Sales promotional strategies should be evaluated twice. First at the stages of implementation and secondly after the final performance because implementation control’ will suggest improvements during the application of the promotional strategy, while ‘performance control’ will be a guide for the future. Implementation control covers initial planning, objectives, promotional packages, and printing of special premiums and packaging materials, distribution to retailers, etc. Even though it has proved successful whenever tried, very few firms adopt this strategy.
Many manufacturers believe only in performance control. Performance is evaluated in the light of planned objectives. Consumer surveys and consumer experiments are used to evaluation techniques show how far the sales promotion techniques have been effective in increasing sales through motivating consumers and sellers, and point the way to improvement in sales promotion.
Sales promotion and product life cycle
The promotional tools vary in their cost effectiveness at different stages of the product life cycle. In the introduction stage, advertising and publicity have high cost effeteness, followed by sales promotional to induce trial and personal selling to gain distribution coverage. In the growth stage, all the tools can be toned down because demand has its own momentum through word-of-mouth.
In the maternity stage, sales promotion, advertising and personal selling all become more important in that order. In the decline stage, sales promotion continues strong, advertising and publicity are reduced and sales people give the product only minimal attention.
Cross Promotion
Under this sales promotion strategy, the manufacturer may use all the potential tools such as advertisement, personal selling and sales promotion to hit the market simultaneously so that the buyer will be induced to buy a product. For example when Deccan Chronicle, a daily newspaper, was introduced in Chennai, the management had used all promotional activities, such as display, holding, price off and media to influence the reader to buy the paper. This promotional strategy in called cross promotion.
Surrogate selling
Under this strategy, when the manufacturer is unable to sell his product in the market he may handover the product to a well known organization to sell on behalf of the manufacturer. This strategy is called surrogate selling. For example, shampoo products are manufactured at Puducherry by a number of small and medium manufactures. But they find it difficult in selling the product in the market. What they have done was, handing over the finished product to Hindustan Lever, Proctor and Gample who have sufficient logistics in selling the product, there by relieving the burden of converting the product into cash. They have in fact act as a surrogate in selling their merchandise in the market.
Bait and Switch advertising
Bait means something that is meant to tempt someone. Under this strategy, the marketing manager use AIDAS formula to tempt someone to look the advertisement and influence him to buy a product. For example, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has used 10 paise prominently in its advertisement to bring the attention of its users in mind which will influence them to go for using the BSNL service. This way of tempting the viewer to opt for BSNL is called Bait advertising. Switch means a device that is pressed or turned to stop or start something working especially by electricity. Switch advertising means when an advertisement is released, it should ignite the minds of the buyer to notice the advertisement and take a decision to buy the product. For example during festival times manufacturer may offer some discount on cash price to the buyer on some selected products. So he has put this in the local newspaper-which would have ignited the minds of the buyers. Buyers will certainly be influenced to buy the product. This strategy is called switch advertising strategy.
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