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Promotion (Marketing Communications) - Introduction to Marketing Mix
MARKETING MANAGEMENT - Introduction to Marketing Mix
Promotion (Marketing Communications) - Introduction to Marketing Mix
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The next element of the marketing mix is deciding the appropriate set of ways in which to communicate with customers to foster their awareness of the product, knowledge about its features, interest in purchasing, likelihood of trying the product and/or repeat purchasing it.
Promotion (Marketing
Communications)
The next element of the marketing mix is deciding the appropriate set of ways in which to communicate with customers to foster their awareness of the product, knowledge about its features, interest in purchasing, likelihood of trying the product and/or repeat purchasing it. Effective marketing requires an integrated communications plan combining both personal selling efforts and non-personal ones such as advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing and public relations. Put together, they are referred to as the promotion mix.
A useful mnemonic for the tasks in planning communications strategy is the 6 Ms model:
6. Measurement – how
will impact be assessed after the campaign?
The marketing communications or promotions mix is potentially extensive – including non-personal elements as well as personal selling. The popular non-personal vehicles are advertising, sales promotion and public relations. Advertising in media is particularly effective in
1. Creating awareness of a new product
2. Describing features of the product
3. Suggesting usage situations
4. Distinguishing the product from competitors
5. Directing buyers to the point-of-purchase
6. Creating or enhancing a brand image
Advertising is limited in its ability to actually close the sale and make a transaction happen. Sales promotions may be an effective device to complement the favourable attitude development for which advertising is appropriate. One trend in advertising is the movement to more precisely targeted media vehicles. Direct marketing to households or email marketing to individuals are just instances of this trend.
Sales promotion includes things such as samples, coupons and contests. These are usually most effective when used as a short-term inducement to generate action. The three major types of sales promotion are:
(1) Consumer promotions – used by a manufacturer and addressed to the end consumer
(2) Trade promotions – used by the manufacturer and addressed to the trade partners
(3) Retail promotions – used by the trade partners and addressed to the end consumer
Public relations refers to non-paid communication efforts, such as press releases. These efforts do entail a cost to the firm, but generally are distinguished from advertising by virtue of the fact that the firm does not
Personal selling as the communication vehicle presents the advantage of permitting an interaction to take place between the firm and a potential customer rather than just the broadcast of information. The importance of personal selling in the promotions mix typically increases with the complexity of the product and the need for education of potential customers.
The proper allocation of budget across the various media vehicles varies greatly depending upon the market situation. A fundamental decision is whether to focus on a ‘push’ or ‘pull’ strategy. In a push strategy, focus is on inducing intermediaries, such as a retailer, to sell the product at retail. Advertising’s job may be to make the consumer aware of the product, but the closing of the deal is left to the intermediary. Alternatively, a pull strategy means the end consumer develops such an insistence on the product that he or she ‘pulls’ it through the channel of distribution, and the retailer’s role is merely to make the product conveniently available.
Activity 1.7.2
Sort the following promotion mix elements in the order of importance for consumer marketing (B2C) and industrial marketing (B2B)
1. Advertising
2. Personal selling
3. Public relations
4. Sales promotions
5. Direct marketing
The next element of the marketing mix is deciding the appropriate set of ways in which to communicate with customers to foster their awareness of the product, knowledge about its features, interest in purchasing, likelihood of trying the product and/or repeat purchasing it. Effective marketing requires an integrated communications plan combining both personal selling efforts and non-personal ones such as advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing and public relations. Put together, they are referred to as the promotion mix.
A useful mnemonic for the tasks in planning communications strategy is the 6 Ms model:
1. | Market | – | to whom
is the communication to be addressed? |
2. | Mission | – | what is
the objective of the communication? |
3. | Message | – | what
are the specific points to be communicated? |
4. | Media | – | which
vehicles will be used to convey the message? |
5. | Money | – | how
much will be spent in the effort? |
The marketing communications or promotions mix is potentially extensive – including non-personal elements as well as personal selling. The popular non-personal vehicles are advertising, sales promotion and public relations. Advertising in media is particularly effective in
1. Creating awareness of a new product
2. Describing features of the product
3. Suggesting usage situations
4. Distinguishing the product from competitors
5. Directing buyers to the point-of-purchase
6. Creating or enhancing a brand image
Advertising is limited in its ability to actually close the sale and make a transaction happen. Sales promotions may be an effective device to complement the favourable attitude development for which advertising is appropriate. One trend in advertising is the movement to more precisely targeted media vehicles. Direct marketing to households or email marketing to individuals are just instances of this trend.
Sales promotion includes things such as samples, coupons and contests. These are usually most effective when used as a short-term inducement to generate action. The three major types of sales promotion are:
(1) Consumer promotions – used by a manufacturer and addressed to the end consumer
(2) Trade promotions – used by the manufacturer and addressed to the trade partners
(3) Retail promotions – used by the trade partners and addressed to the end consumer
Public relations refers to non-paid communication efforts, such as press releases. These efforts do entail a cost to the firm, but generally are distinguished from advertising by virtue of the fact that the firm does not
Personal selling as the communication vehicle presents the advantage of permitting an interaction to take place between the firm and a potential customer rather than just the broadcast of information. The importance of personal selling in the promotions mix typically increases with the complexity of the product and the need for education of potential customers.
The proper allocation of budget across the various media vehicles varies greatly depending upon the market situation. A fundamental decision is whether to focus on a ‘push’ or ‘pull’ strategy. In a push strategy, focus is on inducing intermediaries, such as a retailer, to sell the product at retail. Advertising’s job may be to make the consumer aware of the product, but the closing of the deal is left to the intermediary. Alternatively, a pull strategy means the end consumer develops such an insistence on the product that he or she ‘pulls’ it through the channel of distribution, and the retailer’s role is merely to make the product conveniently available.
Activity 1.7.2
Sort the following promotion mix elements in the order of importance for consumer marketing (B2C) and industrial marketing (B2B)
1. Advertising
2. Personal selling
3. Public relations
4. Sales promotions
5. Direct marketing
Tags : MARKETING MANAGEMENT - Introduction to Marketing Mix
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