What
is Promotion?
Promotion is one of the market mix
elements, and a term used frequently in marketing.
The specification of five promotional mix or promotional plan. These
elements are personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, direct
marketing, and publicity. A promotional mix specifies how much
attention to pay to each of the five subcategories, and how much money to
budget for each. A promotional plan can have a wide range of objectives,
including: sales increases, new product acceptance, creation of brand equity,
positioning, competitive retaliations, or
creation of a corporate image. Fundamentally, however there
are three basic objectives of promotion. These are:
To
present information to consumers as well as others.
To
increase demand.
To
differentiate a product.
Which promotional methods are used depends on several
factors:
Stage
in the life cycle : E.g. advertising is important at the launch
stage
Nature
of the product : How much information is
required by customers before they buy
Competition : What are rivals doing?
Marketing
budget : How much can the firm
afford?
Marketing
strategy : Other elements of the mix
(price, product, place etc)
Target
market : Appropriate ways to
reach the target market
There
are different ways to promote a product in different areas of media. Promoters
use internet advertisement, special events, endorsements, and newspapers to
advertise their product. Many times with the purchase of a product there is an
incentive like discounts, free items, or a contest. This is to increase the
sales of a given product.
Promotional
methods – “above and below the line”
The
way in which promotion is targeted is traditionally split into two types:
- Above the line promotion – paid for communication in the independent media e.g. advertising on TV or in the newspapers. Though it can be targeted, it could be seen by anyone outside the target audience. Advertising is the main methods of above-the-line promotion.
- Below the line promotion – promotional activities where the business has direct control e.g. direct mailing and money off coupons. It is aimed directly at the target audience.
What Is Sales Promotion ?
The American Marketing
Association (AMA), in its Web-based "Dictionary of Marketing Terms,"
defines sales promotion as "media and nonmedia marketing pressure applied
for a predetermined, limited period of time in order to stimulate trial,
increase consumer demand, or improve product availability.
Sales promotion is the
process of persuading a potential customer to buy the product. Sales promotion is designed to be used as a
short-term tactic to boost sales – it is not really designed to build long-term
customer loyalty.
Some sales promotions
are aimed at consumers. Others are
targeted at intermediaries (such as agents and wholesalers) or at the firm’s
sales force.
When
undertaking a sales promotion, there are several factors that a business must
take into account:
• What does the
promotion cost – will the resulting sales boost justify the investment?
• Is the sales
promotion consistent with the brand image?
A promotion that heavily discounts a product with a premium price might
do some long-term damage to a brand
• Will the sales
promotion attract customers who will continue to buy the product once the
promotion ends, or will it simply attract those customers who are always on the
look-out for a bargain?
There
are many methods of sales promotion, including:
• Money off coupons –
customers receive coupons, or cut coupons out of newspapers or a products
packaging that enables them to buy the product next time at a reduced price
• Competitions – buying
the product will allow the customer to take part in a chance to win a prize
• Discount vouchers – a
voucher (like a money off coupon)
• Free gifts – a free
product when buy another product
• Point of sale
materials – e.g. posters, display stands – ways of presenting the product in
its best way or show the customer that the product is there.
• Loyalty cards – e.g.
Nectar and Air Miles; where customers earn points for buying certain goods or
shopping at certain retailers – that can later be exchanged for money, goods or
other offers
Kinds Of Promotion
Marketers
have at their disposal four major
methods of promotion. Taken together these comprise the promotion mix. In this section a basic definition of
each method is offered while in the next
section a comparison of each method based on the characteristics of promotion is presented.
a. Advertising
Involves
non-personal; mostly paid promotions
often using mass media outlets to deliver the marketer’s message.
While historically Sales promotion
is designed to be used as a short-term tactic to boost sales, the advent of
computer technology and, in particular, the Internet has increased the options that allow customers to provide
quick feedback.
b. Public Relations and Sponsorship
Also
referred to as publicity, this type of
promotion uses third-party sources, and particularly the news media, to offer a favorable mention of the marketer’s
company or product without direct
payment to the publisher of the information.
c. Personal Selling
As
the name implies, this form of promotion
involves personal contact between company representatives and those who have a role in purchase decisions (e.g.,
make the decision, such as consumers, or
have an influence on a decision, such as members of a company buying center). Often this occurs
face-to-face or via telephone, though newer
technologies allow this to occur online via video conferencing or text
chat.
d. Sales Promotion
Involves
the use of special short-term
techniques, often in the form of incentives, to encourage customers to
respond or undertake some activity. For
instance, the use of retail coupons with
expiration dates requires customers to act while the incentive is still
valid.
e. Direct marketing
A
channel-agnostic form of advertising that allows businesses and
nonprofits organizations to communicate straight to the customer, with
advertising techniques that can include Cell Phone
Text
messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads,
fliers, catalog distribution, promotional letters, and outdoor advertising.
Direct
marketing messages emphasize a focus on the customer, data, and accountability.
Characteristics that distinguish direct marketing are:
-
Marketing messages are addressed directly to the customer and/or customers.
Direct marketing relies on being able to address the members of a target market.
Addressability comes in a variety of forms including email addresses, mobile
phone numbers, Web browser cookies, fax numbers and postal addresses.
-
Direct marketing seeks to drive a specific "call to action." For
example, an advertisement may ask the prospect to call a free phone number or click on a link to a
website.
-
Direct marketing emphasizes trackable, measurable responses from customers —
regardless of medium.
Why Do We Need Promotion ?
Promotion is benefit for customer, activities
have a variety of aims:
- To inform current and potential customers about the existence of products
- To explain the potential benefits of using the product
- To persuade customers to buy the product
- To help differentiate a product from the competition
- To develop and sustain a brand
- To reassure customers that they have made the right choice
Pick
at least 10 sentences indicating present tense
-
These elements are personal selling,
advertising, sales promotion, direct
marketing, and publicity.
- What does the promotion cost
- Who
are always on the look-out for a bargain?
- This type of promotion uses
third-party sources
- To inform current and potential
customers about the existence of products
- To persuade customers to buy the
product
- Promoters use internet
advertisement, special events, endorsements, and newspapers to advertise their product
- Direct marketing emphasizes
trackable
- Addressability comes in a variety
of forms including email addresses
- Direct marketing seeks to drive a
specific "call to action."
- Products packaging that enables
them to buy the product next time at a reduced price
Pick
at least 10 sentences indicating past tense
-
Media
and nonmedia marketing pressure applied for a predetermined
-
Sales
promotion designed to be used as a short-term tactic to boost sales
- Marketing messages addressed directly to the customer
- Others targeted at intermediaries
-
Term used frequently in marketing
- limited period of time in order
to stimulate trial
-
Also referred to as publicity
- later be exchanged for money
-
In this section a basic definition
of each method offered while in the next
section
- Information is required by
customers before they buy
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