Developing Effective Promotion

○ Develop high-quality, targeted

Identifying the Target Audience content based on the audience’s
profile
Target audience refers to the specific group of ○ Test the message (copy testing) to
people a company aims to reach through its ensure clarity, relevance, and
marketing efforts and advertising campaigns. appeal
These are the intended recipients of a message or
advertisement within a broader target market. Determining the Promotional Objectives

Difference Between Target Market and Promotional objectives are the specific goals that
Target Audience marketers aim to achieve through advertising,
sales promotion, and other communication
○ Target Market: The overall segment of tools. These objectives guide the design and
population most likely to buy a product or execution of promotional strategies to influence
service. consumer behaviour and improve brand
Example: For old age homes, the target performance.
market is senior citizens.
In a competitive market, products or services do
○ Target Audience: The specific group
not always attract immediate buyers. Hence,
within the target market at whom a
marketers must communicate effectively to
particular message or campaign is
generate awareness, build interest, shape attitudes,
directed.
and ultimately encourage purchase.
Example: Within senior citizens, the
retired middle-class urban dwellers
could be the target audience for a print ad. The Three Main Promotional Objectives

1. Increase Demand
Importance of Identifying the Target
○ One of the key aims of promotion
Audience is to stimulate consumer demand,
especially when a product reaches
○ Helps create personalized and effective the saturation stage of its life
marketing messages cycle.
○ Ensures clarity and consistency in ○ Promotional efforts (e.g.,
communication discounts, advertising, contests) are
○ Helps in selecting appropriate media used to revive interest and boost
channels sales.
○ Improves ROI (Return on Investment) of ○ The goal is to prompt action from
promotional campaigns customers and convert awareness
○ Gives a clear direction to all marketing into purchase.
activities 2. Provide Information about the Product
○ Customers must understand how
Steps to Define the Target Audience the product works, its features,
benefits, and uses.
1. Identify Problems and Needs ○ The nature and level of information
○ Understand what needs, want, or differ depending on the target
problem your product solves audience.
○ Example: Lack of pure milk → ○ This helps consumers make
target audience is health-conscious informed decisions, especially for
households new or complex products.
2. Study Competitors 3. Create Product Differentiation
○ Observe how competitors address ○ In a market where many similar
the same problem products exist, promotion helps to
○ Analyse their target audience and highlight the unique features of a
differentiate your message brand.
accordingly ○ It builds a distinct identity and
3. Create Suitable Communication Content communicates why a consumer
 Developing Effective Promotion

should choose one product over Promoting to Retail Customers

others.
○ This creates a competitive While targeting retail customers, special attention
advantage by shaping a positive must be given to:
perception in the consumer’s
mind. 1. Promote One Product or Category at a
Time:
How to Design a Sales Promotion Strategy □ Avoid confusing customers by
focusing on one product family at a
A sales promotion strategy is a planned time.
approach used by marketers to stimulate customer 2. Select the Right Promotion Type:
interest and increase product sales. To ensure its □ Strategies (e.g., coupons,
success, the strategy must be well-structured and discounts, contests) must match the
aligned with marketing goals, customer behaviour, product and customer profile.
and available resources. 3. Set Clear Rules and Legal Terms:
□ Rules must be transparent and
Key Considerations While Designing a Sales legally sound, often vetted by a
Promotion Strategy legal advisor.
4. Customer Registration Helpdesk:
□ Provide offline or online support
1. Duration of the Promotion (Short-term or
for customers to register and access
Long-term):
offers easily.
○ For new products in the
5. Proper Display of Promotional Offers:
introduction phase, longer
□ Displays should be located at high-
campaigns help in building
visibility points to attract
awareness.
customers' attention effectively.
○ For mature or declining products,
short-term promotions are more
suitable to boost quick sales. Steps in Designing a Promotional Strategy
2. Motivating Sales Representatives:
○ Sales teams should be encouraged 1. Identify the Target Audience:
through commissions, bonuses, or ○ Define customer segments using
incentives to actively participate in demographics like age, gender,
promotions. income, social class, etc.
○ Clear motivational schemes 2. Set Clear Promotional Goals:
improve performance and □ Goals may include:
accountability. ○ Building brand awareness
3. Registration and Tracking System: ○ Motivating customer
○ A proper registration process helps purchases
monitor which salespersons are ○ Highlighting product
involved. features/benefits
○ It should track sales volume, ○ Promoting the USP
customer data, and sales rep (Unique Selling
performance. Proposition)
4. Documented Marketing Plan: 3. Understand Customer Preferences:
○ A written framework outlining the ○ Know customer values, needs, and
objectives, process, rules, what they expect from a brand.
eligibility, and product 4. Choose the Right Media Channels:
knowledge must be available for □ Select platforms based on customer
internal and external stakeholders. habits.
5. Monitoring and Feedback Mechanism: ○ For youth: social media
○ Regular monitoring ensures the ○ For rural: traditional media
campaign stays on track. like radio or local events
○ Salespeople should have access to 5. Evaluate the Promotional Budget:
supervisors for clarifications and
performance feedback.
 Developing Effective Promotion

