Marketing Mix – Promotion

Promotion is a type of communication between the buyer and the seller. The seller tries to persuade the buyer to purchase their goods or services through promotions. It helps in making the people aware of a product, service or a company. It also helps to improve the public image of a company. This method of marketing may also create interest in the minds of buyers and can also generate loyal customers.

Meaning and definition

Promotion is a term taken from Latin word “Promovere”.  It means ‘move towards’.  In marketing, promotion means all those tools that a marketer uses to take his product from the factory to the customer and hence it involves advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, and public relation.  It is necessary to flow the information about the product from the producer to the consumer either along with the product or well in advance of the introduction of the product. This role is played by promotion.

In the words of Masson and Ruth, “Promotion consists of those activities that are designed to bring a company’s goods or services to the favorable attention of customers”.

Promotion is a very important component of marketing as it can boost brand recognition and sales. Promotion is comprised of various elements like:

• Sales Organization

• Public Relations

• Advertising

• Sales Promotion

Advertising typically covers communication methods that are paid for like television advertisements, radio commercials, print media, and internet advertisements. In contemporary times, there seems to be a shift in focus offline to the online world.

Public relations, on the other hand, are communications that are typically not paid for. This includes press releases, exhibitions, sponsorship deals, seminars, conferences, and events.

Word of mouth is also a type of product promotion. Word of mouth is an informal communication about the benefits of the product by satisfied customers and ordinary individuals. The sales staff plays a very important role in public relations and word of mouth.

It is important to not take this literally. Word of mouth can also circulate on the internet. Harnessed effectively and it has the potential to be one of the most valuable assets you have in boosting your profits online. An extremely good example of this is online social media and managing a firm’s online social media presence.

In creating an effective product promotion strategy, you need to answer the following questions:

• How can you send marketing messages to your potential buyers?

• When is the best time to promote your product?

• Will you reach your potential audience and buyers through television ads?

• Is it best to use the social media in promoting the product?

• What is the promotion strategy of your competitors?

Your combination of promotional strategies and how you go about promotion will depend on your budget, the message you want to communicate, and the target market you have defined already in previous steps.

Elements of promotion mix

Elements of promotional mix are also called as tools, means, or components. Basically, there are five elements involved in promotional mix.

1. Advertising

Advertising is defined as any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, and services by an identified sponsor. It is a way of mass communication. It is the most popular and widely practiced tool of market promotion. Major part of promotional budget is consumed for advertising alone. Various advertising media – television, radio, newspapers, magazines, outdoor means and so forth – are used for advertising the product.

Characteristics of advertising are as follow:

1)   Adverting is non-personal or mass communication. Personal contact is not possible.

2)   It is a paid form of communication.

3)   It is a one-way communication.

4)   Identifiable entity/sponsor-company or person gives advertising.

5)   It is costly option to promote the sales.

6)   It can be reproduced frequently as per need.

7)   Per contact cost is the lowest.

8)   Various audio-visual, print, and outdoor media can be used for advertising purpose.

9)   It is a widely used and highly popular tool of market promotion.

2. Sales Promotion

Sales promotion covers those marketing activities other than advertising, publicity, and personal selling that stimulate consumer purchasing and dealer effectiveness. Sales promotion mainly involves short-term and non-routine incentives, offered to dealers as well consumers. The popular methods used for sales promotion are demonstration, trade show, exhibition, exchange offer, seasonal discount, free service, gifts, contests, etc.

Characteristics of sales promotion are as follows:

1) The primary purpose of sales promotion is to induce customers for immediate buying or dealer effectiveness or both.

2) Excessive use of sale promotion may affect sales and reputation of a company adversely.

3) It is taken as supplementary to advertising and personal selling efforts.

4) It involves all the promotional efforts other than advertising, personal selling, and publicity.

5) It consists of short-term incentives, schemes, or plans offered to buyers, salesmen, and/ or dealers.

6) It involves non-routine selling efforts.

3. Personal Selling

Personal selling includes face-to-face personal communication and presentation with prospects (potential and actual customers) for the purpose of selling the products. It involves personal conversation and presentation of products with customers. It is considered as a highly effective and costly tool of market promotion.

Characteristics of personal have been listed below:

1)   Personal selling is an oral, face-to-face, and personal presentation with consumers.

