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.
- Unawareness of products
- Awareness in products
- Interest in product
- Desire for the product
- Conviction about the value of the product
- 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.
- Identification of decision makers and decision on influence
- Building interest
- Developing awareness of needs
- Assisting the reducing risk process
- Making the product available
- 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.
- Handling of the products
- Packing packaging
- Storage
- 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
- 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.
- 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
