What is Promotion? Types of Promotion

Meaning of Promotion

“What is Promotion?” Promotion is a marketing tool, used as a strategy to communicate between the sellers and buyers. Through this, the seller tries to influence and convince the buyers to buy their products or services. It assists in spreading the word about the product or services or company to the people. The company uses this process to improve its public image. This technique of marketing creates an interest in the mindset of the customers and can also retain them as a loyal customer.

Promotion is a fundamental component of the marketing mix, which has 4 Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. It is also an essential element promotional plan or mix, which includes advertising, self and sales promotion, direct marketing publicity, trade shows, events, etc.,

Some methods of this procedure contain an offer, coupon discounts, free sample distribution, trial offer, buy two items in the price of one, contest, festival discounts, etc. The promotion of a product is important to help companies improve their sales because customers reaction towards discounts and offers are impulsive. In other words, promotion is a marketing tool that involves enlightening the customers about the goods and services offered by an organization.

Also read: What are the planning process of marketing?

Types of Promotion:

Advertising-

It helps to outspread a word or awareness, promote any newly launched service, goods or an organization. The company uses advertising as a promotional tool as it reaches a mass of people in a few seconds. An advertisement is communicated through many traditional media such as radio, television, outdoor advertising, newspaper or social media. Other contemporary media that supports advertisement are social media, blogs, text messages, and websites.

Direct Promotion-

It is that kind of advertising where the company directly communicates with its customers. This communication is usually done through various new approaches like email marketing, text messaging, websites, fliers, online adverts, promotional letters, catalog distributors, etc.

Sales Promotion-

This utilizes all sorts of a marketing tool to communicate with the customers and increase sales. However, it is for a limited time, used to expand customers demand, refresh market demand and enhance product availability

Self-promotion-

It is a process where the enterprises send their agents directly to the customers to pitch for their product or service. Here, the response for the feedback of the customer is prompt and therefore, easy to build trust.

Public Relation-

Popularly know as PR is exercised to broadcast the information or message between a company (NGO, Government agency, business), an individual or a public. A powerful PR campaign can be valuable to the company.

Online Promotion-

This includes almost all the elements of the promotion mix. Starting from the online promotion with pay per click advertising. Direct marketing by sending newsletters or emails.
Key Points of Promotion

• It is a communication tool that incorporates all the elements used to spread awareness and convince customers to buy good and services
• It is applicable only for short term sales
• It is one of the variables of the marketing mix
• The effect of promotion is short term
• The result or outcome of the promotion is immediate
• It is an economic marketing tool as compared to advertising
• It can be used for all sorts of businesses irrespective of the size, brand of a company

Also read: Important Business Studies question

5-6 Marks Questions:

Q.1 Explain the concept of Promotion Mix.

Answer:

Meaning of promotion mix

• It refers to the sum of promotional tools that are used by the marketer to inform and persuade the buyers to buy the product.
• These tools/elements are used in different combinations depending upon the necessity of information.

Elements of the promotional mix
These tools are in the form of-

(a) Advertisement.

(b)Personal Selling.

(c) Publicity.

(d) Sales Promotion.

Q.2 What do you mean by sales promotion? What are the merits and demerits of sales promotion?

Answer:

Meaning of sales promotion
It refers to short term incentives which are offered to the ultimate customers to encourage them to make immediate purchase of the product or service.

Following are the merits of sales promotion:

(a)Attention value

• Its purpose is to draw the attention of prospective customers to make them buy the products.
• Example: “Buy 1 Get 1 free” offer, draws the attention of the customers.

(b) Useful in new product launch

• It is used mainly when the new products are launched in the market so that the attention of the prospects can be drawn towards new products.
• Example: Offers given by Reliance at the time of launch of Jio.

(c) Synergy in total promotional efforts

• It helps to supplement the efforts made in personal selling and advertisement.
• It adds to overall effectiveness to the promotional efforts.
• Example: Sales promotion by domino’s “Buy 1 Get 1 free” helps to make TV advertisements hit leading to more sales.

Following are the limitations of sales promotion:

(a) Reflects crisis

• A firm cannot remain too much dependent upon sales promotions.
• It may otherwise leave the impression that the company is not doing good business.

(b) Spoils product image

• Too much dependence on sales promotion techniques gives the impression in the mind of customers that perhaps the product falls short of quality and is not saleable.

3-4 Marks Questions:

Q.1 (Hots): Identify the Sales Promotion Technique in Following Situations:

(I) Rs. 4,000 Waive on the New Cng Scooter.

(Ii) 50% Off on All Items During a Stock Clearance Sale.

(Iii) Free Mug With Horlicks.

(Iv) Free Sachet With Dove Soap.

(V) Buy Three Get One Free.

(Vi) Scratch a Card and Win the Car.

Answer:

(I) Rebate.

(II) Discount.

(III) Usable benefit.

(IV) Sampling.

(V) Quantity gift.

(VI) Instant Draws.

Q.2 Explain the features of personal selling?

Answer:

Features of personal selling:

(a) Personal form

• An interactive relationship exists between the sellers and the buyer in personal selling.
• This happens due to a direct face to face dialogue between them.

(b) Two-way communication

• In personal selling, the seller gives information about the product and at the same time, the buyer gets a chance to clarify his doubts.

(c) Better response

• When the seller personally explains the utilities of the product to the customers they do pay some attention and listen to the information.

(d) Relationship

• When the seller and the buyer meet together, it improves the relation between them.
• Salesperson normally makes friendly relations with customers.

(e) Better convincing

• Personal selling is the most effective form of promotion.
• The salesperson can convince the buyer by demonstrating the use of the product.
• He can also make changes in the product or the offer according to the needs of the customer.

1 MARKS QUESTIONS

Q.1 Identify the promotional tool of marketing mix which involves the oral presentation of message with one or more prospective customers for the purpose of making sales.

Answer:

Personal selling.

Q.2 When the salesman should not lose his temper but should listen to the customers patiently. Explain this quality of salesman.

Answer:

Many times, a salesman meets the customers of a different nature. They make irrelevant questions, waste a lot of time and buy nothing. Under such circumstances, the salesman should not lose his temper but should listen to the customers patiently.

Q.3 Under which case- advertising or personal selling, cost per person reached is very high?

Answer:

Personal selling.

Q.4  ‘You don’t close a sale; you open a relationship if you want to build a long-term successful enterprise.’ identify the communication tool used by the marketer.

Answer:

Personal selling.

The above mentioned is the concept, that is elucidated in detail about ‘What is Promotion?’ for the Commerce students. To know more, stay tuned to BYJU’S.