Sales Promotions are short term incentives offered to consumers, members of the trade or company’s sales force in an effort to boost sales. Sales promotion is concerned more with action other than information about the product which I think is more shown when the product is tried. Example of sales promotion are price discounts although here it is important that the product’s reputation will be safeguarded since many people think that the higher the price the higher the quality. Coupons are another, very versatile, way of offering a discount. For example they can be on a pack to encourage repeat purchase, in newspaper allowing customers to redeem the coupon at a retailer. For example Miracle Food every month in one of the bargain books we receive at home have a coupon saying that if Lm5 is spent at their shop, a gift will be given on presentation of the coupon.
Public Relations enhance the goodwill (image) of the company and its products or services in the eyes of potential customers in order to improve sales. The company’s public may include the governments, shareholders, local councils and all other individual, group or organization that may affect the performance or image of the company. Some public relation techniques are press releases which are costless, seminars, meetings, press conferences, consumers and trade exhibitions, donations to charitable causes, in-house journal and sponsorships for example Kellogs sponsors ‘Skolasport’.
The final tool is direct marketing which is concerned with establishing an individual relationship between the business offering a product or service and the final customer. The process of direct marketing covers a wide range of promotional activities. These include, direct-response adverts on television and radio, Mail order catalogues, e-commerce for example eastbay, which is buying directly from the internet. Also direct mail often referred to as junk mail
Now I am going to discuss Advertising in detail. Advertising is divided into two areas the Above-the-line media which reaches mass audiences and constitutes of the conventional media that are the press, commercial TV, commercial radio, cinema and posters on billboards and transport. The other area is below –the-line media which does not use commercial media but instead advertise through methods over which the company has considerable control, such as exhibiting at trade fairs, direct mail, mail drops, point-of-sale, sky advertising and sales literature. In this type of media there is not an independently owned mass media and not every one may always have the opportunity to see or read the promoter’s message.
Advertising is able to reach a wide geographical area (blanket advertising) though it lacks the peruasive power of effective personal selling, but then it is more cheaper and if the business chooses the right medium, advertising will in return give ‘dividends’ that is more sales hopefully increasing profits. The objectives of this promotion tool are to inform, maybe about a new product or a modification, for example lately the new Ford Focus is being advertised because of modifications seen especially in its body.
Another objective is persuading the consumer to buy the product especially when there are perfect substitutes, the company must increase understanding of the product and persuade that it is better from others. For example Tele 2, an Italian telephone line company in its adverts make comparisons with other line and persuade the consumer by telling them why pay more when receiving the same service. The medium chosen for this adverts is the television. It is also a constant reminder for existing consumers even it can remind them from where to purchase the product for example perfumes that today are even sold at the supermarkets. To remember the advert must be viewed for several times and even it might have something that attracts attention because sometimes we either forget the advert of we remember the advert “story” and forget which company did the advert. For example it is easy to remember Nike adverts because they are full of action continuously Nike clothes and even the sound plays an important role in the advert. While it is more difficult to remember Maltese clothes shops adverts because they are almost all the same and it is easy to forget the shop name.
I find advertising a valuable tool when sales promotions such as sales and discounts are to be promoted, because when people hear or visualize the word sale on the radio, television, newspaper or posters it automatically attracts the attention of the consumers. Surely it is not worthed and very expensive to promote a sale through personal selling and not very effective by public relations. By advertising you can see what your target market is influenced by most and apply the right medium. For example if a company wants to promote chairs and beds for the elderly surely it will not choose to advert in the cinema because they are more frequented by youths other then the elderly. It will choose either the television or radio. Also it is wise to printed adverts such as magazines the advert can be easily read and referred to for more than one time. Apart form reassuring the consumer advertising helps to remove any post-purchase anxieties of consumers especially when the product is expensive such as cars and appliances and helps maintaining a long term relationship with established consumers.
The key to successful promotion is that who promote must believe in the product and must be credible and enthusiastic either when making the advert and even in personal selling. Then the marketing managers have the important task to choose the right tool and the most effective medium, which will lead to success or failure.
Odette Caruana Intermediate 2nd Year