Promotion is how a business makes consumers aware of its products. It’s used to attract consumers to buy the product thereby creating sales revenue.

Promotion is either:

– ‘Above the line’: this refers to extensive promotional campaigns through the national media.

– ‘Below the line’: this refers to more short-term tactics, like direct mail or personal selling.

Most businesses opt for both kinds of tactics in order to optimise their consumer impact.

Advertising

This is the most expensive type of promotion. It can take place through a number of mediums:

– Television

– Cinema

– Radio

– Posters

– Newspapers

– Magazines

– The Internet

Advertising allows businesses to reach a wider audience and thereby have a greater impact. Advertisements tend to come under three types:

• Informative advertisements: they let consumers know that the product is available and provide information on its characteristics, how it works and its purpose.
• Persuasive advertisements: they attempt to get consumers to buy the product.
• Corporate advertising: this focuses on the business in attempt to improve and promote its image rather than a particular product.

In order for an advertisement to be effective it should meet the following criteria:

• It has to reach its target audience.
• It must be attractive and appealing to its target audience, for example by using particular images or personalities.
• It must bring in a higher amount of money through sales revenue then it took to produce the campaign.

Within the UK there are two bodies which monitor advertisements:

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA): this ensures that any advertisements shown in newspapers, magazines or posters are ‘true, decent, fair and legal’. If consumers complain about an advertisement then it’ll be looked into and could end up being banned.

The Independent Television Commission (ITC): this keeps a check on advertisements broadcast on the radio, television and cinema. As with the ASA, consumer complaints are taken very seriously and could lead to a business being banned from advertising completely.

Branding and packaging

Another way in which businesses make their product stand out against the products of their rivals is via branding and packaging. A company wants to create a certain image in the minds of their consumers and stress the uniqueness of their product..

The brand is another term for expressing the name of the product. Businesses attempt to reflect the product’s character through its brand and to create brand loyalty so that consumer’s repeat-purchase in the future. If the brand is strong then the price can be higher thereby increasing its profit-margin. It’s also a good basis from which to launch new products.

Packaging is also an important way in which consumers can tell one product from another. In addition, it protects the product and can be used to include competitions and prices in order to increase sales further.

Loss leaders

A loss leader is a product often sold by supermarkets. They themselves don’t make a profit but are used to attract customers in who’ll then buy profit-making products as well as loss leaders.

Personal selling

This includes door-to-door selling, exhibitions, and trade fairs. A salesperson is given the opportunity to show how the product works and also gauge how it’s viewed by consumers. This form of selling is also known as direct marketing because the business is in direct contact with its consumers as opposed to reaching them through a retail outlet.

Direct mail

Also known by consumers as ‘junk mail’, this is where promotional material is sent directly to consumers’ homes from a list of known consumers. Although more personal it usually fails to create a big enough sales revenue. Telephone selling is also direct and a little cheaper than the post.

Sales promotions

This is a short-term method used to increase the sales volume of a product. Examples include price discounts, discount coupons, and competitions. Usually they go hand in hand with national advertising campaigns and can be endorsed by personalities. This tactic has been become increasingly popular.