* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download What is Promotion? Promotion is a form of corporate communication
Product placement wikipedia , lookup
Food marketing wikipedia , lookup
Ambush marketing wikipedia , lookup
Social media marketing wikipedia , lookup
Bayesian inference in marketing wikipedia , lookup
Guerrilla marketing wikipedia , lookup
Marketing plan wikipedia , lookup
Viral marketing wikipedia , lookup
Pricing strategies wikipedia , lookup
Digital marketing wikipedia , lookup
Street marketing wikipedia , lookup
Youth marketing wikipedia , lookup
Target audience wikipedia , lookup
Consumer behaviour wikipedia , lookup
Advertising wikipedia , lookup
Market penetration wikipedia , lookup
Customer relationship management wikipedia , lookup
Customer experience wikipedia , lookup
Multicultural marketing wikipedia , lookup
Green marketing wikipedia , lookup
Targeted advertising wikipedia , lookup
Neuromarketing wikipedia , lookup
Target market wikipedia , lookup
Visual merchandising wikipedia , lookup
Customer satisfaction wikipedia , lookup
Marketing communications wikipedia , lookup
Advertising management wikipedia , lookup
Multi-level marketing wikipedia , lookup
Supermarket wikipedia , lookup
Segmenting-targeting-positioning wikipedia , lookup
Global marketing wikipedia , lookup
Marketing mix modeling wikipedia , lookup
Integrated marketing communications wikipedia , lookup
Direct marketing wikipedia , lookup
Sales process engineering wikipedia , lookup
Marketing strategy wikipedia , lookup
Marketing channel wikipedia , lookup
Product planning wikipedia , lookup
Customer engagement wikipedia , lookup
What is Promotion? Promotion is a form of corporate communication that uses various methods to reach a targeted audience with a certain message in order to achieve specific organizational objectives. Nearly all organizations, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, in all types of industries, must engage in some form of promotion. Such efforts may range from multinational firms spending large sums on securing highprofile celebrities to serve as corporate spokespersons to the owner of a one-person enterprise passing out business cards at a local businessperson’s meeting. Like most marketing decisions, an effective promotional strategy requires the marketer understand how promotion fits with other pieces of the marketing puzzle (e.g., product, distribution, pricing, target markets). Consequently, promotion decisions should be made with an appreciation for how it affects other areas of the company. For instance, running a major advertising campaign for a new product without first assuring there will be enough inventory to meet potential demand generated by the advertising would certainly not go over well with the company’s production department (not to mention other key company executives). Thus, marketers should not work in a vacuum when making promotion decisions. Rather, the overall success of a promotional strategy requires input from others in impacted functional areas. In addition to coordinating general promotion decisions with other business areas, individual promotions must also work together. Under the concept of Integrated Marketing Communication marketers attempt to develop a unified promotional strategy involving the coordination of many different types of promotional techniques. The key idea for the marketer who employs several promotional options (we’ll discuss potential options later in this tutorial) to reach objectives for the product is to employ a consistent message across all options. For instance, salespeople will discuss the same benefits of a product as mentioned in television advertisements. In this way no matter how customers are exposed to a marketer’s promotional efforts they all receive the same information. The Promotional Mix The basic promotional mix consists of advertising, sales promotion, personal selling and PR. When the concept of the promotional mix was first developed, these were the only elements available to marketers, but in the past 40 years more promotional methods have appeared which do not easily fit within these four categories. The promotional mix is like a recipe, in which the ingredients must be added at the right times and in the right quantities for the promotion to be effective. Messages from the company about its products and itself are transmitted via the elements of the promotional mix to the consumers, employees, pressure groups and other publics. Because each of these groups is receiving the messages from more than one transmitter, the elements of the mix also feed into each other so that the messages do not conflict. The elements of the promotional mix are not interchangeable, any more than ingredients in a recipe are interchangeable; a task that calls for personal selling cannot be carried out by advertising, nor can public relations tasks be carried out by using sales promotions. Promotion is all about getting the message across to the customer (and the consumer) in the most effective way, and the choice of method will depend on the message, the receiver and the desired effect. A variety of factors should be considered to determine the correct promotion mix in a particular product/market situation. These factors may be classified as product factors, market factors, customer factors, budget