2)   Basic purpose is to promote products or increase sales.

3)   It involves two-way communication.

4)   Immediate feedback can be measured.

5)   It is an ability of salesmen to persuade or influence buyers.

6)   It is more flexible way of market communication.

7)   Per contact cost is higher than advertising.

8)   It involves teaching, educating, and assisting people to buy.

4. Publicity

Publicity is also a way of mass communication. It is not a paid form of mass communication that involves getting favorable response of buyers by placing commercially significant news in mass media. William J. Stanton defines: “Publicity is any promotional communication regarding an organization and/or its products where the message is not paid for by the organization benefiting from it.”

It is the traditional form of public relations. Publicity is not paid for by the organization. Publicity comes from reporters, columnists, and journalists. It can be considered as a part of public relations. Publicity involves giving public speeches, giving interviews, conducting seminars, charitable donations, inauguration by film actor, cricketer, politician or popular personalities, stage show, etc., that attract mass media to publish the news about them.

Main characteristic of publicity include:

1) Publicity involves obtaining favorable presentation about company or company’s offers upon radio, television, or stage that is not paid for by the sponsor.

2) It is a non-paid form of market promotion. However, several indirect costs are involved in publicity.

3) It may include promotion of new product, pollution control efforts, special achievements of employees, publicizing new policies, etc., for increasing sales. It is primarily concerns with publishing or highlighting company’s activities and products. It is targeted to build company’s image.

4) Mostly, publicity can be carried via newspapers, magazines, radio or television.

5) Company has no control over publicity in terms of message, time, frequency, information, and medium.

6) It has a high degree of credibility. Publicity message is more likely to be read and reacted by audience.

7) Publicity can be done at a much lower cost than advertising. Company needs to spend a little amount to get the event or activity publicized.

8) Frequency or repetition of publicity in mass media depends upon its social significance or the values for news. Mostly, it appears only once.

5. Public Relations

The public relations is comprehensive term that includes maintaining constructive relations not only with customers, suppliers, and middlemen, but also with a large set of interested publics. Note that public relations include publicity, i.e., publicity is the part of public relations.

William Stanton defines:

“Public relations activities typically are designed to build or maintain a favorable image for an organization and a favorable relationship with the organization’s various publics. These publics may be customers, stockholders, employees, unions, environmentalists, the government, and people in local community, or some other groups in society.” Thus, public relations include organization’s broad and overall communication efforts intended to influence various groups’ attitudes toward the organization. Some experts have stated that the public relations are an extension of publicity.

Main characteristic of publicity are as under:

1) Public relations are a paid form of market promotion. Company has to incur expenses.

2) Public relations activities are designed to build and maintain a favorable image for an organization and a favorable relationship with the organization’s various publics.

3) It is an integral part of managerial function. Many companies operate a special department for the purpose, known as the public relations department.

4) It involves a number of interactions, such as contacting, inviting, informing, clarifying, responding, interpreting, dealing, transacting, and so forth.

5) Public relations cover a number of publics – formal and informal groups. These publics may be customers, stockholders, employees, unions, environmentalists, the government, people of local community, or some other groups in society.

6) Public relations activities are undertaken continuously. It is a part of routine activities.

7) All the officials, from top level to supervisory level, perform public relations activities.

8) In relation to modern management practices, the public relations is treated as the profession.

Thus, there are five major elements or promotion mix. Each tool/element has its advantages, limitations, and applicability. Depending upon company’s internal and external situations, one or more tools are used. Mostly, company’s promotional program involves more elements, each element supplements others.

References 

• http://kalyan-city.blogspot.in/2010/05/marketing-marketing-mix-4-ps-of.html

• http://marketingmix.co.uk/

• http://www.tutor2u.net/business/reference/marketing-mix-basic-4ps

• http://www.marketing91.com/marketing-mix-4-ps-marketing/

• http://www.marketing91.com/marketing-mix-duracell/

• https://www.thebalance.com/marketing-mix-what-is-it-and-how-to-use-it-1794425

• https://www.businessstudynotes.com/marketing/principle-of-marketing/product-classification-categories-of-products/

• https://www.toppr.com/guides/business-studies/marketing/product/

• https://www.marketing91.com/importance-marketing-mix/