Promotion is any activity where businesses with customers and other stakeholders
Potential promotion objectives include:
- ie raise consumer awareness of a product and its functions - particularly important for new products
- ie convince consumers and the trade that their product has superior to a competitors offering
- Brand creation to create product differentiation in the mind of the consumer (eg lager advertising)
- customers they have made the right choice thereby encouraging brand loyalty and repeat purchases
Promotional methods are often categorised into the following two types:
promotion: this refers to communications that do not require a response eg advertising of a product through TV, radio, cinema, posters and press.
promotion: this refers to communications that require a response, as opposed to simply raising awareness. Advertisements offering an incentive eg a coupon and/or phone number are included in this category
The promotional mix refers to the major variables controlled by a business that influence consumer buying decisions. The main elements of the promotional mix are:
- ie purchased, non-personal communication using mass media.
- are short term schemes which encourage customers to buy now rather than later eg limited 2-for-1 offers or intermediaries to stock a product
- is promotion through personal contacts and involves a sales force. Potential customers can ask questions. A sales force is expensive.
- where information about a business or product is placed in the media without payment. PR is useful in maintaining good relations with stakeholders but articles are determined by the journalist and so are ‘risky’
- when firms make contact with individual consumers to establish a relationship