Meaning and Definition of Promotion
After determining the planning, development, price, distribution etc. of a commodity, it is decided how to promote its product in the market. In other words, promotion actions are necessary to attract customers to the item. Promotion includes all those activities by which customers get information about the commodity and they are influenced by the item and are motivated to buy the item. Therefore, all those activities are included in the promotion, by which the organization or firm attracts the attention of the customers to its product, such as through the product related information, characteristics and price etc. .
(1) William J. According to Stanton (William J. Stanton), “Promotion includes advertising, personal selling, sales promotion and other sales tools.”
(2) According to McCarthy, “Promotion is the giving, persuading and dissemination of information to consumers, wholesalers, retailers, users or end consumers of the marketing mix of goods, places and prices that the marketing management has collected.” Or a means of reminder.” Thus, we can say that promotion is a means by which the buyers of goods or services are attracted, informed, reminded and persuaded to purchase the goods or services. goes. This includes advertising, sales promotion and personal selling and all other marketing tools.
Objectives of Promotion
Promotion or promotion of a commodity is of great importance in marketing. After the manufacture of the commodity, it is very necessary to reach it to the consumer and demand it by the consumer. It is not possible to maintain the production of that commodity without demand by the consumer. Therefore, it is necessary for the consumer to be informed about the production of the commodity. Thus enforcement has the following objectives
(1) Giving information related to the object – The first purpose of promotion or enforcement activities is to give information. It gives sufficient information about the characteristic of the object.
(2) Remind – Nowadays, in the competitive era, manufacturers of competitive goods are coming into the market with great preparation and it is possible that the consumer may lean towards them. Therefore, repeated reminders are another purpose of promotion or enforcement activities.
(3) Persuading the purchase of the commodity – The purpose of promotion or promotion is to prepare the buyers to purchase the commodity. Buyers cannot be ready in a moment. It is imperative to keep informing and reminding them again and again. When the customer remembers the item again and again, he agrees to buy that item after some time.
(4) Increase in sales – The ultimate objective of promotion activities is to increase the sales of the commodity. Promotion activities increase the sales by making the desired change in the elasticity of demand for the commodity.
Promotional Activities
Promotion includes the following activities or activities
(1) Personal Selling Under personal selling, a seller orally tells the characteristics of the item to those people who are not customers, but if they are influenced then they can become customers. Such persons are called potential customers. Thus, in personal selling, an attempt is made to sell the product to the satisfaction of the buyer. The purpose of personal selling is to generate information about the product, generate interest, develop brand preference and set prices among prospective customers. In this, both the seller and the prospective buyer try to understand each other’s needs and make necessary adjustments so that their meeting can be successful.
(2) Advertisement – Advertising has an important place in the era of modern competition. Through advertisement, new goods are introduced to the consumers and they are motivated to buy the goods. According to Wood, “Advertising is a method of knowing, remembering and doing action.” According to Wheeler, “Advertising is the impersonal presentation of ideas, goods and services for the purpose of motivating people to say what they are paid for.” Thus advertising is a comprehensive process in which various mediums of advertising, such as television, All India Radio, newspapers, magazines, movies, slides, outdoor advertisements, etc., are used. Also the advertising message is repeated over and over. Advertising motivates the customers to buy the advertised item. The purpose of advertising is to benefit the producer and producer, to educate the consumer, to help the seller, to attract the merchants by eliminating the competition, and most of all, to establish a relationship between the producer and the consumer.
(3) Sales Promotion – Sales promotion means all these activities which are done in addition to personal selling, advertising and promotion. For example, distributing coupons, paying premiums, distributing samples, organizing competitions, etc. Ale. Of. According to Johnson, “Sales promotion includes all those activities whose purpose is to perform the functions of sellers, advertising department and distributors and to make the functions of sellers more effective so that sales can increase and consumers take more interest in buying”. to be inspired.” Similarly J. R. In the words of Dobman (JR Daubman), “Sales promotion is meant to simplify the work of the retailers, to create desire in the minds of the customers and to make the merchants better traders.”
(4) Publicity – It is also known as Public Relations. Promotion is impersonal and does not require any payment. Under this, a favorable environment is created by the manufacturer in the market and the general public. For this, favorable news about products or services are broadcast on newspapers, magazines, Doordarshan, Radio etc. That is, the manufacturer does not have to pay for the promotion, but the marketing executives should not mistake it as ‘free publicity’.
