SOFTSKILL 2

A.     Promotion

     Promotion is one of the market mix elements, and a term used frequently in marketing. The specification of five promotional mix or promotional plan. These elements are personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, and publicity. A promotional mix specifies how much attention to pay to each of the five subcategories, and how much money to budget for each. A promotional plan can have a wide range of objectives, including: sales increases, new product acceptance, creation of brand equity, positioning, competitive retaliations, or creation of a corporate image. Fundamentally, however there are three basic objectives of promotion. These are:

1. To present information to consumers as well as others.
2. To increase demand.
3. To differentiate a product.

There are different ways to promote a product in different areas of media. Promoters use internet advertisement, special events, endorsements, and newspapers to advertise their product. Many times with the purchase of a product there is an incentive like discounts, free items, or a contest. This is to increase the sales of a given product.

B.     Communicating information promotion

     The job of marketing is to identify consumer wants and then satisfy these wants with the right kind of products, at the right place and at the right price.  The purpose of promotion in the marketing function is to convey to customers about the features of the product and how it will satisfy consumer wants or any other relevant information needed by consumers to affect sales.  For example, if a refrigerator manufacturer is planning to offer  off-season discount, it is essential to communicate to potential customers about the extent of discount, period during which discount is available, name of the stores where it is available etc.  If all such information is not communicated to potential customers, lowering of prices will not be beneficial to either the consumer or the manufacturer.  Promotion is, thus, an essential part of the marketing function as it is essentially communication.

C.     Persuasive Promotion

     Promotion is persuasive communication in any free enterprise system where firms develop and offer a wide range of new and better products, there are full of messages and distractions of all sorts.   Consumer often have to select the products from among a wise range of competing products.  As consumers do not have time and energy to compare the competing products physically, they turn to advertisements for product information.  The present business environment being highly competitive, each firm wants the customers to buy its brand. Thus, persuasion is another goal of promotion. In other words, promotion is persuasive communication.

D.     Sales promotion

     Sales promotion  is an important component of a small business's overall marketing strategy, along with advertising, public relations, and personal selling. The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines sales promotion as "media and nonmedia marketing pressure applied for a predetermined, limited period of time in order to stimulate trial, increase consumer demand, or improve product quality." But this definition does not capture all the elements of modern sales promotion. One should add that effective sales promotion increases the basic value of a product for a limited time and directly stimulates consumer purchasing, selling effectiveness, or the effort of the sales force. It can be used to inform, persuade, and remind target customers about the business and its marketing mix. Some common types of sales promotion include samples, coupons, sweepstakes, contests, in-store displays, trade shows, price-off deals, premiums, and rebates.

     Businesses can target sales promotions at three different audiences: consumers, resellers, and the company's own sales force. Sales promotion acts as a competitive weapon by providing an extra incentive for the target audience to purchase or support one brand over another. It is particularly effective in spurring product trial andunplanned purchases. Most marketers believe that a given product or service has an established perceived price or value, and they use sales promotion to change this price-value relationship by increasing the value and/or lowering the price. Compared to the other components of the marketing mix (advertising, publicity, and personal selling), sales promotion usually operates on a shorter time line, uses a more rational appeal, returns a tangible or real value, fosters an immediate sale, and contributes highly to profitability.

E.     Remiding Information

     A marketing strategy typically consisting of brief messages sent with the objectiveof reminding a target consumer group about a product or service or of introducing a new theme into an existing marketing program. Reminder advertising might be used by a business that has already invested considerable resources in initially promoting their product or service and still wishes to maintain its competitiveness.

F.      Promotion Program

     A health promotion program sometimes known as a wellness program is a type of employee benefit that encompasses the various efforts companies make to promote and maintain their employees' health. Examples of health promotion programs might include company-sponsored smoking cessation training, visits with a nutritionist to receive information about healthy cooking, discounted fitness center memberships, or free cholesterol testing.

            Offering health promotion programs to employees provides small businesses with a number of potential benefits. For example, they may decrease their health care costs, increase worker productivity, reduce absenteeism, and encourage employee loyalty. In addition to improving their general health, work-based health promotion programs also make employees feel that the company is concerned about their welfare, which tends to increase their job satisfaction. "Keeping your workers healthy year-round is a great way to decrease absenteeism and improve morale," Ellen Paris wrote in an article for Entrepreneur. "Free cancer screenings, educational seminars, and flu shots may not sound like fun perks, but employees appreciate them."