Ever since Philip Kotler introduced the topic of marketing mix or the famous 4 P’s into marketing management, promotion as one of the four P’s has been noticed by marketers and has become one of the key terms of marketing .
Of course, this does not mean that before Cutler, no one thought about promotion and did not know what promotion is, but promotion as an umbrella term that covers many concepts became popular after Cutler.
Suppose you have done the product design and defined the product features.
Suppose you have chosen the pricing strategy and the final price of the product has been entered and extracted.
Also, let’s assume that the channels and places of sale (Place) have been determined.
Now you need to do three important things:
- Inform people and potential customers and product and brand audiences that your product exists;
- Encourage them to consider your product as one of their options;
- Finally, convince them to buy your product.
In marketing , this work is called promotion .
Definition of product promotion
According to the explanation we gave, almost anything you do to inform about the product or convince the customer to buy is considered as promotion .
For example:
- You may decide to set up a website or Instagram account to introduce your product;
- You might pay some shopkeepers to put your brochure in customers’ shopping bags;
- It is possible to allocate a budget to extensive television advertising or banner installation in the city;
- Maybe you decide to enter your product buyers into a lottery;
- Maybe hire some visitors and ask them to visit different stores around town.
As you can see, promotion is a very broad concept and almost everything you do to introduce, promote and sell your product is considered a subset of promotion.
Promotion methods
We know that none of these methods are perfect by themselves and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. So what usually happens in practice is that you mix and match a number of promotion methods .
This combination of methods is called Promotion Mix .
1. Personal selling
One of the simplest and oldest methods of product promotion is the use of personal selling.
In this method, you rely on the one-on-one interactions between salespeople and customers to sell your product.
Some people think that with the spread of the Internet and the development of new communication tools, personal selling no longer has its former place. But still, in many markets and businesses, personal selling is very important.
2. Direct marketing
In direct marketing, instead of introducing your product publicly, you go to those who you know are potential customers.
For example, if you are a seller of body insurance, instead of public advertisement in the media, you go directly to the car numbering places. Or if you send an e-mail to the participants of a seminar and introduce a seminar with a similar topic.
Sending text messages to your existing customers announcing a special sales program is another example of direct marketing.
In general, SMS marketing , email marketing and telemarketing are direct marketing tools and can be used to inform or persuade customers.
3. Advertising
In the explanation of promotion, we said that an important part of promotion is to inform the customer about the existence of the product, because until the customer knows that such a product exists and can be bought, he will not buy it.
Therefore, one of the key elements in the promotion portfolio is advertising. These advertisements can be in the form of traditional television, newspaper ads, reportage of advertisements in public media, or in the form of digital advertisements on websites and social networks .
Types of media
We are not always supposed to spend money to be heard and seen. To better understand this topic, we will first explain the types of media , which are divided into three parts:
- Media that belong to you (Owned Media)
- Media that you pay to use and advertise in (Paid Media)
- Earned Media
Anything you do that causes others to talk about you in traditional media such as radio, television, newspaper, etc., or new media such as social networks , blogs, etc., is an example of free presence in society.
Also, if the quality of your work or your creative ideas is such that the media come to you and publish interviews and conversations with you, or review your products and compare them with competitors, it can still be classified in the same Earned Media category. did
Of course, note that being in the community is not completely free and has its own costs.
It’s true that you don’t directly pay a media outlet to advertise for you, but you have to make various expenses so that finally something happens and the media is willing to talk about you.
For example, sponsoring a related high-profile event is an example of a way to gain media coverage. You might also ask event attendees to share their photos with a specific hashtag and get media coverage that way.
None of these are free and costless. Rather, you have indirectly paid for media coverage.
Again, keep in mind that promotion methods are not necessarily limited to the things mentioned.
All the things you do to inform the customer or create sales or increase sales are considered a subset of Promotion .
It is important to remember that the best product with the best price in the best place is not necessarily sold in the best possible way, and you have a duty to pay special attention to Promotion in addition to product, price and place.
Sales promotion
Sales promotion is another promotion method in marketing .
Although Sales Promotion is just one type of Promotion, this method is so widespread that sometimes in conversations, instead of the term Sales Promotion , the word Promotion itself is used.
In sales promotion, you offer rewards to your customers, salespeople, or employees that will help you increase your sales.
Discount coupons, sweepstakes among customers, contests among sellers, sales commissions to sellers, discounts for more purchases, special discounts, and discounts to the seller for placing your product in a special place are examples of sales promotion methods.