□ Ensure the strategy is financially ○ Techniques: Discounts, coupons, “Buy 1

viable. A creative idea must be Get 1 Free”, contests, lucky draws, etc.
supported by adequate funds. ○ Purpose: To create urgency and
6. Time the Promotion Effectively: encourage trial or repeat purchases.
□ Launch promotions during peak
seasons or times when customer 4. Public Relations (PR)
demand is high (e.g., festive sales,
winter for woollens). ○ Promotes products through non-paid,
favourable publicity.
Selecting the Promotion Channel ○ Tools: Press releases, newsletters,
sponsorships, community events.
Selecting the right promotional channel is a ○ Builds trust, enhances brand image, and
crucial decision in any marketing strategy. The can create positive word-of-mouth.
goal is to ensure effective communication of the ○ Example: Sponsoring a charitable event
product’s value and benefits to the target to improve public image.
audience, which helps in building brand
awareness, customer interest, and ultimately, 5. Event Marketing, Exhibitions, and Trade Shows
sales. The main types of promotional channels
used by marketers are: ○ Events like music concerts, expos, craft
fairs, and trade shows are used to attract
1. Personal Selling attention.
○ These platforms help in interacting
○ Involves face-to-face interaction between directly with customers and showcasing
a salesperson and a customer. products.
○ Salespersons act as “walking billboards”, ○ Useful for creating brand engagement
reflecting the brand’s image. and generating leads.
○ Advantage: Direct communication and
immediate feedback. Push vs. Pull Strategy
○ Common in B2B sales and high-
involvement products (e.g., real estate, In the field of marketing promotion, companies
automobiles). use two major strategies to influence customer
behaviour and boost product sales — Push
2. Advertising strategy and Pull strategy. These strategies differ
in their approach, focus, tools, and suitability
○ A paid, non-personal form of depending on the product, market, and brand
communication through media. position.
○ Media used: TV, radio, newspapers,
magazines, digital platforms, billboards, 1. Push Strategy
etc.
○ Useful for launching new products, A push strategy focuses on "pushing" the product
building brand awareness, and reaching through the distribution channels to the final
mass audiences. customer. It is channel-focused, where marketers
○ Disadvantage: High cost and lack of encourage intermediaries (wholesalers,
immediate feedback. retailers, etc.) to stock, promote, and sell the
○ Examples of digital advertising: product.
□ Pay-per-click (PPC)
□ Paid listings Key tools and techniques:
□ Email marketing (“opt-in”)
○ Trade promotions and incentives to
3. Sales Promotion retailers
○ Point-of-sale displays
○ Refers to short-term incentives to boost ○ Personal selling or direct selling
sales. ○ Attractive packaging
○ Trade shows and exhibitions
 Developing Effective Promotion