factors, marketing mix factors etc. Development of an optimum promotion mix is by no means easy. Many companies often undermine the roles of advertising, personal selling, and sales promotion in a given product or market situation. Decisions about the promotional mix are often diffused among the decision makers, impeding the formation of a unified promotion strategy. Development of an optimum promotion mix is by no means easy. Companies often use haphazard, seatof-the-pants procedures to determine the respective roles of advertising, personal selling, and sales promotion in a product/market situation. Decisions about the promotional mix are often diffused among many decision makers, impeding the formation of a unified promotion strategy. Personal selling plans are sometimes divorced from the planning of advertising and sales promotion. Frequently, decision makers are not adequately aware of the objectives and broad strategies of the overall product program that the promotion plan is designed to implement. Sales and market share goals tend to be constant, regardless of decreases or increases in promotional expenditures. Thus they are unrealistic as guides and directives for planning, as criteria for promotional effectiveness, or even as a fair basis for application of the judgment of decision makers. Briefly, the present state of the art in the administration of the promotion function is such that cause-and-effect relationships as well as other basic insights are not sufficiently understood to permit knowledgeable forecasts of what to expect from alternate courses of action. Even identifying feasible alternatives can prove difficult. Illustrated here is the manner in which a chemical company mixed advertising with personal selling and sales promotion to achieve optimum promotional performance: An advertising campaign aimed at customer industries, employees, and plant communities carried the theme, “The little chemical giant.” It appeared in Adhesive Age, American Paint & Coating Journal, Chemical & Engineering News, Chemical Marketing Reporter, Chemical Purchasing, Chemical Week, Modern Plastics, and Plastics World. Sales promotion and personal selling were supported by publicity. Editorial tours of the company’s new plants, programs to develop employee understanding and involvement in the expansion, and briefings for local people in towns and cities where USIC [the company] had facilities provided a catalyst for publicity. Personal selling was aggressive and provided direct communication about the firm’s continued service. USIC reassured producers of ethyl alcohol, vinyl acetate monomer, and polyethylene that “we will not lose personal touch with our customers.” Objectives of Marketing Promotions The most obvious objective marketers have for promotional activities is to convince customers to make a decision that benefits the marketer (of course the marketer believes the decision will also benefit the customer). For most for-profit marketers this means getting customers to buy an organization’s product and, in most cases, to remain a loyal long-term customer. For other marketers, such as not-for-profits, it means getting customers to increase donations, utilize more services, change attitudes, or change behavior (e.g., stop smoking campaigns). However, marketers must understand that getting customers to commit to a decision, such as a purchase decision, is only achievable when a customer is ready to make the decision. As we saw in the tutorials covering Consumer Buying Behavior and Business Buying Behavior, customers often move through several stages before a purchase decision is made. Additionally before turning into a repeat customer, purchasers analyze their initial purchase to see whether they received a good value, and then often repeat the purchase process again before deciding to make the same choice. The type of customer the marketer is attempting to attract and which stage of the purchase process a customer is in will affect the objectives of a particular marketing communication effort. And since a marketer often has multiple simultaneous promotional campaigns, the objective of each could be different. Types of Advertising Media As we noted in Managing the Advertising Campaign tutorial, selection of the media outlet through which an ad will be presented has important implications for the success of a promotion. Each outlet possesses unique characteristics though not all outlet are equally effective for all advertisers. Thus, choosing the right media can be a time consuming process requiring the marketer to balance the pros and cons of each option. While just a few years ago marketers needed to be aware of only a few media outlets, today’s marketers must be well-versed in a wide range of media options. The reason for the growing number of media outlets lies with advances in communication technology, in particular, the Internet. In this tutorial we provide an overview of the following advertising media: 1. Television 2. Radio 3. Print Publications 4. Internet 5. Direct Mail 6. Signage 7. Product Placement 8. Mobile Devices 9. Sponsorships 10. Other Media Outlets As we discussed in the Advertising Trends section in the Advertising tutorial, the number of media outlets will continue to grow as new technologies emerge. Thus, marketers are well advised to continually monitor changes occuring within each media outlet. Characteristics of Good Advertising 1. Advertising must be an extension of a good marketing communication strategy. If it differs from the other components of the strategy, then is not meeting the goals of the strategy and perhaps creating unintended results or messages. Therefore, when you create advertisements you should try to keep the message consistent with the message of the marcom strategy. 