Personal Selling is face-to-face interaction performed by individuals to give information on
products and create mutual long-term relationships. Whereas, Sales Promotion has no interaction
and provides incentives to encourage purchase and to disseminate information.
Personal selling involves negotiations and incentive is not mandatory whereas sales promotion
would have incentive definitely to lure customers.
Personal selling is used for products having the characteristics of high value, or technically
complex, or custom made. Whereas. Sales promotion is used for products having low value or
easy to understand usage.
Personal selling involves use in markets with less potential customers or customers with high
purchasing power. Whereas, Sales promotion involves use in markets where a larger number of
customers exists and the product is of low value comparatively.
Personal selling is expensive as it needs sales force training, dedicated persons, repeated visits
and transportation whereas sales promotion is bit less expensive to run compared to personal
selling.
.
Factors affecting the selection of Promotion Mix
There is no perfect promotion mix. Everyone has to devise a mix depending upon the situation. It
has to be tailor-made depending upon the characteristics of the situation.
1. Push and Pull Strategies: The purpose of promotion is to motivate and persuade not
only the ultimate consumers, but also the intermediaries involved who make available
goods finally to consumers.
If the strategy adopted is to motivate and persuade the intermediaries‟ to make effort to
increase the sales the strategy is called push strategy. The push strategy is closely related
to the “Selling Concept”. It emphasizes more of personal selling (hard selling)along with
advertising and other trade promotional measures. The manufacturer promotes goods to
wholesalers, wholesalers in turn promote to the retailers and retailers persuading the
consumers to buy.
On the other hand, the pull Strategy emphasizes on consumers. If the customer demands
particular goods from the retailer and the retailers want the same from the wholesalers
and the wholesalers in turn asking the manufacturers to provide that kind of goods. Thus
here it is the customer to wholesaler who is pulling the cord. The advertising by the
manufacturer may persuade the consumer to ask for the goods to their retailers. Retailers
in turn will ask the wholesalers and the wholesalers to manufacturer. The pull strategy
works well during recession. The marketing manager will have to decide whether to use
push or pull strategy.
Customer-targeted marketing communications are pull type communications. The
objectives of pull marketing communication are to build awareness, attraction, and
loyalty and to reduce search costs. When pull communications are successful, customers
will seek out certain products or services and, in essence, by the interest they create, pull
the product through the channel.
On the other hand, push communications are directed at channel intermediaries. The
objective is to motivate channel intermediaries to carry certain products to make available
to customers. If successful, push communication strategies result into a wider range of
availability, fewer stock-outs, greater merchandising (shelf space), and a greater
marketing effort than would have been achieved with little or no push communication.
However, to be more successful, a combination of the two is required.
2. Product Features: Use of a particular tool of promotion mix depends upon the type of
goods to be marketed. For industrial products more of personal selling is required. For
consumer products like HUL‟s Axe, more of advertising is required. For highly image-
oriented products like fashion garment the presence of designers or celebrities inside the
store is required. For goods where not much difference is there in features and
performance more of sales promotion is required. Where the organisation is equally
important, the public relations become more important. For seasonal products, off-season
sale is very important, but advertising is required for round the year sale. This is why the
retailers of full sleeve shirts and sweaters and suits organize sale in the month of January.
For high-priced products, personal selling is important to mitigate risk. For low
convenience goods marketers use advertising rather than personal selling. For products,
where customers do not want to talk with the salesperson like Viagra, condom, hair
colour (by a senior citizen) the advertising has to be more important.
3. Stage of the Product Life Cycle: In different phases of a product life cycle different
tools of promotion mix become more effective. In the introductory stage to create
awareness among the customers including business customers and distributors
advertising has to be undertaken in a big way. Free samples may be distributed to
consumers and trade promotion may be undertaken to motivate distributors to stock the
goods. In the growth stage, the consumers have already heard of the product. Promotion
has to be directed at specifying product benefits. Advertising increases whereas sales
promotion declines. During the maturity stage, the emphasis will be on switching of
customers from competitors and hence more of sales promotion is used. In the decline
stage the firm will be more interested in harvesting revenue as much as possible. There
will be great decrease in expenditure on promotion.
4. Buyer Readiness: If the customer is unaware of a product, advertising and public
relations are more important, but when he is in the marketplace sales promotion and
personal selling are more important to make a decision.
