Successful Marketing Requires Good Promotion

Good marketing requires more than just developing a good product, pricing it attractively, and placing it to make it easily and readily available for purchase by customers. It also requires effective communication with all targeted present and potential consumers to bring about or encourage consumption / purchase of our product(s) and service(s): that is, good marketing requires good promotion as well.

And, effective and good promotion of our product and services must take place at all stages of the consumption / buying process, namely: the pre-selling, the selling, the consumption, and the post-consumption stages - and, it can take any one or a mixture ("promotional mix") of the following main forms of communication, namely:

1. Advertising - Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of products;

2. Sales promotion - A variety of short-term incentives to encourage trial or purchase of a product;

3. Public relations and publicity - A variety of programs designed to promote a firm's product(s) or to protect its image;

4. Personal selling - Face-to-face interaction with one or more prospective buyers for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions, and procuring orders;

5. Direct (and interactive) marketing - Use of mail, flyer, telephone, fax, e-mail, SMS or Internet to communicate directly with or solicit response or dialogue from specific or potential customers

In each of the five(5) main forms/platforms of communication, there are various tools available for our creative use, namely:

Advertising

Print & broadcast

Posters, banners

Signboards

Display signs

Point-of-purchase display

Brochures, booklets

Videotapes

Audiovisual material

Motion pictures

Packaging - outer

Packaging - inserts

Symbols & logos

Slogans

Directories

Sales Promotion

Discounts. Rebates

Gifts, premiums

Contests, lucky draw

Free reno-package

Free insurance

Low-interest loan

Refreshments

Entertainments

Special Exhibits

Fairs, trade shows

Redemption coupons

Free tasting

Money-back guarantee

Trade-ins

Public Relations

Press releases

Publications

Speeches

Seminars

Annual reports

Charitable donations

Sponsorships

Scholarships

Community Relations

Lobbying

Press conferences

Company magazine

Events

Personal Selling

Sales presentations

Fairs & trade shows

Sales meetings

Incentives programs

Samples

Direct Marketing

Telemarketing

Mailings

Fax mail

E mail

SMS

Voice mail

Catalogues

Flyers

You will note that the above Table shows the availability of both the traditional communication tools (newspapers, magazines, radio, telephone, television, billboards and the likes) as well as the newer communication tools (computers, fax machine, cellular phones, SMS, other wireless applications and the likes).

Nevertheless, apart from the above "promotional mix" of the five (5) main communication means, it is important to recognize that a marketer or his marketing firm also communicates with its customers in other ways - its stationery, the mannerism and dressing of its staff, the decor and overall impression of its office, the general landscaping of the real estate development he/it is marketing, its external façade, appearance and colour choice, etc. all speak something about the marketer, his firm and the likely quality of the products and services being marketed.

To achieve optimum marketing results, the main "promotional mix" must always be integrated with these other communication signals and the other 3Ps in the marketing mix (product, price and place) as well as the 3 Psof good services (people quality, physical evidence and process). Periodic reviews / audits of all the firm's likely communication interfaces with its potential market must also be carried out to assess which interfaces (impressions and experiences) have the most influence at each stage of the consumption/buying process. This will then help us to prioritise the allocation of marketing dollars and attention to achieve optimum results and success.

By:
GT TANHALIM, Douglas

P/s: Have you visited my blog: http://moneymakingviainternet.blogspot.com? You may also want to buy online products there...cheers.