2. Advertising needs to be relevant to the consumer’s needs, wants, and values. Marketers often create advertising that is stated in a way that relates to the marketer’s needs, wants and values, instead of the consumers. It is essential to find what the consumer needs and then to direct your advertising messages to those needs. 3. It is getting harder and harder to get a consumer’s attention these days, therefore, you should design your advertisements in such a way that it cuts through all the other things that are trying to get the consumer’s attention as well. Consumer’s tend to block out advertisements, so you need to try and find a unique way of getting them to pay attention. There are many ways of doing this. You can use humor, sound, lack of sound and many more. I plan on doing some blog entries on getting consumer’s attention in the future, so check back for those. 4. Advertising should be truthful. If your advertisement says your car can go 0 to 60 in 1 second, then your product better be able to meet that promise. Being honest is not only ethical, it is also the intelligent way of doing business. No one likes being deceived, and if deception occurs, the consumer will have a negative view of the company. Your business will make it a lot further with positive attitudes towards your company then with negative ones. 5. Sometimes advertisement creators get so caught up in designing a creative, cool advertisement that they fail to effectively deliver a message that will facilitate the success of their marketing communications strategy. The final outcome of your advertising efforts should be to sell your products, not to have advertisements that look amazing and win all kinds of awards. The awards for your creativity won’t sell your innovations More Characteristics of Effective Advertising Effective advertising meets the right marketing objectives. These can be short or long-term objectives, so it is important to measure the relevant factors. Decision Analyst Inc., a marketing research firm, differentiates short-term objectives, such as conveying new information, building awareness or enhancing credibility, from the more strategic long-term goals of conveying brand image or building a positive reputation. Produces Results Measurable results are clear proof of advertising effectiveness. The U.K.'s Institute of Practitioners in Advertising publishes a series of case studies that demonstrate how money spent on advertising can significantly increase return on marketing investment. Advertisers must decide what they want to measure -- impact on branding, direct response, or both -- according to research firm Dynamic Logic. This is particularly important for online media where simply measuring click rates may give a misleading impression of a campaign's effectiveness. Addresses Priorities Marketing teams have different priorities for their campaigns and advertising must deliver according to those priorities. The publisher Reed Business quoted research that asked marketing directors how they would spend a substantial increase in their marketing budgets. Their priorities were increasing awareness, improving customer data, generating more leads and developing customer insight. The advertising campaign should reflect those priorities and use appropriate research to measure effectiveness. Offers Value Consumers respond to advertisements that offer them value. Use market research to align the product offer with consumers' most important concerns and needs. The copy should present the offer in terms of consumer benefits rather than product features. Encourages Action Effective advertising causes consumers to take action. The actions could range from becoming aware of a product to making the decision to buy. A 2011 project by the Advertising Research Foundation aims to develop standards for neuromarketing research. The aim of the project is to help advertising researchers understand how consumers react to advertising from a scientific perspective. However, preliminary findings indicate that measuring factors such as attention or awareness is much simpler than measuring the relationship between specific emotions and intent to purchase. Is Cost-Effective Advertising must also be cost-effective -- that means delivering marketing messages to the target audience at a lower cost than other media and achieving the communication objectives. Budget restrictions mean that advertising planners must justify every dollar spent on media. Advertising that forms part of an integrated marketing program can improve cost-effectiveness by reducing duplication in campaign administration, use of creative resources and campaign response levels. Personal Selling In the past few tutorials we saw how marketers can use advertising, sales promotion and public relations to reach a large number of customers. While these methods of promotion offer many advantages, they each share one major disadvantage: they