Business Marketing Guide: the 3 Basic Promotion Objectives
December 29th 2007 13:48
The different promotion methods - personal selling, mass selling, and sales promotion - can all be viewed as different forms of communication. But good marketers aren't interested in just communicating. They want to communicate information that will encourage customers to choose their product. They know that if they have a better offering, informed customers are more likely to buy. Therefore, they're interested in: (1) reinforcing present attitudes that might lead to favorable behavior or (2) actually changing the attitudes and behavior of the firm's target market.
For a firm's promotion to be effective, its promotion objectives must be clearly defined - because the right promotion blend depends on what the firm wants to accomplish. It's helpful to think of the three basic promotion objectives, each of which is discussed below:
1. Informing. Potential customers must know something about a product if they are to buy at all. A firm with a really new product may not have to do anything but inform consumers about it - and show that it meets consumer needs better than other products. For example, when Mazda introduced its stylish and affordable Miata roadster, the uniqueness of the car simplified the promotion job. Excitement about the product also generated a lot of free publicity in car magazines.
2. Persuading. When competitors offer similar products, the firm must not only inform customers that its product is available but also persuade them to buy it. A 'persuading' objective means the firm will try to develop a favorable set of attitudes so customers will buy - and keep buying - its product. Promotion with a persuading objective often focuses on reasons why one brand is better than competing brands. For example, to help convince consumers to buy Tylenol rather than some other firm's brand, Johnson & Johnson's ads tout Tylenol as the pain relief medicine most often used in hospitals.
3. Reminding. If target customers already have positive attitudes about a firm's marketing mix, a 'reminding' objective might be suitable. This objective can be extremely important in some cases. Even though customers have been attracted and sold once, they are still targets for competitors' appeals. Reminding them of their past satisfaction may keep them from shifting to a competitor. For example, Campbell realizes that most people know about its soup - so much of its advertising is intended to remind.
Even more useful is a more specific set of promotion objectives that states exactly 'who' you want to inform, persuade, or remind, and 'why'. But this is unique to each company's strategy - and too detailed to discuss here.
For a firm's promotion to be effective, its promotion objectives must be clearly defined - because the right promotion blend depends on what the firm wants to accomplish. It's helpful to think of the three basic promotion objectives, each of which is discussed below:
1. Informing. Potential customers must know something about a product if they are to buy at all. A firm with a really new product may not have to do anything but inform consumers about it - and show that it meets consumer needs better than other products. For example, when Mazda introduced its stylish and affordable Miata roadster, the uniqueness of the car simplified the promotion job. Excitement about the product also generated a lot of free publicity in car magazines.
2. Persuading. When competitors offer similar products, the firm must not only inform customers that its product is available but also persuade them to buy it. A 'persuading' objective means the firm will try to develop a favorable set of attitudes so customers will buy - and keep buying - its product. Promotion with a persuading objective often focuses on reasons why one brand is better than competing brands. For example, to help convince consumers to buy Tylenol rather than some other firm's brand, Johnson & Johnson's ads tout Tylenol as the pain relief medicine most often used in hospitals.
3. Reminding. If target customers already have positive attitudes about a firm's marketing mix, a 'reminding' objective might be suitable. This objective can be extremely important in some cases. Even though customers have been attracted and sold once, they are still targets for competitors' appeals. Reminding them of their past satisfaction may keep them from shifting to a competitor. For example, Campbell realizes that most people know about its soup - so much of its advertising is intended to remind.
Even more useful is a more specific set of promotion objectives that states exactly 'who' you want to inform, persuade, or remind, and 'why'. But this is unique to each company's strategy - and too detailed to discuss here.
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