Impact of Promotion in the Marketing of Goods

David and Geoff (2000) noted that in trying to market a product, a firm uses promotion, which is one of the four market mix or the four P’s of marketing.

Promotion: – is the final element of the marketing mix and has the most direct influence on sales because personal selling itself is considered as one element of the total promotional mix of a company while other element of this sub-mix include advertising, sales promotion and publicity. Product planning, pricing and distribution are marketing activities, firm gets its chance to communicate with potential customers to “beat the drum” about its product. Promotional mix is the combination of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and publicity/public relations and used to reach the goal of the marketing programme.

He went further to say that the statement “nothing happens until somebody sells something” expresses well the place of promotional activities in today’s business world.

The objectives of a promotion directed at consumers could be to:

• Draw attention to a new product or line
  • Encourage sales of slow-moving items
  • Stimulate off peak sales of selected items
  • To achieve higher levels of customers acceptance/ usage of a product or product line

The objectives of trade-oriented promotions could to

• Encourage dealerretailer in published particular line
• Persuade dealerretailer to devote increased shelf to organizations products
• Development good will of dealer/retailer

Basically, promotion is an excesses in information, persuasion and communication.

These three are related because to inform is to persuade and conversely a person who is also being informed. Persuasion and information becomes more effective through some terms of communication. In line with system approach, a company should treat all its promotional effort as a complete sub-system within the total marketing system. Coordinating sales force activities, advertising programs and other promotional efforts off course are effective marketing programme. Efforts should also be coordinated in the product planning, pricing and distribution, sub-system in a firm.

The aims of organizational promotional activities is to bring existing or potential customers from a state of relative unawareness of the organization’s product to a state of adopting them.

1. Unawareness of products
2. Awareness in products
3. Interest in product
4. Desire for the product
5. Conviction about the value of the product
6. Adoption/purchase of product

Advertising and publicity have been the broadest application since they can affect every stage.

Personal selling and sales promotion by contrast are more effective from stage three above, to the last stage.

Promotion is primarily for profit and to sell product.

The impact of promotion in marketing is listed below i.e. apart from profit making.

1. Identification of decision makers and decision on influence
2. Building interest
3. Developing awareness of needs
4. Assisting the reducing risk process
5. Making the product available
6. Marketing competition

MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION

COLE (1982) and PORTER’S (1980) in, management theory and practice noted that “marketing” – is the one function of management which has to be more concerned with what is going on outside the organization than with what is happening internally. Marketing activities are conducted mainly across the external boundaries of the organizational system and they are undertaken by manager of all kinds not only by marketing specialists.

“Distribution” of the product has a psychological and a physical aspect and both aspects refer to the process of persuading the consumers to purchase the product. The physical aspect is concerned with the process of getting the product from the factory to the consumers. In the first stage, the consumer becomes convinced of the desirability of the product.

1. Handling of the products
2. Packing packaging
3. Storage
4. Transportation

ADVERTISING AS A PROMOTIONAL TOOL

American Marketing Association (1960) sees advertising as “Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas goods or services by an identified sponsor”.

Frank, also sees “advertising as a promotional message printed, written, spoken or communicated by means of graph salesmanship.” He said advertising is a powerful promotional tool. The Nigerian market spends over 90 million Naira annually on advertising, and it takes many from viz national, regional, local consumers product, brand, industries, institution, retail and so on desired to achieve a variety of objective (immediate sales brand and recognition) preference etc.

Advertising Effectiveness:

Bottling sees the above as it involve two ways

1. Is to consider the results of the advertising in achieving target market improvements in specific tasks e.g. increasing brands awareness in a specific market.
2. Is to consider the impact of advertising on sales. Generally it is easier to access the impact of specific advertising campaigns on the sales in specific product area.

From the above definitions, it will be observed that advertising could be carried out through a paid media by some identified sponsors. It is therefore viewed as a marketing objectives, that takes a long time to achieve results. The major media are as follows

1. Radio
   1. Television
   2. Newspaper
   3. Information on specific campaigns obtained by interview
   4. Information on the calculation of figures for printed media
   5. Magazines
   6. Direct mails
   7. Out door advertising

TYPES OF ADVERTISING

1. Product advertising: this type of advertising makes words and pictures to be concerted, to enable readers or viewers to think more highly of specific products.
2. Consumers advertising: some producers use advertising to reach and influence individuals in relations to items for their personal and household use.
3. Trade advertising: these messages are usually directed towards middlemen, wholesalers, retailers etc. this happens when management feels that marketing department sales force is not contributing enough.
4. Industrial advertising: these messages are directed at other producers for the purchase of equipments, raw materials components parts, services, stationeries, etc.
5. Retail advertising: is aimed at consumers through retail outlets.
6. Institutional advertising
7. Professional advertising
8. Idea advertising
9. Cooperative advertising: producers of similar products can jointly present the product through a common advertising.
10. International advertising: is designed at disseminating information about products across national and even continental boundaries e.g. producers of the coke produce carries out advertising in Atlanta.