are a non-personal form of communication. And whether a company is in retailing or manufacturing, sells goods or services, is a large multi-national or a local startup, is out to make a profit or is a non-profit, in all probability at some point they will need to rely on personal contact with customers. In other words, they will need to promote using personal selling. Unfortunately, personal selling is widely misunderstood. For instance, many customers think salespeople possess traits that include being manipulative, arrogant, aggressive and greedy. While many marketers believe salespeople are only out to make a quick sale intended to increase their income and that they often do this by making unscrupulous deals undermining the marketer’s attempt to build strong brands. Personal SellingWhile there certainly are some salespeople that fit these descriptions, today the most successful salespeople are those who work hard to understand their customers’ needs with the ultimate goal of ensuring that customer’s needs are satisfied at a high level. And, more importantly, personal selling holds a key role in the promotional activities of a large number of organizations. In fact, in the business market where one company sells products to another company, money spent to support the selling function far exceeds spending on advertising. In this part of our highly detailed Principles of Marketing Tutorials, we begin a two-part look at personal selling. We will continue our coverage of personal selling in the next tutorial when we discuss the selling process used to obtain a customer order What is Personal Selling? Personal selling is a promotional method in which one party (e.g., salesperson) uses skills and techniques for building personal relationships with another party (e.g., those involved in a purchase decision) that results in both parties obtaining value. In most cases the "value" for the salesperson is realized through the financial rewards of the sale while the customer’s "value" is realized from the benefits obtained by consuming the product. However, getting a customer to purchase a product is not always the objective of personal selling. For instance, selling may be used for the purpose of simply delivering information. Because selling involves personal contact, this promotional method often occurs through face-to-face meetings or via a telephone conversation, though newer technologies allow contact to take place over the Internet including using video conferencing or text messaging (e.g., online chat). Among marketing jobs, more are employed in sales positions than any other marketing-related occupation. In the U.S. alone, the U.S. Department of Labor estimates that over 14 million or about 11% of the overall labor force are directly involved in selling and sales-related positions. Worldwide this figure may be closer to 100 million. Yet these figures vastly under-estimate the number of people who are actively engaged in some aspect of selling as part of their normal job responsibilities. While millions of people can easily be seen as holding sales jobs, the promotional techniques used in selling are also part of the day-to-day activities of many who are usually not directly associated with selling. For instance, top corporate executives whose job title is CEO or COO are continually selling their company to major customers, stock investors, government officials and many other stakeholders. The techniques they employ to gain benefits for their company are the same used by the front-line salesperson to sell to a small customer. Consequently, our discussion of the promotional value of personal selling has implications beyond marketing and sales departments. Advantages of Personal Selling One key advantage personal selling has over other promotional methods is that it is a two-way form of communication. In selling situations the message sender (e.g., salesperson) can adjust the message as they gain feedback from message receivers (e.g., customer). So if a customer does not understand the initial message (e.g., doesn’t fully understand how the product works) the salesperson can make adjustments to address questions or concerns. Many non-personal forms of promotion, such as a radio advertisement, are inflexible, at least in the short-term, and cannot be easily adjusted to address audience questions. The interactive nature of personal selling also makes it the most effective promotional method for building relationships with customers, particularly in the business-to-business market. This is especially important for companies that either sell expensive products or sell lower cost but high volume products (i.e., buyer must purchase in large quantities) that rely heavily on customers making repeat purchases. Because such purchases may take a considerable amount of time to complete and may involve the input of many people at the purchasing company (i.e., buying center), sales success often requires the marketer develop and maintain strong relationships with members of the purchasing company. Finally, personal selling is the most practical promotional option for reaching customers who are not easily reached through other methods. The best example is in selling to the business market where, compared to the consumer market, advertising, public relations and sales promotions are often not well received. Selling