Meaning of Promotion
| Promotion provides sufficient information to the consumers of target market about the features, quality, price and place of availability of goods. Promotion is taken as an important element of marketing mix. Marketing experts may give valuable suggestion to producers to produce goods, according to the interest, wants and needs of the customers by studying and researching markets. |
Promotional activities make a flow of information about products and persuade the customers to buy the products. Such type of function is also known as the marketing communication. This makes the potential customers know about the products or services. Effective communication persuades the customers to buy the products. These types of promotional activities also create demands as it explains necessity to the customers. So, this can also be defined as the art of creating demand. Different writers and experts have defined promotion; important definitions are given as follows to make its meaning clearer:
Prof. Philip Kotler has defined promotion as, "Promotion includes all the activities the company undertakes the communication and promote its products to the target market."
Prof. William J. Stanton has defined it as, "Promotion in the element in an organization marketing mix that serves to inform, persuade and remind the market of the organization and or its products."
E. J. McCarthy has defined promotion as, "Promotion is any method of informing, persuading or reminding consumers, wholesalers, retailers, users or final consumers about the marketing mix of product, place and price which has been assembled by the marketing manager."
The above mentioned definitions make it clear that promotion is one of the important tools of marketing. It creates demand in target markets and gives information to the customers about products. Promotional activities should be conducted to give information, make believe, motivate or persuade, influence, and remind the customers about products. Such activities greatly as well as positively affect sales and distribution of the products. So, nowadays, almost all the business companies or firms conduct promotional activities attractively. So, the modern age is also called the age of promotion.
Objectives of Promotion
Promotional activities give information, make believe, remind the customers of target markets about the products. Some important objectives are formed to conduct such activities effectively. The important objectives are:
1. Informing
At first the promotion aims to make flow of information to consumers about products. It provides information about features, benefits, price, utility, etc. of the products to the customers, wholesalers, retailers, consumers etc. Such information creates positive attitude in all customers towards the products. This also makes aware the potential customers and intermediaries. Promotion also provides buying alternatives to the ultimate users. So, the objective of providing information is given first priority.
2. Persuading
Producers should make customers believe in their products for expanding their markets. The second important objective is to make the customers believe in the products. Customers do not get motivated only by giving simple information about the products. It is compulsory to make the customers believe in products. For this, they should be made known about the quality, feature, price, utility etc. of the products. Trust can bring changes in behavior, feeling, thought, attitude and trend of the customers. Only then the customers are motivated to buy products of the newly promoted brand. The customers are not affected by any substitution goods due to the flow of impressive information of the promotion of the new brand goods.
3. Reminding
Different business firms product different types of products. Various kinds of goods appear in markets. In such situation, the customers should be reminded of the information once given. They may be confused in reminding because of different goods in the markets. All the customers may not have such memory power to remember brand of the goods. On the one hand, such situation exists, and on the other hand, many competitors try to divert customers' attention to other side. So, the customers should also be given regular information, information about the organization/firm and goods together. While providing such information about price, quality, utility features, and benefits etc. of the products also should be given to the customers.
4. Reassuring / assuring
The fourth objective of promotion is to give assurance to the customers. They express concern whether their decision has become right or wrong. Their problems should be solved through very simple way. In such situation, assurance should be given by making clear about the benefit of the product. Such assurance gives positive strength towards buying decision. It removes or minimizes their dissatisfaction or confusion. This develops a feeling in the customers that their buying decision is rational and the product is the best. It also plays an important role to maintain image and prestige of the company.
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