Promotional mix & Communication Process
Another one important element of the 4p’s is
‘promotion. This includes all of the tools available to the
marketer for marketing communication. Marketing
communications has its own promotions mix. Think of it
like a cake mix, the basic ingredients, the final outcome
is different. It is the same with promotions. We can
“integrate’’ different aspect of the promotion mix to
deliver a unique campaign. The elements of the
promotion mix are:
Personal selling
Sales promotion
Public relation
Direct male
Tarde fairs and exhibitions
Advertising
Sponsorship
The elements of the promotions mix are integrated to
form a coherent campaign. as with all forms of
communication. The message from the marketer follows
the communication process as illustrated above.
Example : A radio advert is made for a car manufacturer.
The car manufacturer( sender) pays for a specific advert
with contains a message specific to a target audience
( encoding ).it is transmitted during a set of
commercials from a radio station ( message / media ).
The message is decoded by a car radio ( decoding ) and
the target consumer interprets the message
( receiver ).he might visit a dealership or seek further
information from a web site ( response ). The consumer
might buy a car or express an interest or dislike
(feedback). This information will inform future elements
of an integrate promotional campaign. Perhaps a direct
mail campaign would push the consumer is exposed to
everyday, all competing for attention.
The promotions mix are discussed as follows.
Personal selling .
Personal selling is an effective way to manage personal
customer relationships. The sales person acts on behalf
of the organization. They tend to be well trained in the
approaches and techniques of personal selling.
However sales people are very expensive and should
only be used where there is a genuine return on
investment. Eg.- salesmen are often used to sell cars or
home improvements where the margin is high.
Sales promotion-
Sales promotion tend to be thought of as being all
promotions apart from advertising, personal selling and
public relations.
Ex- the BOGOF promotion. Couponing , money off
promotions , competitions, free accessories (such as free
blades with a new razor ), introductory offers ( such as
buy digital TV & get free installation. Each sales
promotion should be carefully coasted and compared
with the next best alternative.
Public Relation-
Public relation is defined as the deliberate, planned and
sustained effort to establish and effort to establish and
maintain mutual understanding between an
organization and its public. Its relatively cheap.
Successful strategies tend to be long term and plan for
all eventualities .
Direct mail-
Direct mail is very highly focused upon targeting
consumers based upon a database. As with all
marketing , the potential consumer is ‘ defined ‘ based
upon a series of attributes and similarities . Creative
agencies work with marketers to design a highly
focused communication in the form of a mailing. The
mail is sent out to the potential consumers and
responses are carefully monitored. For example- if u r
marketing a medical text book, u would use a database
of doctor’s surgeries as the basis of your mail shot.
Trade fairs & exhibitions –
Such approaches are very good for making new contacts
and renewing old ones. Companies will seldom sell much
at such events. The purpose is to increase awareness
and to encourage age trial. They offer the opportunity
for companies to meet with both the trade and the
consumer.
Advertising –
Advertising is a’ paid’ for communication . it is used to
develop attitudes, create awareness and transmit
information in order to gain a response from the target
market. There are many advertising media’ such as
news papers( local, national , free, trade), magazines and
journals, televisions ( local, national, tees trial, satellite)
cinema, outdoor advertising ( such as posters, bus sides).
Sponsorship-
Sponsorship is where an organization pays to be
associated with a particular event , cause or image.
Companies will sponsor sports events such as the
Olympics or formula one. The attribute of the event are
then associated with the sponsoring organization.
The elements of the promotional mix are then integrated
to form a unique , but coherent campaign.
Why We Need A Promotional Mix -
If you deliver your message in many different ways, you
increase your odds of reaching your target market.
Hundreds of messages a day bombard your target
market, but only a select few penetrate their
consciousnesses. Of those, an even smaller percentage
eventually lead them to act.
You may want to communicate a range of messages to
different markets. If you have a product, such as spot
remover, that's used by general consumers but that auto
mechanics apply in a more specialized way, you should
communicate different messages to each market via
different media and methods. You might air a TV
commercial to reach consumers and place an ad in an
auto magazine to reach mechanics.
Without the proper promotional mix, you may squander
your limited resources by taking a scattershot approach.
Promotion must advance your overall marketing plan
and reinforce the dialogue you want to establish with the
segments of the marketplace you covet most.
Beware: In their rush to expand, some fast-growth
entrepreneurs fail to coordinate their marketing
strategies with their specific promotional efforts. A
common trap: You invest heavily on advertising or sales
promotion, but you overlook quality control for your
product or price it improperly.
Squander – waste
Assign By- ARUNA MAM
Presented By – Sujit Das