As A Career A career in sales is one that can be learnt by all provided they have a personal desire and the will to make a commitment to learn the selling techniques and sales skills required. As a profession selling has been the essential commercial activity that ensures the wheels of commerce continue to turn as the world economy survives and prospers on the buying and selling of goods and services. To the committed individual a sales career is available provided they understand it will be a life long learning process as the nature of the business is very competitive. In the market place today it is rare to have a product or service that does not have any competition or if there is it is not long before there will be a competitor chasing the same business. All business revolves around selling and it is fatal for any organisation to cut back or reduce its sales activity as it will result in a drop of cash flow to the business affect stakeholders and employees alike. A sales career can offer an employment lifeline during good and not so good economic times as for the committed individual there is a vast range of learning materials available dealing with all aspects of the selling profession. Take for example a process worker manufacturing a product that due to circumstances is retrenched and is considering the options of the next job. One of the main selling skills required by any salesperson is to be able to sell their product or service by having a sound knowledge of what they are selling. Who would be a better person to promote a product than some one who has over the years actually made what is being sold and understands it inside and out? Quite often we overlook opportunities that are right in front of our eyes and if we apply some “out side of the box” thinking a new career path could be available. Selling once learned and practiced proficiently is like a trade, you will always have a job and the chance to make changes that will lead to greater work satisfaction and income. It is on these qualities sales success depends if the individual is going to have a life long enjoyable career in sales and selling. Traits of a Successful Salesperson If you're looking for a successful salesperson to hire -- a salesperson who not only CAN sell but WILL sell -- look for a salesperson with PRIDE. PRIDE is an acronym for 5 characteristics that will help ensure that the salesperson you hire will get the job done for you and make the revenue results you desire a reality. PRIDE stands for: o Proven o Respectful o Innovative o Decisive o Enthusiastic Proven Proven refers to the candidate's track record. Have they delivered results? More importantly, who else says so besides them? As you know, resumes can be fact, or they can be fiction. How can you tell the difference? A person who has been successful producing results should be able to provide you with third party proof. Have the candidate bring in their sales awards, including plaques, trophies and pictures from the trips they've earned. Have them show you the stack-ranked sales reports showing their name at or near the top of the field. More importantly, what do their customers have to say about them? Can the candidate produce testimonial letters from their customers, indicating they were satisfied with the buying experience? Candidates should be able to furnish written recommendations proving that they were able to deliver tangible results. Respectful Salespeople should approach being Respectful from two positions. First, they need to be respectful of others. Careful listeners, these salespeople would never be regarded as pushy because they take the time to hear their prospects out. They keep their egos in check, remembering that everyone can make a valuable contribution in their own way and that other team members deserve respect, too. Second, your salespeople need to respect themselves. Expect them to have a quiet confidence in their own abilities, and a strong desire to use their time, talents, and skills to produce optimal results. They'll respect their health, physical needs, and family commitments, and as a result be refreshed, wellbalanced, and ready for work each day. Self-respect allows salespeople to be assertive, ensuring that they won't allow themselves to be used as a doormat by prospects who want to waste their time or abuse a relationship. Innovative An Innovative salesperson is a problem-solver. They're able to quickly assess a prospect's situation, and then come up with an approach to help the prospect accomplish their objectives. Reactive salespeople need not apply. Proactive salespeople spontaneously look for ways to do the job better, to improve on past successes, to show better results even faster than before. Innovative salespeople are easy to manage, because they don't require instructions. They're pretty much point and shoot; give them an objective to aim for, and they can creatively approach obstacles and move past them. Because they are innovative, they tend to look at the world through fresh eyes, and hence have a good sense of humor. A willingness to be playful and funny is a good clue that you're talking with an innovator. Good news! Your buyers would prefer to do business with someone who can make them chuckle and lighten up their day. Decisive A Decisive salesperson can make up their mind. They have effective