Download What is Promotion? Promotion is a form of corporate communication

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.