1. Promotion

2. • Define promotion and its role in marketing
Objectives:
• Define promotion and its role in marketing
• Promotion strategy options

3. “Promotion”
The act of a business communicating the benefits of their product / service with their customers
Activities to prompt or entice customers to act in a certain way (buy now, tell others)
A “promotional mix” is a blend of all of the marketing communications the business generates to increase sales

4. The four main elements of a “promotional mix” are:
Advertising
2. Personal Sales
3. Sales Promotion
4. Publicity
Let’s look at each ……

5. 1. ADVERTISING
Any paid form of communication of ideas or products in the "prime media"
Advertising is intended to persuade and to inform
The two basic aspects of advertising are:
the message (what you want your communication to say)
the medium (how you get your message across)
Examples: Newspaper, radio, TV, magazine, billboards, direct mail, internet

6. 2. PERSONAL SELLING
Involves personal interaction with potential buyers of a product with the intention of making a sale
The personal selling may focus initially on developing a relationship with the potential buyer, but will always ultimately end with an attempt to “close the sale”

7. What are the main roles involved in personal selling ?
Prospecting - trying to find new customers
Communicating - with existing and potential customers about the product range
Selling - contact with the customer, answering questions and trying to close the sale
Servicing - providing support and service to the customer in the period up to delivery and post sale

8. 3. SALES PROMOTION
Providing incentives to customers to stimulate demand for a product
More than any other element of the promotional mix, sales promotion is about “action”.
Its ultimate goal is about stimulating customers to buy a product

9. Methods of Sales Promotion
there are many consumer sales promotional techniques available
Which techniques are used depends on the particular business and product / service
Examples:
Discounting
a discount to the normal selling price of a product
more of the product at the normal price.
Coupons
Offer a discount or extra if “coupon” is redeemed

10. Gift with Purchase
The customer gets something in addition to the main purchase
Ie – sweater with magazine subscription, toothbrush with toothpaste, etc..
Contests
Offer customer chance to win a prize by entering a contest if they purchase your product (ie – win a cruise, TV, car, cash, etc.)
Rebates
customer receives a money refund after submitting a proof of purchase to the manufacturer.

11. Frequent User / Loyalty Incentives
Repeat purchases may be stimulated by frequent user incentives.
Ie - frequent flyer points, AIR MILES, Petro Points, etc.
Free Samples
Free trial of product / service to let them test it without investing any money
Point-of-Sale displays
promotions that customers see in the store.
Attractive, informative and well-positioned point-of-sale displays

12. 4. PUBLICITY otherwise known as "public relations" or PR.
It is the communication of a product, brand or business by placing information about it in the media without paying for the time or media space directly
The main goal of Public Relations to enhance a company’s reputation by presenting the company or individual to the world in the best light.

13. As a result, companies will try to build goodwill with its target market through community, charitable events and special programs
Examples:
Contact local TV and radio stations and offer to be interviewed
Offer or sponsor a seminar
Write news releases and fax them to the media
Sponsor a community project
Support a charity (host event and donate proceeds)

14. Mix Element Advantages Disadvantages Good for building awareness
Advertising
Good for building awareness
Effective at reaching a wide audience
Impersonal - cannot answer all of a customer's questions
Not good at getting customers to make a final purchasing decision
Personal Selling
Highly interactive - lots of communication between the buyer and seller
Excellent for communicating complex / detailed product information and features
Costly
Not suitable if there are thousands of important buyers
Sales Promotion
Can stimulate quick increases in sales by targeting promotional incentives on particular products
Good short term tactical tool
If used over the long-term, customers may get used to the effect
Public Relations
Often seen as more "credible" - since the message seems to be coming from a third party (e.g. magazine, newspaper)
Cheap way of reaching many customers
Risk of losing control - cannot always control what other people write or say about your product

15. So….how do we ever decide on which elements and variables to use in our “promotional mix”?

16. Resource Availability
You need to consider……
Resource Availability
the cost of each promotional tool
the overall resource budget for the promotional campaign will often determine which tools the business can afford to use.
2. Market Size and Concentration
Where are your customers and how many are there?
If a market size is small and the number of potential buyers is small, then personal selling may be the most cost-effective promotional tool.
If a market size is bigger and more spread out, then advertising may be more effective.

17. 3. Intangibles
The promotional mix needs to reflect the uniqueness of the product and the “arena” it is competing in
What are you trying to achieve with your marketing efforts?

18. As a result, the “promotional mix” is a puzzle…
As a result, the “promotional mix” is a puzzle….you simply need to put the right pieces together in order to achieve your marketing goals.

19. The End !!