critical thinking skills that allow them to rapidly size up a situation and decide how to best approach it. Decisiveness is truly important for a salesperson, for how can they expect the buyer to make a decision when they can't make one themselves? Decisiveness is often related to owning a clear set of key moral values. It's easy for salespeople to consistently do the right thing when it's clear to them what the right thing is. You want decisive salespeople who know when to walk away from a bad deal, and can separate good prospects from the time-wasters. Enthusiastic Enthusiastic salespeople have become a cliché for all the wrong reasons. Enthusiasm must be more than an induced rush spawned by a rah-rah motivational pep talk. If you want enthusiasm that lasts, you need to find salespeople who are eager to help your customers. You want salespeople who are excited about what they do and how they do it, so their curiosity is stimulated and they are inspired to continually learn on their own. Enthusiasm comes from believing that you can make a difference, that you can improve someone's situation when they do business with you. Enthusiastic salespeople are motivated when they understand the strategy that will help them succeed, when they have access to all the tools they need to allow them to do their job and serve the customer, and when tactical training is available to allow them to skillfully serve the customer as well as the company. Enthusiastic salespeople have every right to believe they can win. And they do. Hire a Compete Package From the salesperson's perspective, PRIDE is about feeling good about your job. It's about believing in yourself and your ability to deliver. It's about enjoying yourself, helping the customer, and making the most of your God-given talents and abilities. It's about recognizing individual contributions and abilities while respecting the value of the team. When you hire salespeople with PRIDE, you, your salespeople, and your customers all win. Functions of a salesman Retail salesmen work in stores and other establishments where goods are sold to customers. They perform sales, customer service and merchandising functions, and may be involved in the overall operation of the store. No education beyond high school is typically required to become a retail salesman, although a pleasant personality and a desire to help customers is required. Sales is the principle function of Marketing. It is the art of makes sales of a product or service in exchange for money. Salesman is the key person who is involved in this process. A salesman is a person who is responsible for the sales of a product. Usually he/she is the person who comes in direct contact with the customer and he can make or break your business. Sales Retail salesmen often make sales presentations to customers. They may show customers a variety of products and explain the features and benefits of each, to help the customer make an informed decision about a purchase. They also inform the customer of any sales or promotions that are currently underway or happening in the near future. Once the customer makes a decision, the salesman may also process the transaction. Customer Service Retail salesmen assist customers in locating store merchandise and handling product returns. Some salesmen may customize a product to meet a customer's needs, such as in a men's clothing store, where a salesman measures a customer for a suit fitting. They may also assist customers by carrying large items, like televisions, to their cars. Merchandising When there are no customers in their department or in the store, salesmen may perform merchandising functions. This includes building product displays and rearranging products on the shelf in accordance with a predetermined layout, known as a planogram. They may also change pricing on sales and promotional items. Store Operations In some retail establishments the salesmen will be responsible for opening or closing a store. If opening a store, the salesman must arrive in advance of the opening time to ensure that the store is ready for the day's customers. When closing, duties may include reconciling cash registers and taking the day's cash receipts to the bank for deposit. Management Functions Some salesmen may also have the responsibility of managing a department in addition to their sales duties. This can involve ordering merchandise, making work schedules and supervising the activities of other salesmen. Department managers are usually held accountable for the profitability of their departments in addition to making sales. Following are the duties of a Salesman at grass root level: - Receiving the customers in a pleasant way. - Making effective and pleasant communication with the - Attending to each and every customer. customer. - Helping the customer in identification of his/her - Listening to the customer needs. - Making the customer aware of the practical use of - Displaying required products products. - Giving demonstrations where necessary. - Arranging for appropriate display of goods. - Making promotions for the displayed products. - Recognizing the frequent customers and their buying - Handling bargain situations. behavior. - Handling Credit situation. - Communicating favorable image of the organization as a - Making the customer aware of new offers, whole. discounts, schemes etc.