What Is Sale Promotion. Definition & Objective Of Sale Promotion [ Promotional Mix (Media)]

 

One of the most important elements of the marketing mix is sales promotion. When goods have been produced and priced, now they are to be introduced to the people for sales purposes, IT is sales promotion by which consumers are informed about the availability, quality, and usefulness of the goods and service. 

Definition

The sale promotion can be defined as under:

Promotion consists of communications that inform potential consumers of the existence of the product and persuade them that those products have to need-satisfying capabilities.

OR

Promotion is persuasive communication that motivates people to buy whatever an organization is selling goods, services, or ideas.

OBJECTIVES OF THE SALE PROMOTION

The most important objectives of the sales promotion are as under:

1. Provide Information:

The first and main function (objectives) of the sales promotions is to provide information to the target market about the product, its features, price, and its availability at different locations.

2. Increase market Share:

The promotion is used to convince new customers to try a product while maintaining the product loyalty of established (old) customers. Effective advertisement into only maintains but also increases the market share for the product of the organization.

3. Positioning the Product:

Positioning is the development of an image for a product, relative to competing products. The sales of a depend to a great extent on its competition. The stronger the competition, the more difficult it I to maintain or increase sales. For this reason, many firms used promotion as a tool to position their product in the marketplace.

4. Stabilizing Sales:

Another objective of the sales promotion is to stabilize sales so that demand does not fluctuate widely. For this purpose, special promotional efforts can be used to increase sales during slack periods, such as the “off-season” for certain sports equipment, etc

PROMOTION MIX (MEDIA)

 A promotional mix is the combination of those methods (media) which a firm uses in its promotional campaign to reach a target market. The elements of a promotional mix or promotional media fall under the following four categories:

I. Advertising.

II. Personal Selling

III. Sales Promotion

IV. Publicity and Public relation

1. Advertising.

Advertising is an important element of the promotional mix, it is a paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, and services by an identified sponsor. It plays a very important role in introducing the products to the consumers and in creating the consumers personally but he can easily convey his message to the general public through advertising in magazines, newspapers, direct mail, radio, television, and signboards, etc.

2. Personal Selling.

Personal selling is the presentation of a promotional message through direct personal communication. It provides a direct communication link between the buyer and seller and offers major benefits to both of them. When the number of buyers is limited and the product is expensive and complicated, personal selling becomes dominating element in the promotional mix. In personal selling, the promotional message can be modified to suit the individual buyer. Furthermore, the salespersons provide individual assistance to the buyers, collect information about the buyer’s present and future needs and provide post-sale service to the consumers.

3. Sale Promotion.

According to the American Marketing Association, sales promotion is defined as “Those marketing activities, other than personal selling, advertising, and publicity that stimulate consumer purchasing and dealer effectiveness”. In fact, the sales promotion activities serve as a bridge to connect the other three elements of the promotional mix. These sales promotion activities include the distribution of free samples, issuance of the coupon, refund and premium policies, trade shows and point of purchase displays, etc. Sales promotion plays an integral role in the promotional program of most organizations.

4. Publicity.

Publicity is information about a company, its employment, or its product that is published or broadcast in the mass media. Publicity differs from advertising in two ways. It is not paid for and it is not controlled by the firm. However, when it enhances the image of the firm or its products, publicity becomes an effective form of promotion.

5. Public Relations.

Public reactions consist of all those activities whose objectives are to create and maintain a favorable public image. In one sense, publicity is a part of public relations. The public includes the firm, customers, employees, and stockholders, or the government or general public. The publicity is used to inform the public about the company’s public relations activities.