Promotion Decisions

Promotion Decisions

Promotion decision is used to find the appropriate and effective method to promote a particular product to increase the sales.

Integrated Marketing Communication
Integrated marketing communication (IMC) is a continuous effort to plan, execute and evaluate techniques for selling or advertising a product by using traditional and nontraditional methods of promotion.

The following are the major features of promotion decisions −

** Awareness of target consumer and their preference of media

** Knowledge of consumers’ beliefs that can be related to the product to get the expected response

** Setting different promotional tools, each tool for specific target but all linked to acquire a common target

** Coordinating of advertising, sales, promotion and public relation as proportional strategy

** Continuous broadcasting of information about the product

Promotion decisions are made on the basis of characteristics. Such decisions help in target marketing of the product; this decreases the advertising expenses.

Marketing Communication Process

Marketing communication process comprises the following eight stages −

** Stage I − Source
** Stage II − Encoding
** Stage III − Transmission
** Stage IV − Decoding
** Stage V − Receipt
** Stage VI − Response
** Stage VII − Feedback

The source is the information which is introduced for the promotion while the feedback is provided by the consumer, which is evaluated and changes are made for promotion.

Promotion Decisions
Special pricing strategy is mostly used for the promotion of the product. In this strategy, pricing is changed for a short interval of time.

Promotion decision can be executed by implementing the following steps −

** Step 1 − Setting of the objectives
** Step 2 − Determining promotion budget
** Step 3 − Target Market
** Step 4 − The appeal
** Step 5 − Promotion Mix

Promotion Mix
Promotion mix is a combination of various marketing techniques, oriented to acquire a common target. It provides a structure for budget allocation for different elements of the promotional mix.

Some elements of promotional mix are as follows −

** Advertising
** Sales promotion
** Public relations and publicity
** Personal selling
** Direct marketing
** Type of product market
** Overall marketing strategy
** Buyer readiness stage
* Product life cycle stage

Direct Marketing
Direct marketing is a form of marketing in which a single customer is approached for advertisement of the product.

It attempts to acquire and retain customers by contacting them without the use of an intermediary. The objective of direct marketing is to garner a direct response, which may take one of the following forms −

** A purchase over the telephone or by post

** A request for a catalogue or sales literature

** An agreement to visit a location / event (e.g., an exhibition)

** Participation is some form of action (e.g., joining a political party)

** A request for a demonstration of a product

** A request for a sales person’s visit

Forms of Direct Marketing
The following are the different forms of direct marketing −

** Catalogue marketing
** Direct mail marketing
** Telemarketing
** Teleshopping /home shopping
** Database marketing
** Kiosk marketing

In these methods, the product is advertised directly to the potential customers by approaching them.