○ Efficient supply chain to maintain relationship management to attract

product visibility customers.
☆ The time lag also differs. Push strategies
Example: FMCG products like soaps, shampoos,
and snacks often use push strategies to maintain often take longer to generate customer
wide retail presence and stimulate impulse buying. demand, especially for new or unknown
products, whereas pull strategies can
2. Pull Strategy create quick customer interest, especially
if the brand is strong. Push strategies are
A pull strategy aims to generate customer
usually better suited for products with low
demand so that customers actively seek out the
product. It is customer-focused, and the main brand loyalty, such as generic or impulse-
idea is: “create demand so the product pulls the buy items. In contrast, pull strategies work
customer toward it.” well for products with high brand loyalty,
where customers actively seek out a
Key tools and techniques:
specific brand.
○ Advertising and mass media promotions ☆ In summary, push strategies focus on
○ Brand building and unique selling getting products onto shelves, while pull
proposition (USP) strategies focus on getting customers to
○ Discounts or limited-time offers
○ Good word-of-mouth (WOM) demand the product off the shelf.
○ Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) systems 4. Balanced Approach
Example: Popular brands like Apple or Nike use In practice, a combination of both push and pull
pull strategies, where customers demand the
strategies is often the most effective. For
product from retailers, who are then forced to
stock them. example, a company may use a push strategy to
ensure availability in stores and a pull strategy to
3. Key Differences Between Push and Pull generate customer demand through advertising.
Strategies
Establishing the Promotional Budget and
☆ Push and pull strategies differ significantly Implementing Promotional Strategy
in their orientation and execution. A push
strategy is oriented towards channel Establishing a promotional budget is a crucial
members like wholesalers and retailers, aspect of any marketing strategy. It refers to
whereas a pull strategy focuses directly determining the amount of money that should be
on the end customers. The main objective allocated for the promotion of a particular product
of a push strategy is to create awareness or service. The primary aim is to optimize the
among the trade and encourage them to return on investment (ROI) from promotional
stock and promote the product. In contrast, activities while ensuring effective market reach
a pull strategy aims to create demand and brand communication. Several methods are
among consumers, so they seek out the commonly used by companies to establish this
product on their own. budget, each with its own advantages and
☆ In a push approach, companies typically limitations.
use trade promotions, personal selling,
and point-of-sale displays to motivate 1. Percentage of Sales Method:
channel partners. On the other hand, pull This is one of the most widely used methods.
strategies rely heavily on advertising, Here, the promotional budget is set as a fixed
brand-building, and customer percentage of past or projected sales. The logic is
that the sales volume justifies the promotional
 Developing Effective Promotion

expense. It also helps maintain a consistent ratio performance evaluation are all key components of
of promotional costs to sales, making it easier for successful implementation.
financial planning. However, this method assumes
a direct relationship between sales and Marketers must also continuously monitor and
promotional efforts, which may not always hold adjust the promotional strategy based on market
true. feedback and performance metrics to ensure
maximum effectiveness and cost-efficiency. In a
2. Affordability Method: dynamic market environment, flexibility and
Under this approach, a company sets the responsiveness are essential for promotional
promotional budget based on what it believes it success.
can afford to spend. This is a practical method for
small businesses or firms with limited financial Q1) Compare and contrast between pull and push
strategy on promotions.
resources. While it ensures that the company does
not overspend, it may lead to underinvestment in In marketing, push and pull strategies are two
promotion if the company is too conservative. distinct approaches used to promote products and
services. While both aim to increase sales and
3. Competitive Parity Method: awareness, they differ significantly in terms of
In this method, the budget is set by matching the focus, target, methods, and application.
promotional expenditure of competitors. The idea
1. Definition and Orientation
is to maintain competitive equality in terms of
visibility and market presence. This method is ○ Push Strategy involves "pushing" the
simple and reduces the risk of promotional wars. product through distribution channels to
However, it doesn’t consider the unique goals or reach the customer. It is channel-oriented,
conditions of the business and assumes that focusing on retailers, wholesalers, and
distributors.
competitors have correctly determined their
○ Pull Strategy aims to "pull" customers
budgets. toward the product by generating direct
demand from the end consumers. It is
4. Objective and Task Method: consumer-oriented.
This is a more strategic and rational method. The
company first defines its specific promotional 2. Target Audience
objectives. Then, it identifies the tasks necessary
to achieve these objectives and estimates the cost ○ Push Strategy targets middlemen, such
of executing these tasks. The total cost forms the as wholesalers and retailers, to stock and
sell the product.
promotional budget. This method aligns spending ○ Pull Strategy targets end consumers,
with goals, making it effective for long-term encouraging them to demand the product
planning. However, it requires careful analysis from retailers.
and may be time-consuming.
3. Promotional Tools
Implementing Promotional Strategy
○ Push Strategy uses tools like trade
Once the budget is determined, the next step is the promotions, personal selling, discounts
implementation of the promotional strategy. This to retailers, and point-of-sale displays.
involves selecting the right promotional tools ○ Pull Strategy relies on mass media
advertising, digital marketing, social
(advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, media, and brand building activities.
public relations, and digital marketing) and
aligning them with the marketing objectives. 4. Goal
Timing, message design, media selection, and
 Developing Effective Promotion

