. Without it, all sales look like the effect of the promotion.
- Writing the report months later. Memory is replaced by opinion.
- Hiding the failures. A report that only lists successes teaches nothing.
- Not storing it with the campaign. The report should be found by whoever plans the next one.
Where it fits in the process
The report is the last step of a cycle that begins with retail promotion planning, continues with budget control and ends with measurement. For measurement methods, see trade promotion effectiveness. For the cost side, see promotion budget planning and control.
In Remanently Trade Marketing, reports combine target fulfillment, turnover, cost and the terms the customer actually met, and profitability compares the sales result with the cost needed to achieve it. Attachments and campaign documentation can be kept with the campaign in the FIRST scope. The sheet above remains useful as a short management summary. See the Trade Marketing page and trade promotion management, and book a demo to see a campaign report on your own data.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a promotion report be?
One page. A short report written on a fixed date is read and used. A long one is postponed.
When should the report be written?
As soon as sales and settlement data for the review period are final, including a few weeks after the promotion to capture any dip in purchases.
Who should write the promotion report?
The campaign owner prepares it, finance reviews the cost, and the person who approved the campaign makes the decision to repeat, change or stop.
What if there was no baseline set before the promotion?
Estimate one afterward from the same period last year or recent averages, and say so in the report. Next time, set the baseline before launch.
Does Remanently Trade Marketing produce campaign reports?
Reports show target fulfillment, settlement of terms and profitability, comparing the sales result with the cost of achieving it. Extended turnover and calculation reports are part of the TIME IS MONEY scope.
See a campaign report on your own data
Bring one finished promotion and its terms. In a short demo we show its cost, result and target fulfillment in Remanently Trade Marketing on your own data.
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