MARKETING
PROMOTION
PROMOTION
Promotion is the method of making the product known to be public.
Strategies used to promote sales and to build the firms image are advertising, sales
promotion and public relations techniques.
PROMOTION
Forms of Advertising
Advertising can be informative, persuasive, comparative or be a reminder that the product is
available on the market.
- Informative
This type of advertisement gives factual information about a product. It informs potential
customers about the benefits and where the product can be found.
Example
Advertisements dealing with medication usually inform customers about the main
differences or content of their product.
PROMOTION
- Persuasive
This type of advertising tries to entice the customer to purchase the product by using
emotional and psychological appeals
Example
The image associated and the appeal in the ownership of a particular luxury brand of vehicle
advertised.
PROMOTION
- Comparative
Comparative advertising compares one product to another.
Example
Bahamas Tourist Board tag line – ‘It is better in Bahamas’
PROMOTION
- Reminder
Serves to inform customers that the product is still available. This type of advertising is
usually used in areas where there are lots of competitions or when the product has reached
maturity stage and new strategies are needed to improve the popularity of the product.
Example
Toothpaste manufacturers are always advertising their product to keep the customers
informed about availability and new product development.
PROMOTION
Sales promotion can be defined as short-term incentives used to encourage purchase of a
good or service.
These are usually given to middlemen (wholesalers and retailers) and customers. It is an
expensive exercise and therefore runs for a limited period. It is usually used to support an
advertising campaign .
For example free samples can take the form of mini replicas of the product or small taste of
the product.
METHODS OF PROMOTING SALES
Coupons – are detachable tickets or part of a document that can be redeemed for a financial
discount or rebate when purchasing a product.
These coupons are redeemable at special places for example supermarkets and
hypermarkets.
Price discount and cash refunds – are given away as a form of promotion. Price discount
is an amount of money taken off the price of an item, while cash refunds are repayments
given to customers on return of damaged items or empties.
Cash discounts – are given for prompt payment of invoices, for example if a client pays
within the credited period the client may receive a percentage off the total price.
METHODS OF PROMOTING SALES
Buy one Get one free – is a form of cash discount. This involves getting an extra item for
the price of one. This method of sales is generally used to promote the product or to attract
customers to the store or encourage sales on a product that is not selling well.
Competitions – are another way of promoting goods. The customers are enticed to enter
competitions for which large sums of money or expensive items such as trips abroad, or
luxurious motor vehicles, are the prizes.
Trade shows and Exhibitions – items are displayed at trade fairs for all potential customers
to examine the quality of the products , for example there are Caribbean Trade Fairs or Mall
Displays.
METHODS OF PROMOTING SALES
Loss leader – this is an item with a huge discount used to attract customers to the store. For
example a sale on special Nike sneakers may encourage young men to the store. Once in the
store, they may purchase other items.
Store windows and showrooms are attractively displayed in order to draw the attention of
the public.
