A retail market exercise, originally created to drive sales and customers, employs a simple technique. Usually identified by a research team and supported by an operations department, an LTO is any product, item, commodity or procedure that is new, innovative or special to a particular industry and offered in short supply at a good price over a defined period of time. It is intended to maximize customer traffic and sales and to generate a market opportunity to retain customers, gain new customers, and to refresh a market or concept. Although the term usually applies to the food industry, it is now used by all companies that service the public and want a strategy to promote activity. An LTO can also be a simple and strategic way for a company to introduce or test a product. They can target it over a short period of time, it will not define the concept, it can be controlled and amended, it can be expanded or recalled, and it can be added permanently or terminated after the period of time. The combination of efforts and purposes as well as benefits are enormous when executed properly. Wendy's and McDonald's are the best at execution of this method of promotion. It is not unusual for the term to be modified and known by other names by many industries although the general purpose will remain the same, e.g., no interest loans and purchase promotions.

Contributed By:

Joe Simone
President
SARATOGA FOOD GROUP, LLC