○ The main goal of push strategy is to for a specific time period. This decision should
ensure that products are widely available align with the company’s marketing objectives,
and easily accessible in the market. financial strength, and competitive
○ The pull strategy seeks to create brand environment.
demand and loyalty, motivating
customers to actively seek the product. 2. Key Methods of Establishing
Promotional Budget:
5. Feedback and Control
a) Percentage of Sales Method
○ Push promotions provide immediate
feedback from intermediaries, helping ○ A fixed percentage of current or past sales
companies adjust supply quickly. is allocated to promotion.
○ Pull promotions may not offer immediate ○ Advantage: Simple and widely used.
feedback, as the response depends on ○ Limitation: Ignores market conditions and
consumer interest and behaviour over promotional goals.
time.
b) Affordable Method
6. Suitable Conditions
○ Budget is decided based on what the
○ Push strategies work best for new company believes it can afford.
products, low-involvement items, and ○ Often used by small firms or startups
FMCGs (fast-moving consumer goods). with limited resources.
○ Pull strategies are more effective for ○ Limitation: Ignores marketing objectives;
established brands, high-involvement may underfund promotions.
products, and items with strong brand
recognition.
c) Competitive Parity Method
7. Cost Considerations
○ Company matches its promotional
spending with that of competitors.
○ Push strategies often involve lower ○ Helps maintain a balance in promotional
advertising costs but higher investment in noise within the market.
sales incentives and distribution ○ Limitation: May copy a flawed or
support. irrelevant strategy of competitors.
○ Pull strategies can be costlier due to
heavy advertising expenses, but they
d) Objective and Task Method (Most Logical)
build long-term brand equity.
○ The most rational and goal-oriented
8. Time Lag
method.
○ Steps:
○ Push strategies may take longer to □ Define promotional objectives
generate consumer demand as the focus is (e.g., increase brand awareness by
on supply chain movement. 20%)
○ Pull strategies usually generate quicker □ Identify tasks required to meet
demand if the promotional campaigns are those objectives (e.g., run a 4-week
successful. digital campaign)
□ Estimate the cost of performing
each task.
Q2) How would you establish the promotional
○ Advantage: Links budget directly to
budget? Discuss.
expected results.
Establishing a promotional budget means ○ Limitation: Requires expertise and
deciding the total expenditure on all accurate forecasting.
promotional activities (advertising, sales
promotions, public relations, personal selling, etc.)
 Developing Effective Promotion

3. Factors Influencing Promotional Budget

Decisions:

○ Stage of Product Life Cycle: New

products need higher promotion than
mature ones.
○ Market Competition: Highly competitive
markets require more aggressive
promotion.
○ Target Audience Reach: A broader target
group increases the required budget.
○ Media Cost: The cost of media like TV,
digital ads, or print affects the budget.
○ Geographic Spread: Promotions across
wide areas (regional/national) need larger
budgets.

4. Implementation Considerations:

○ Once the budget is finalised, it must be

allocated across promotional tools
(advertising, PR, personal selling, etc.).
○ The implementation should include
tracking systems to monitor spending and
results.
○ Budget revisions may be needed based on
performance feedback or market
changes.