the-marketing-mix marketing-mix-promotion

The objectives of promotion

• Promotion plays a crucial role in generating customer awareness, interest and desire for a product

  • It communicates a business’s value proposition to potential customers and helps to differentiate the product or business from competitors

The main aims of promotion

• Enhance business image

  • Promotion helps build a strong, positive reputation that encourages trust and customer loyalty

• Compete with rivals

  • It allows a business to stand out in a crowded market and attract customers away from competitors

• Support new products

  • Promotion creates awareness and interest when launching a new product, helping it gain early sales

• Increase sales revenue

  • By encouraging more people to buy, promotion helps boost the volume of sales and overall income

• Provide information

  • Promotion informs customers about product features, prices, availability or special offers

Advertising

• Advertising makes use of the media, such as television, newspapers and radio, to promote products or brands

  • It can reach large audiences and increase brand awareness

  • Advertising can also be used to create a specific brand image or message

    • E.g. The advertising campaign run by Compare the Market (Meerkat) uses humour to make shopping for financial products more attractive

  • Specialist media can target specific market segments

    • E.g. Upmarket furniture brands place advertisements in magazines such as Homes & Antiques and Country Life

• Advertising is an expensive promotional strategy 

  • E.g. In the US high viewership for the Super Bowl means that 30-second tv advertisements have been sold for as much as $6.5 million

  • In most cases, external specialists or media agencies create attractive and creative advertisements

Sales promotion

• Sales promotion involves the use of incentives or discounts to encourage customers to buy products

  • They are often temporary and are designed to attract new customers to try a product for the first time and become loyal to the brand

  • Examples of sales promotions include free samples, buy one get one free (bogof), discount coupons, loyalty cards, and competitions

Examples of sales promotions

• Sales promotions can quickly boost sales though impulse purchases or customer engagement

• They are also an effective tool to clear out excess stock, promote a new product or raise cash quickly

• However, for a limited period, revenue per item is reduced

  • This is likely to increase the break-even point

  • Customers may be unwilling to pay a higher price once the sales promotion has come to an end

Direct promotion

• Direct promotion involves communicating directly with customers through email, text message, social media or post

  • E.g. Takeaway restaurants distribute menus to households in the local community

• Businesses can target specific audiences and personalise the message to individual customers

• Its impact is measurable, which enables businesses to track their results and adjust strategy accordingly

• However, direct promotion can be intrusive, as customers may perceive it as spam

• It can also be costly, especially if businesses do not have an established customer database or need to purchase leads

Digital promotion

• Digital promotion refers to the use of online and electronic technologies to promote a business’s products or services to consumers

Examples of digital promotional activity

• Social media marketing

  • Promoting products through platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or X

• Email marketing

  • Sending promotional emails to target customers

• Search engine marketing (SEM)

  • Paid adverts that appear in search engine results (e.g. Google Ads)

• Influencer marketing

  • Paying social media personalities to promote a brand

• Website banners and pop-ups

  • Digital adverts placed on websites

• Video marketing

  • Promotional content shared on platforms like YouTube or embedded in websites

• Content marketing

  • Creating blogs, articles or videos to provide value and attract customers

Evaluating digital promotion

The role of packaging in promotion

• Packaging is the physical container or wrapping for a product. It is also used for promotion and selling appeal

• Packaging is normally designed to

  • Present products in the most practical yet attractive way

  • Communicate the quality of the product

  • Catch the customer’s eye when they shop 

  • Provide key information to customers

  • Establish the business brand image

  • Protect a product from damage

• To stand out from the competition and establish a long-lasting relationship with consumers, brands are investing more money than ever before in creative and environmentally friendly packaging designs

  • This is becoming increasingly important for businesses as they place a greater emphasis on sustainability and their CSR policies

Examples of memorable packaging

Apple iPhone

Ferrero Rocher

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