5. Type of Buyer: Buyers can be of different types and promotion mix has to be devised
accordingly. In case of Organizational or business buyers, ads published in specialized
trade publications and personal selling are more important; whereas, consumers are
swayed by glossy advertisements endorsed by some celebrities.
6. Type of Distribution: For intensive distributable goods, more advertising is done and
also the help of sales promotion is taken. For goods sold through selective distribution,
the promotion mix would vary, and for exclusive distribution like Rado Watch, high-
quality furniture, need more of personal selling.
7. Promotion Objectives, Budget, Cost and Availability of Media: Firm‟s promotional
objectives are reflections of overall marketing objectives. If the objective is to make mass
awareness, the firm may go in for advertising, sales promotion and public relation. Most
of the food companies, like Nestle, HUL, PepsiCo not only go in for aggressive ad
campaigning, but also distribute free samples and go in for public relations. If the
objective is to invite the customer to the store where demonstration can be shown, then a
combination of small advertising (to inform), sales promotion (to attract) and personal
selling (to persuade) is undertaken.
Apart from objectives the promotion mix would be determined on the basis of budget
made available to marketing department. If it is small the firm would concentrate on
personal selling. If it is larger, then the firm can advertise through regional and national
media like that of HUL in India.
Cost of promotional tools is important in determining promotion mix. To reach a larger
audience advertising is used. Many a companies now do not buy ad slots in cricket
tournaments as it has become a very costly affair. Of the small entrepreneurs they make
use of local directories, cable TV bands, radio, local newspapers, outdoor ads and other
promotional methods.
Even if the budget is there and the cost is ok, the availability of media is equally
important. No marketer of tobacco or alcohol products is permitted to advertise on TV
channels in India. Many ads are denied if they are against national dignity and interest
and disrespect the motherland‟s culture. In some of the countries „comparative
advertising‟ is not allowed.
8. Digital Dimension: Over the last 10 years, the speed and depth of information access has
changed. The marketers and advertising agencies have to grapple with the speed of digital
medium. It is about understanding the digital media as human beings rather than as
techies. Of course, the marketer should understand technology, but after that as to how
consumers relate to it.
9. Elections: Coca Cola. Tata Global Beverages, Hero MotoCorp and shampoo maker
CavinKare are looking to exploit campaign time. However, Consumer goods companies
like Parle Products, Godrej Consumer Products, Marico, Dabur and Rasna don‟t plan any
increased distribution or sales pitches. Some people are of the opinion that political
parties often expect donations and products for free, adding that mismanagement is rife at
election rallies.
Election meetings offer a captive audience. Tata Global and Hero MotoCorp along with
Coca-Cola and CavinKare are planning on pushing low-priced products. In 2013, HUL
had organised promotion. Mass public events offer good opportunity to engage in
marketing exercises. In rural markets Products often slow at election time as people are
busy with rallies. Moreover, hoardings and billboard costs go up since political parties
too have started putting their ads.
KNOWLEDGE ASSIGNMENT III
1. Advantages of Newspaper Advertising are (any three)-------------------
2. Limitations of Magazine Advertising (any three) -----------------------
3. Advantages of Yellow Page Advertising are (any three)-----------------
4. Limitations of Radio advertising are (any three)--------------------------
5. Advantages of TV advertising are (any three)-----------------------------
6. Advantages of Telemarketing are (any three)----------------------------
7. Advantages of cinema advertising ( any three)------------------
8. Advantages of out-0f-home advertising (any three)-----------
9. Limitations of out-of-home advertising are (any three)---------
10. Types of sales promotion can be (any three)---------------------
Answers
1. 1. In-depth coverage 2. Mobility 3. Results assessable (coupons)
2. 1. Long lead time 2. There is limited flexibility in terms of an ad placement and format 3.
space and ad layout costs are higher
3. 1. Number is many and widely distributed 2. Non-intrusive 3. Ads are reasonably
inexpensive
4. 1. Clutter 2. No visuals 3. No proper attention as listeners give attention to other aspects
5. 1. Product can be shown in use 2. Ability to use humour 3. Appeal to retailers
6. 1. Cost efficient in delivery 2.less intrusive than the phone calls 3. Place & time
independence
7. 1. Captive audience 2. Longer video 3. Larger screen
8. 1. Reach to audience 2. Size and dominance 3. Different colors can be used
9. 1. It draws 2-3 seconds of a reader‟s time; hence it is a glance medium 2. Messages must
be brief to fit in 2-3 seconds time frame 3. It is not conducive to a very short, weeklong
camp
10. 1.Price Promotions 2. Prize Promotions 3. Premium Promotions
KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT IV
1. State, in brief, with reasoning, whether following statements are correct or incorrect:
(i) Media is the message.
