The Retail Promotion Mix:
Retail Promotional
Mix is the cost-effective combination of personal
selling, advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, and public relations
strategies used to reach company’s goal.
It almost goes
without saying that every business needs to promote itself and its products
and services.
The
traditional “Retail Promotional Mix” elements consist
of five categories: Sales Promotion, Publicity, Advertising, Public
Relations, and Personal Selling.
A promotional
mix is an allocation of resources among five primary elements:
1. Advertising. Advertising is any paid form of media
communication. This includes print ads in magazines, trade journals and
newspapers, radio and TV announcements, Web-based visibility-building, and
billboards. Advertising is a nonpersonal promotional activity because the
seller has no direct contact with the potential customer during the communication
process.
2. Sales
Promotions. In-store
demonstrations, displays, contests and price incentives (50% off,
buy-one-get-one-free) are sales promotion techniques.
3. Public
Relations. These activities
promote a positive image, generate publicity and foster goodwill with the
intent of increasing sales. Generating favourable media coverage, hosting
special events and sponsoring charitable campaigns are examples of public
relations.
4. Direct
Marketing. A form of
advertising aimed directly at target customers (usually in their homes or
offices) that asks the receiver to take action, such as ordering a product,
clipping a coupon, phoning a toll-free number or visiting a store. Catalogues,
coupon mailers and letters are common forms of direct marketing.
5. Personal
Selling. Face-to-face
communication between buyer and seller.
Retail
Promotion Mix and Its Components
(a) Sales Promotion:
Sales promotion programs are used by a
wide range of organizations in both the consumer and business markets, though
the frequency and spending levels are much greater for FMCG goods. Sales
promotion describes promotional methods using special short-term techniques to
persuade customers of a target market to respond or make purchases. As a
reward, retailers offer goods at an affordable price or provide with certain
gift items.
Sales promotions are usually confused
with advertising. For instance, a television advertisement mentioning a contest
awarding winner with a free trip to a foreign country may give the contest the
impression of advertising. While the delivery of the marketer’s message through
television media is certainly labelled as advertising, what is contained in the
message, namely the contest, is considered a sales promotion.
Some examples of
popular sales promotions activities:
(i) 5% cash
back
(ii) Buy one
get one free
(iii)
Discounted prices
(iv) Free
finance facility
(v) Free gifts
(vi) Free
samples
(vii) Joint
Promotions between retailer and manufacturers
(viii)
Offering bonus points on every purchase
(ix) Online lucky number checking
(x) Vouchers and coupons
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