2.4 SALES PROMOTION AS A PROMOTIONAL TOOL

Kotles (2003) defines, sales promotion as “those marketing activities, other advertising, personal selling and publicity that are designed to stimulate consumers purchasers and deals effectiveness such as displays, shows and exhibitions, demonstrations and various non-current selling efforts not in the ordinary routine” in effects, sales promotion serves as a bridge between advertising and personal selling. He said, sales promotion is one of the most loosely used forms in marketing vocabulary. However, he said that the increasing growth of sales promotional activities is due to its acceptance and effectiveness in the competitive market place. Creative sales promotion is a learned skill not a side line for amateur. Example of possible objectives that may be achieved through sales promotional activities where given which include the following.

1. Encouragement of repeat purchase
2. building of long-term customers loyalty
3. they encourage consumers to visit a particular sales outlets
4. building up of retail stock levels
5. the widening or increase in the distribution of a product or brand

THE EVALUATION OF SALES PROMOTION:

Porter (1980) sees the above statement not to be clear cut matter, mainly on account of other variable in the overall marketing mix. The most popular method of evaluation is to measure sales and or share market before, during and after this promotion period. The ideal result is one which shows a significant increase during the promotion and a sustained, if some what small increase after the promotion. He sees sales promotional activities as a form of indirect advertising design to stimulate sales mainly by the use of incentives. Sales promotion is sometimes called “below the

• Line advertising in contrast with above.
  • Line-expenditure which is handled by an external advertising agency. Sales promotional activities are organized and funded by the organization own resources”

Promotional mix brands should be marketed according to a plan covering product development, packaging market research, distribution and promotional expenditures. Examples of sales promotional activitiestools

1. Free samples
2. Twin-pack bargains (two for the price of one)
3. Temporary price reductions or price off
4. Point-of- sale demonstration
5. Special discount
6. Cooperative advertising
7. Bonusprices for sales representatives

Sales promotion falls in to the first category of push because they are not two, push and pull strategies. The aim is offering various incentives at measures.

SELECTINGREAPRAISING SALES CHANNELS.

William and Michael (1994) see that company must take into consideration a number of factors.

1. Market
2. Channel costs
3. The product
4. Product life cycle
5. Profit potential
6. Channel structures
7. Non-marketing factors

He went further to list out the sales promotional tools: the selection of such promotional objective, competition, cost-effectiveness and consumers promotion.

The tools are as follows:

1. Coupons or voucher
2. Competition
3. point-of sales demonstration
4. Specialtiesgifts
5. Seasonal discount prices
6. Free training
7. Push money
8. Buy-back allowance

PERSONAL SELLING AS A POMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES

Baker (2003) sees personal selling as the oral presentation in a conversation with one or more prospective purchases for the purpose of making sales.

Promotion is communication with potential customers and actual and personal selling is often the best way to do these because of the advantage of face situation which gives the sales man an opportunity to have or be given better attention than the attention that would have been given for an advert or display. The sales man during personal contact with the prospect can adjust his presentation as he goes along, stay in tune with prospect feedback, and might be a good idea the sales and take the order.

Sales representatives are often very important parts of marketing mix because they can adopt the company’s marketing mix to the needs and circumstances of each potential customer.

Personal selling, face to face selling provides immediate feedback which helps salesmen to adopt effectively.

Selling involves the three basic tasks which must be performed i.e.

1. Order getting
2. Order taking
3. Supporting

Cole (1982) in management theory and practices, stated that “however vivid the message put over by advertising there is no substitute for the final face to face meeting between the buyer and selling or his representatives” he said that advertising creates the interest and the desire, but personal selling clinches the deal. In industrial markets as was noted earlier, personal selling plays an eve more extensive role for the moment, consideration is put forward as the basic sales process which generally encompasses five immediate aims, plus a follow-up shown below:

Establishing customers contact

Arousing interest in the product

Creating a presence for product

Making a proposal for sale

Closing the sale

Retaining the business

Personal selling dominate advertising and the most expensive form of promotion.

Companies which utilize an aggressive sales policy on personal selling which are said to be adopted a push strategy. So by comparison, firms which rely more heavily on advertising are described as adopting a pull strategy. Personal selling according to him, has the advantage of being more flexible in operation. The steps involved in personal selling popularly known as AIDA are attention, interest, desire and action. Obtaining attention is obviously a necessity for the potential customers to become aware of and have knowledge of the company’s product or offering, holding interest gives the communication a chance of really guiding the prospects interest in the product and a liking of it, aroused desire favourably effect and affects the evaluation process. Most cases consumers as said by him, go through series of stages before deciding to purchase a product, it is necessary for the communicator to know the buyer’s readiness stages and access were the target audience is at a particular time. The purpose is for the sales person to be able to appear and address the customers or prospect with the most effective message, through the most effective medium. Either to put an idea into the consumer mind (cognitive), change the consumers present attitude (affective response) or to get the consumer to get a specific behavioural response. He went further to disclose that the task of sales representative exist in the routine order-taking role. This include other duties than making sales, which comprise of:

1. After-sales servicing (dealing with technical queries, delivery matters, etc.).
2. Gathering information (feedback on customers reactions competitors activities etc.).
3. Communications at regular information to customers and prospective buyers (new catalogues etc.).
4. Prospecting (looking out for new selling opportunities)

To fulfill these duties a sales representative needs to have relevant information about the following:

1. The organization he belongs (customer policies), resources available, organizational structure, etc
   1. The product on offer (goods, services ranges)
   2. sales and profit targets
   3. Customers (size, types, location, etc.).
   4. Promotional materials (brochures, catalogues)

Techniques of selling (creating interest clearing with objectives, closing a state).