Promotion Mix in Marketing

Imagine you own a product of some sort, and nobody is aware of it. Customers or Dealers will only buy it once they are informed about it and its associated benefits. Here, the Promotion mix comes into the picture.

It plays a major role in boosting the sale of the products. As it optimizes promotional efforts and reaches a broader customer base.

Moreover, it integrates all the decisions to attract and influence the target customers. Some such decisions are:

• Selecting Advertising Media
• Selecting Promotional Techniques
• Using Publicity Measures
• Public Relations Strategy, etc

Promotion is the 4th P of the marketing mix. It involves communication with customers and distribution channels to boost sales. Thus, it is an essential part of the organization’s marketing strategy.

A product is a flop in the absence of a communication mix and suitable promotion strategy. Besides, the organization’s image is closely associated with the promotion mix in the form of:

1. Character
2. Reputation
3. Reliability
4. Responsibility

Developing a compelling promotional mix demands expertise and skills. So, the marketer needs to acquire these skills and conduct in-depth research before creating one.

An optimum promotion mix implies the best way to attract customers and generate the most sales. For this reason, marketers opt for it when they aspire to increase sales in quantity.

But, the optimum promotion mix is unfavourable for the organization if it generates losses.

Content: Promotion Mix

1. Elements
2. Example
3. Strategies
4. Advantages
5. How to determine an optimum promotion mix
6. Final Words

Elements of Promotion Mix

We can also call these Elements, Tools, Forms or Components of the Promotion Mix.

Marketers must choose the components best suited for the product and organizational goals. Consequently, it will attract customers and lure them into buying the products and services.

Elements of the Promotion Mix are as follows:

1. Advertising

It is the most common impersonal market communication tool for mass selling. Here, marketers inform customers via identified Sponsors through selected media channels.

It is a costly paid promotion method that involves only one-way communication.

Medium of Advertisement

• Television
• Newspapers
• Direct mail
• Radio
• Magazines
• Billboards
• Social Media

2. Sales Promotion

It is a strategic marketing technique effective in the short term. The company offers attractive incentives for a limited period to encourage prospects to buy products on the spot.

It supplements personal selling and advertisement to make them more attractive.

Medium of Sales Promotion

• Coupons
• Offers
• Discounts
• Contest
• Payback Offer
• Freebies
• Product Samples

3. Personal Selling

As its name suggests, it is the one-on-one communication between the seller and buyer. It involves direct interaction with the customers.

The effectiveness of the process depends on the interpersonal skills of the seller. The customer’s queries are recognized and resolved instantaneously.

Besides, it is said to be the costliest among all the elements. Due to personalization, the seller can build long-term relations with the buyer.

Medium of Personal Selling

• Presentation
• Telephonic Communication
• Assistance at the point of Purchase (House, Shop, Mall, etc.)
• Free Demonstration
• Fair

3. Public Relations

It is an effort to build positive and sustained public relations. For this, they intentionally plant attractive, interesting stories to foster goodwill.

In simple words, it means managing the firm’s reputation. Consequently, there is a boost in the company’s sales with positive word of mouth.

Medium of Public Relations

• News Conferences
• Press Releases
• Public Events
• PR Campaigns
• Social Media

Besides these common elements, there are a few more promotional variables available as follows:

1. Direct Marketing
2. Corporate Image
3. Sponsorship
4. Guerrilla Marketing
5. Product Placement
6. Digital Marketing

Example

We are all exposed to some or the other element of the communication mix. These elements carry a specific purpose and convey different things to us.

Now, we will see some practical examples of communication mix that we encounter in our daily lives:

1. Advertising: TV commercials about some product that we see between our favourite shows. Besides, Radio ads are also a common form of advertising that we encounter in our daily life.
2. Sales Promotion: End-of-season sales offered by the e-commerce sites like Ajio and Myntra. Also, discount offers on FMCG products like Soaps and Toothpaste.
3. Personal Selling: The salesman you meet in any store falls in the category of personal selling. Salesman informs customers about the product and convinces them to buy.
4. Public Relations (PR): Every celebrity appoints a PR, who manages their Social Media, Sponsorships and CSR.
5. Direct Marketing: The calls from different Banks and AMCs promoting their products.

Strategies

Besides elements, strategies are equally important in developing a compelling promotion mix. There are two strategies which are independent of each other:

Pull Strategy: Here, the companies approach the customers directly. As a result, the customers demand products from the Distributors, Dealers and Suppliers. Since the customer themselves demand the product, it creates a vacuum effect. Therefore, it is also known as Demand Vacuum.

Push Strategy: The company approaches Suppliers, Dealers and Distributors to keep their products. For this, they use promotional components like personal selling and sales promotion. After that, these intermediaries further recommend and convince customers to try the product.

Factors Affecting Promotion Mix

Like other elements of the marketing mix, promotion is also affected by several Internal and External factors. Among them, the most influential ones are listed below:

• Nature of the Product
• Nature of the Market
• Product Life Cycle
• Type and Nature of the Customers
• Resources Available (Financial, Manpower, etc)
• Distribution Channel

Advantages/Importance of Promotional Mix

Here, we will discuss various advantages of forming the right communication mix. Besides, the below points also explain its importance:

1. Product Differentiation: The markets are flooded with a wide variety of products. So, it is vital to differentiate one’s products from others. A promotion mix helps create a unique image of the products in the customer’s eyes.
2. Market Segmentation: Marketing efforts become useless if they are not concentrated towards potential buyers. One can identify and pitch the potential buyers and market segments through this mix.
3. Wide Reach: Some promotional tools can reach out to the mass audience. It increases the possibility of more amount of conversions from prospects into customers.
4. Appealing Campaign: The combination of promotional tools forms a promotional campaign. Marketers can develop an appealing and striking promotional campaign that ultimately boosts sales.
5. Repositioning: It also helps reposition the Brand, Product, company’s Vision, and more. This is because it is a medium of communication from organization to customers.
6. Persuasion: It is an important advantage of the promotion mix. As each promotion tool holds the capacity to persuade people to try or buy companies’ products.

How to determine an optimum promotion mix

Marketers can follow the steps given below to determine an optimum communication mix:

Step 1: Set Clear Objectives

There are some reasons for forming a communication mix be it for:

• Launching a new product
• Repositioning the old product
• Generating awareness, etc

So, first of all, marketers must clear the intent of developing a communication mix.

Step 2: Availability of Funds

Each promotional element demands different investments. This is because, they involve varied efforts and use different media for communication. Before selecting any element, the marketer must consider the promotional budget set by the company.

Step 3: Promotional Strategy

The next step is to build a suitable promotional strategy. It must comply with the previously set promotional objectives and overall organizational goals.

Generally, it inculcates two basic types of strategies as follows:

• Customer Oriented Strategies
• Dealer Oriented Strategies

Step 4: Motivation

The firm’s image is associated with the product and reverse. Therefore, marketers must create such a strategy that can impact the firm’s goodwill for good.

Step 5: Effectiveness

Lastly, analyzing the effectiveness of the campaign is essential. It is crucial for managing the current campaign as well as planning future ones.

Final Words

To sum up, marketers opt for the right mix of promotional tools to generate maximum sales. It plays an essential role in accomplishing the organization’s strategic marketing objectives.

However, finding and implementing the right mix is a critical task. Moreover, the selection of the tools must be such that it is favourable for the organization.