(ii) Brands and their fans never break up.
{Answers: (i) Corrrect. This statement brings to the forefront the significance of
media in communication strategy by generating a response. The media selected
should be free from clutter for the message to be transmitted in the proposed
manner.
(ii) Incorrect, Brand loyalty continues as long as brand delivers the value. The
moment it stops delivering value, the fans or loyalists start breaking up.}
2. Select the most appropriate answer from the given options to the following statements:
(i) Promotion mix comprises –
(A) Advertising& words of mouth (B) Sales Promotion and Personal Selling
(C) Public Relations & Sponsorship (D) All of the above
(ii) The least cost per customer happens in-
(A) Consumer Promotion (B) Trade Promotion
(C) Advertising (D) Personal selling
(iii) For a small audience the most suitable promotion tool is-
(A) Trade Promotion (B) Personal Selling
(C) Advertising (D) Publicity
(iv) To increase impulsive buying the best suited promotion tool is -
(A) Consumer Promotion (B) Advertising
(C) Publicity (D) Personal Selling
(v) You give the message depending upon individual customer. It is known as-
(A) Advertising (B) Personal Selling
(C) Publicity (D) Trade Promotion
(vi) Normally it does not play a role in communication strategy for consumer goods–
(A) Distribution arrangement in marketing (B) the price of the product
(C) the physical product (D) the brand name
(vii) If the communicator and the receiver both share the same perception, the
message is likely to be more effective in terms of –
(A) Encoding (B) Feedback
(C) Noise filtering (D) Decoding
(viii) What is not an example of noise in communication –
(A) the communicator and receiver talk one-to-one
(B) the salesman fails to identify a product and gives wrong information
(C) The direct-mail recipient is not interested in your offer
(D) All of the above all examples of noise
(ix)Normally it does not play a role in communication strategy for consumer goods –
(A) Distribution arrangement in marketing (B) the price of the product
(C) the physical product (D) the brand name
(x) If the communicator and the receiver both share the same perception, the
Message is likely to be more effective in terms of –
(A) Encoding (B) Feedback
(C) Noise filtering (D) Decoding
(x) What is not an example of noise in communication –
(A) the communicator and receiver talk one-to-one
(B) the salesman fails to identify a product and gives wrong information
(C) The direct-mail recipient is not interested in your offer
(D) All of the above all examples of noise
(xi) If the company’s focus is short-term, it will concentrate on –
(A) Consumer Promotion (B) Publicity
(C) Advertising (D) Personal selling
(xii)Which one of the following promotional technique is least effective in generating
product trials?
(A) On-pack premiums (B) coupons
(C) Refund offers (₹10 off your next buy) (D) sampling
{Answers: (i) D, (ii) C, (iii) B, (iv) A, (v) B, (vi) A, (vii) D, (viii) C, (ix) A, (x) D, (xi)
C, (xii) A, and (xiii) C.}
Questions
1. Write short notes on the following:
a. Integrated Marketing Communication
b. Communication Planning and Control
2. Diagrammatically explain the communication process used in the promotion of goods
and services.
3. What is Promotion-mix? If you happen to be promotion manager of Dabur India to
launch a new health drink in Indian metros, what factors will you keep in mind while
setting the promotion mix?
4. Suggest promotion mix for the following:
a. Cosmetics for men
b. College Festival
c. Multigrain biscuits
5. Distinguish between the following:
(i) Advertising and sales promotion
(ii) Sales promotion and Personal Selling
References
Kotler, Philip, Keller, Kevin Lane, Koshy, Abraham, and Jha, Mithileshwar (2009),
Marketing Management, Dorling Kindersley (India), p.
Maheshwari, Rajendra P. (2013), Marketing Management: An Indian Perspective – Text
and Cases, New Delhi: International Book House.
Bird, Drayton (2004), Commonsense Direct Marketing, 4th Edition, London: Kogan
Page, p. 16.
Verhage, Bronis (2007), Marketing Fundamentals, Vol. I, Croningen, Netherlands:
Wolters-Noordhoff.
Fowler, Godfrey A. (2004), “China Bans Nike‟s LeBron Ad A Offensive to National
Dignity,” The Wall Street Journal, Dec.7.