Factors Influencing Promotion Many factors affect the techniques and tools of promotion, the main ones being the following
(1) Nature of Product – The nature of the commodity is an important factor affecting the promotion. In this view, different techniques of promotion are adopted for consumer goods and industrial goods.
(2) Availability of Funds – Financial instruments of the firm also affect the promotion. Large firms may adopt television advertising, large prize competitions, while smaller firms are confined to wall and local newspaper advertisements and personal selling.
(3) Scope of the Marker – The market area of the product to be produced or sold also affects the promotion. The market area can be local, provincial, national or international.
(4) Types of Customers – The type of customers can be rural customers or urban customers, male customers or female customers, consumer customers, industrial customers or intermediate customers. It also affects the various forms of enrichment.
(5) Life Cycle of the Product – The Product Life-Cycle of an object also affects the decision-making regarding the promotion of the object. In this it has to be seen whether the article is new i.e. it is being introduced in the market for the first time or the commodity is already sufficiently prevalent in the market.
(6) Methods of Sales Promotion of the Competitions – In determining the promotion methods, it is also necessary to keep in mind which methods are being adopted by the competitions.
(7) Government Policies – In the adoption of promotion techniques, it is also necessary to follow the government rules and practices. In this regard, the government has put many restrictions on advertisements and if they do not do so, they are bound to be punished according to the law.
(8) Price of the product – The price per unit of the commodity and the total amount of sales also affect the promotion. If a substantial amount of profit is added to the price of the commodity, then the chances of making an improvement are high, because the promotion expense is expected to come out when its sales increase.
(9) Business Traditions – Business practices and traditions also have an impact on promotion in the context of India. In this, gifts etc. are important on the occasion of various festivals and fairs.
(10) Objectives of Manufactures The purpose of the manufacturer also affects the promotion, e.g. if the purpose of the manufacturer is to reach the goods to the masses, then he will adopt promotion activities, but on the contrary, if his purpose is only for some people. If the object is to be delivered only, then it will either not adopt the enrichment actions or else it will adopt it in a limited part.
Importance of Promotion
In the present age where there is imperfect competition or there is a monopoly due to commodity diversification, the buyer lacks information and his own behavior is unreasonable, then reporting such a situation is of great importance. The following factors have increased this importance further and have made it necessary that the means of augmentation or communication combination must be adopted even if their quantity is small. Following are the components
(1) Face of Competition – Nowadays the era is called the era of competition because competition is found in every field. One industry competes with another industry. Due to the presence of many organizations in the same industry, there is competition among them. This competition has a great impact on promotion. Nowadays the manufacturer not only fulfills the need but also fulfills the psychology of the customer. Thus, in order to deal effectively with the competition, not only does the help of promotion have to be taken but a suitable promotion program has to be made. Customer demand is always sluggish. The job of the competitor producer is to generate and awaken that demand. Thus competition has forced the adoption of promotion program or communication mix which provides great support in the marketing of goods.
(2) Greater distance between producers and consumers – The increasing distance between the consumer and the producers day by day, the promotion or communication activities help in merging these two.
(3) Development of distribution channels – The development of distribution channels has also increased a lot and many links have come between the producer and the consumer. Therefore, it is necessary for the manufacturer to adopt such a policy so that its information is not only available to the consumers from time to time but also to the intermediaries. A manufacturer informs the wholesaler, the wholesaler to the retailer and the retailer to the consumer, thus the development of distribution channels has increased the importance of promotion and communication activities.
(4) Facing economic recession – When there is a recession in the economic world, it reduces the sale of the commodity very much. In such a situation, promotion and communication facilities are helpful in sustaining sales, so that marketing activities continue.
(5) Creating a high standard of living Using more things is a sign of a high standard of living. Promotion or promotion gives information about goods of which the consumer is not aware. When the consumer becomes aware, he buys them and makes his standard of living higher.
(6) Employment If the demand for the goods is less then the progress of the business stops and the manufacturer is forced to lay off the employees. Promotion helps in maintaining sales so that employment opportunities remain intact and there is no need for layoffs.
(7) Promotion expenses are the marketing expenses of a commodity much more than the productive expenses of that good. These marketing expenses also include promotion.
