Marketing Promotional Tools
For effective promotion of any product or service, there are a number of marketing promotional tools that can be utilized in a promotion program. These should be applied carefully according to the given circumstances. Since every promotional tool is suitable for certain circumstances.
The following are the important types of marketing promotional tools that must be in your mind.
- Advertising
- Personal Selling
- Sales Promotion
- Public Relations
- Direct Marketing
Ways of Marketing Promotional Tools
Following are the ways of Promotional Tools in Marketing:
Advertising
The masses of customers dispersed geographically can be reached with the Promotional Tools of advertising. Actually, it can be repeated a number of times. The popularity, size, and success of the selling organization are enhanced by large-scale advertising. Therefore the customers consider the advertising products as most legitimate due to the public nature.
Moreover, it’s the quickest way to promote a product to a large portion of diversified customers. Another important feature of advertising is that it is much more expressive. In such a way the selling organization dramatizes its products by applying certain impressive print, sound, visuals, colors, etc.
On the one hand, advertising is very beneficial. However, on the other hand, it has some disadvantages too. Thus the advertising cannot stimulate the customers directly, because it is impersonal.
Advertising is based on one way of communication. Actually, which means that the audience of the advertisement has not the option to give feedback or respond to the advertising messages. One of the biggest drawbacks of advertisements is that they are very expensive.
There are some types of advertising, like radio and newspaper advertising that can be utilized within a range of smaller budgets. However, the other kinds of advertising, like network television advertising, are not covered in smaller budgets, but in larger budgets.
Personal Selling
At certain stages of the buying process, personal selling is the most effective promotion tool in creating customers’ preferences, convictions, and actions. In personal selling, personal interactions between two or more people take place. Actually, that can allow both parties to understand the characteristics and needs of one another. Therefore then make immediate adjustments.
All types of relationships are also flourishing in personal selling like selling relationships of the matter of fact and personal friendship etc. The salespersons have professional expertise by which they focus on the interests of the customers. Although then develop a healthy relationship over it.
Moreover, the customer also gives extra time and attention to listening to the offerings of salespersons even though his final decision is no. Personal selling is also faced with extra cost and effort in training salespersons to make them committed to the given tasks.
The advertising can be altered by continuing and discontinuing it in certain conditions. However, the size of the sales force is much harder to change in the case of personal selling.
Sales Promotion
These Promotional tools include sales promotion which further contains a broad assortment of elements like:
- Coupons
- Cent-off Deals
- Premiums
- Other Tools
The tools of sales promotion are applied to boost sagging sales by attracting customers and offerings distinct incentives for purchase. A quick response is generated by using this promotion tool for sales promotion. If advertising is related to “buy our product” then sales promotion is the representation of “buy the product now”.
In the short run, sales promotion can be regarded as an effective promotion tool. However, in the case of the long run, it is not favorable for developing long-lasting customer relationships. Thus brand preference just like advertising and personal selling does.
Public Relations
Public relations are much different from the ads and they are more influential than these ads. So public relations consist of news stories, events, and features. Actually, they are considered more real. Therefore the readers also consider them more believable.
Many prospects avoid advertisements and personal selling. However, they can also be influenced by public relations. So the real message in public relations is considered to be “news” by the customers rather than a sales-centered communication.
The product of an organization is also dramatized by public relations. Public relations should not be used too much or it should be used as an afterthought. It is combined with the elements of the other promotional mix to use it in an effective and economical way.
Direct Marketing
Direct marketing may take the following forms.
- Telemarketing
- Electronic Marketing
- Online Marketing
- Direct Mail
There are four distinct characteristics that are shared in all of the above forms. The first characteristic is direct marketing, which is non-public in nature. It means that a specific person is addressed in this form of promotion tool rather than focusing on the general public.
Furthermore, direct marketing is customized and immediate, which means that the messages can be fitted to the specific requirements of the customers and they are developing very quickly. At last, direct marketing is interactive which means that customers and Marketing may show a dialogue with each other.
The message in direct marketing can be changed according to the response of the customer. In short direct marketing, and promotional tools are used the most effectively in the case of developing one-to-one customer relationships and in the situation of highly targeted marketing efforts.
Hello everyone! This is Richard Daniels, a full-time passionate researcher & blogger. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics. He loves to write about economics, e-commerce, and business-related topics for students to assist them in their studies. That's the sole purpose of Business Study Notes.
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