SALES PROMOTION

Sales Promotion

Sales Promotion

The Role And Function Of Sales Promotion

Marketing communications are intended to both inform and persuade a target audience, with a view to influencing the behaviour of that group. The behaviour of interest to agribusinesses can range from encouraging farmers to adopt improved husbandry practices or to grow a particular crop (or variety of crop), to encouraging industrial or consumer buyers to try a product or service. As has been said on other occasions, each element of the marketing mix must be designed so as to further the overall marketing strategy, and this includes marketing communications.

Sales promotion employs short-term incentives, such as free gifts, money-off coupons, product samples etc., and its effects also tend to be short-term. Therefore, sales promotion is a tactical marketing instrument. Sales promotions may be targetted either at consumers or members of the channel of distribution, or both.(Swanson, 1990:20)

In contrast to advertising, sales promotion is more tactical than strategic. It is usually applied to create an immediate impact, but one which is unlikely to be sustained in the longer term. Thus, marketers tend to use promotion to address short term problems such as reducing the cash burden of overstocked products, stimulating demand during what is traditionally the low season, selling off stocks which are becoming obsolete or are likely to spoil if they remain in storage. Sales promotions may be targetted at consumers, industrial buyers (e.g. crop processors or food manufacturers), channel intermediaries (e.g. traders, wholesalers or retailers) or the organisation's own sales force.( Swanson, 1990:29)

Sales promotions may be targetted on intermediaries as well, or instead of, consumers. Many types of promotion are used in both sectors. Sometimes, however, their objectives are slightly different. Table 10.5 describes the main forms of trade promotions and their various purposes.

Strategy and Tactics

It is rightly said that Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat. So let's compare the strategy and tactics.(Harper, 1975:216)

Tactics are the day-to-day activities that are repeatable in your business and relatively clear-cut. Like blocking and tackling in football, they comprise the basic components of the jobs and the daily activities of any organization - or any business no matter the size.

They are such things as SEO Campaigns, writing an article, creating a website, making a sales call, or perhaps joining an on-line community such as StomperNet, or Rich Schefren's Business Growth System. Tactics ...