For the effective promotion of any product or service, there are a number of promotion tools that can be utilized in a promotion program. These should be applied carefully according to given circumstances because every promotion tool is suitable for certain situations. The following are some important promotion tools in this regard:
Types of Promotion Tools Used in Marketing
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Advertising
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Personal Selling
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Sales Promotion
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Public Relations
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Direct Marketing
Advertising:
Large masses of customers dispersed geographically can be reached through advertising, which can be repeated multiple times. The popularity, size, and success of the selling organization are enhanced through large-scale advertising. Customers consider advertised products more legitimate due to the public nature of advertisements.
Moreover, it is the quickest way to promote a product to a large and diverse audience. Another important feature of advertising is that it is highly expressive, allowing organizations to dramatize their products by applying impressive print, sound, visuals, and colors.
On one hand, advertising is very beneficial, but on the other hand, it also has some disadvantages. Advertising cannot directly stimulate customers because it is impersonal. It is based on one-way communication, which means that the audience does not have the option to give feedback or responses to advertising messages.
One major drawback of advertising is that it is very expensive. Some forms of advertising, like radio and newspaper advertising, can be utilized within smaller budgets, but other forms, such as network television advertising, require much larger budgets.
Personal Selling:
At certain stages of the buying process, personal selling is the most effective promotion tool for creating customer preferences, convictions, and actions. In personal selling, personal interactions between two or more people take place, allowing both parties to understand the characteristics and needs of one another and make immediate adjustments.
Different types of relationships are developed in personal selling, such as professional selling relationships and personal friendships. Salespersons have professional expertise through which they focus on customer interests and develop healthy relationships.
Moreover, customers give extra time and attention to listening to the offerings of salespersons, even if their final decision is negative.
Personal selling also involves extra cost and effort in training salespersons to make them committed to their tasks. Advertising can be adjusted by continuing or discontinuing it under certain conditions, but the size of the sales force is much harder to change in personal selling.
Sales Promotion:
Promotion tools include sales promotion, which contains a broad assortment of elements such as:
• Coupons
• Cents-off Deals
• Premiums
• Other Tools
Sales promotion tools are applied to boost declining sales by attracting customers and offering distinct purchase incentives. A quick response can be generated through sales promotion.
If advertising says “buy our product,” sales promotion represents “buy the product now.” In the short run, sales promotion is an effective promotional tool, but in the long run, it is not favorable for developing lasting customer relationships and brand preference like advertising and personal selling.
Public Relations:
Public relations are different from advertisements and are often more influential. Public relations consist of news stories, events, and features that are considered more realistic, and therefore readers consider them more believable.
Many prospects avoid advertisements and personal selling, but they can still be influenced by public relations. The message in public relations is considered “news” rather than sales-centered communication. Products of organizations can also be dramatized through public relations.
Public relations should not be overused or treated as an afterthought. They should be combined with other elements of the promotional mix to be used effectively and economically.
Direct Marketing:
Direct marketing may take the following forms:
• Telemarketing
• Electronic Marketing
• Online Marketing
• Direct Mail
There are four distinct characteristics shared by all these forms.
The first characteristic is that direct marketing is non-public in nature, meaning that a specific person is addressed rather than the general public.
Furthermore, direct marketing is customized and immediate, meaning that messages can be tailored to the specific requirements of customers and developed very quickly.
Lastly, direct marketing is interactive, meaning that customers and marketers can engage in dialogue. Messages can be changed according to customer responses.
In short, direct marketing is one of the most effective promotional tools for developing one-to-one customer relationships and executing highly targeted marketing efforts.
