Why Companies Opt For Sales Promotions Other Than Advertising

The promotionPromotion is the business of communicating with customers. It will provide information that will assist them in making a decision to purchase a product or service. The pace and creativity of some promotional activities are almost alien to normal business activities.The cost associated with promotion or advertising goods and services often represents a size-able proportion of the overall cost of producing an item. However, successful promotion increases sales so that advertising and other costs are spread over a larger output. Though increased promotional activity is often a sign of a response to a problem such as competitive activity, it enables an organization to develop and build up a succession of messages and can be extremely cost-effective.

Promotion is about how the customers are informed about a particular product or service and plays a vital role. So promotion basically carries the 3 Ps of the marketing mix by presenting that all important information to the right target market.

“Promotion refers to the advertising and selling part of marketing. It is how you let people know what you’ve got for sale. The purpose of promotion is to get people to understand what your product is, what they can use it for, and why they should want it.”

Promotion is a way company communicates messages on what the pruct does and what does the product can offer customers. It includes below elements:

Explain the role of promotion within the marketing mix for a selected product or service.

This is very appealing for the customer as it provides a quick route for those who are shopping for bargains. This also keeps the customers looking at different parts of the store as this link leads to the display of many of their products. Sales and discounts can encourage so-called "trial and repeat" purchases. Retailers can use special offers such as buy-one-get-one offers. Coupons are another way to encourage purchases by offering discounts on products. Free gifts with purchase also encourage customers to purchase products and increase sales. Sales whether advertised in the store, online, in newspapers or via some other medium will help get customers into the store. Retailers can place sales signs in window displays as an incentive for customers to shop.

The main aim of a promotion is to persuade, inform and make people more aware of a company’s brand, as well as improving the overall sales figures. Advertising is the most widely used form of promotion, and can be through the media of TV, radio, journals, cinema or outdoors (billboards, posters). The specific sections of society being targeted will affect the types of media chosen, as will the cost. If you were a toy manufacturer, you might want an advertising spot during children 's TV. If you ran a local restaurant, you might choose a local paper or radio. A small or local business would not usually advertise on TV, because it is very expensive. Sales promotion is designed to encourage new and repeat sales. Loyalty cards, free gifts, competitions and voucher schemes are the most popular. Companies use sponsorship and public relations to improve their image, notably through financing sports, the arts and public information services.

As one of the four foundational elements of the marketing mix, promotion is a critical strategic factor in any organization getting its products. services and the value they deliver known. Like any of the four foundational elements of marketing, promotion is essential for creating a high level of awareness, interest and contributes to the trial of new products. The effects of promotional strategies are often seen in the context of broader advertising initiatives and programs designed to attract new prospects and turn them into customers (Villarejo-Ramos, Manuel, 2005). Promotion therefore is more of an investment and less of an expense, in that it contributes to the long-term success of a brand, tis products, and the acceptance in the market (Shapiro, 1990).

Truell, Allen, Milbier, & Michael (2007) said that promotion is one of the four Ps of marketing - price, product, place, and promotion. Promotion is generally thought of as a sequence of activities designed to inform and convince individuals to purchase a product, subscribe to a belief, or support a cause. All of the various tools available to marketing managers for promotional activities constitute what is known as the promotional mix. The promotional mix includes advertising, personal selling, public relations and sales promotion.

Sales promotion serves three essential roles ; information, persuasion and reminder. The simple definition given for sales promotion is ‘ Sales promotion consist of diverse collection of incentive tools, mostly short-term, designed to stimulate quicker and/or greater purchase of particular

Promotion is the direct way in which an organisation attempts to communicate with various target audience. Promotion consists of five main elements: Advertising, Personal selling, sales promotion, Public Relations and Direct Marketing.

Promotion- activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy it.

Promotion – Promotion means making customers aware about your products and introducing the customers with the benefits which they can get by buying their products. They can do advertisements, direct marketing and sales promotion for the promotion of the product.

Sales promotion consists of all other marketing activities except for personal selling, advertising and public relations. It can be defined as short term use of incentives and other promotional activities that stimulate the customer to buy a particular product. Sales promotion is generally used for a pre-determined specific time in order to increase market demand and boost sales. Sales promotion is comparatively cheaper to advertising.

Promotion is an aspect of the marketing mix that has great importance. In order for our product to be successful, the promotion we use will be very vital. This is because of the fact that the method of promotion we use for the product can help to differentiate our product from other products which makes it unique and outstanding amongst other brands. Moreover, using the right promotion can be used as a way to persuade consumers of our product that they made the right choice.