Promotion Mix refers to combination of promotion tools used by the business to inform and persuade customers about the

products. This Job is done by the company through the medium of advertisement, Personal selling, Sales Promotion and publicity. 1. Advertising: Advertisement can be defined as the Paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of idea, goods or services by an identified sponsorer It is an impersonal presentation where a standard or common message regarding the merits, Price and Availability of product or service is given by the producer or marketer. The most common modes od advertisements are newspapers, Magazines, TV, Radio, and internet. The three distinct features of advertising are: a. Paid form: The sponsorer has to pay for advertising. He has to bear a cost to communicate with customers. b. Impersonality: There is no face to face contact between customer and advertiser. It creates a monologue and not a dialogue. c. Idertified Sponsorar: Advertisement is given by an identified company or firm or individual. Advantages: a. Mass reach: Advertising can reach a large market. As through various media of advertising, there is a benefit of mass reach. e.g. Any message given on ALL INDIA RADIO or TV can reach in different corners of the country wherever TV and RADIO network is available. b. Enhancing customer satisfaction and confidence: Customer feel more assured about quality and feel more comfortable if sponserers claim these benefits in advertising. c. Expressiveness: Advertising provides enough opportunities to marketers to dramatize the message with the help of drawings, colours, Pictures, music, dance, etc. They can easily express the use of product through various techniques and can add multimedia effect also. d. Economy: It is always felt that advertising increases the cost of product or sevices but advertising is considered economical as compared to other promotional techniques because it reaches masses and if we calculate cost per customer, it is very low or nominal. Disadvantages: a. Less forceful: In advertising, there is no direct communication between the customer and marketer. The marketer assumes that the message is communicated but the audience or customers do no pay attention to impersonal message

conveyed through advertising. The response of customer can be known in advertising. b. Lack of feedback: The evaluation of the effectiveness of advertising message is very difficult as there is no immediate and accurate feedback mechanism of the message that is delivered. c. Inflexibility: It is very difficult to change advertisement as companies use standardized message which cannot be changed according to the need of customers. d. Advertising is less effective: In advertising there is only one way communication i.e. communication from seller only but two way communication is always more effective as in this communication the customer gets chance to clarify his/ her queries. Sometimes customers have many doubts regarding the use of product. These doubts can be clarified only when there is two way communication. Objections to advertising: a. Adds to cost: The more serious objection to advertisement is that it increases the price of product because the firms spend a huge amount on advertisement and these expenses are added to the cost and consumer has to pay higher for the product or service. This objection is also not correct because advertisements product the demand increase in demand which increases the sale and this leads to increase in production. With increase in production, the companies can get the economies of scale, which reduces the production, and thus the increase in cost due to expenses on advertisements gets compensated. So, if an advertisement is used properly, it brings reduction in cost in the long run. b. Undermines social values: The major objection on advertisement is that it promotes materialism. The advertisements inform people about more and more products, the use of existing products and the new products are shown dramatically to attract the customers. This knowledge about more and more products induce the customers to buy more and more products. They start demanding the products, which they do not even require. If there was no advertising we would be less aware of material things and we can be more contented. We do not agree with this objection, as it is wrong to say that a person who is least informed is the most contented or satisfied. Advertisement in fact buyers buy informing them about the new products, which may be improvement over the existing products. If the buyers are not informed about these products, they may be using inefficient products. Further, the job of an advertisement is to inform. The final choice to buy or not to buy is any way rests with the buyers. They will buy if the advertised product satisfies some of the needs. They may be motivated to work harder, to be able to purchase the products.

c. Advertising confuses rather than helps. Number of advertisements shown in TV and radio are increasing day by day. E.g. if we take TV, there are so many advertisements of different companies shown such as LG, ONIDA, SONY, SAMSUNG, VIDEOCON. Each brand claiming, they are the best. These claims by different companies confuses the customer and it becomes very difficult for him to make choice. The supporters of advertisements however, argue that we are all rational human beings who make our decisions for purchase of products on factors such as price, style, size, etc. Thus the buyer can clear the confusion by analyzing the information provided on advertisement s and other sources before taking a decision to purchase a product. However, the criticism cannot be completely overruled. d. Advertising encourages sale of inferior and dubious products: The advertisement show all types of products irrespective of their quality. With the help of advertising, anything can be sold in the market. The objection to sale of inferior goods is not correct because what is inferior and what is superior depends upon the economic status and preference. Everyone cannot afford to buy superior quality expensive products but it does not mean they should not use the product. The lower income group people satisfy their needs with low cost inferior goods e.g. Those people who cannot afford the shoes of NIKE or REEBOK have to satisfy with local brands only. So it is not advertisements which encourages sale of goods, it is one s pocket or financial capacity which decides this. e. Some Advertisements are bad in taste: Another objection to advertisements is that advertisements use bad language, the way they are speaking, may not appeal everyone, sometimes women are shown in the advertisements where they are not required. A woman in the after shave lotion or in the advertisements of suitings etc. Some advertisements distort relationship between employeer-employee., Mother in law and daughter in law, etc. e.g., in advertisement of Band-Aid, Detergent, feviquick, etc. Although those types of advertisements should be avoided, but it cannot be an objection because good or bad taste differs from person to person. Is is a matter of personal opinion as to what was not accepted by yesterday s generations is accepted by today s generation and they may not find it of bad taste. f. Conclusion: There may be some chances of misuse of advertising as a tool, which can be properly safeguarded by the law or by developing code of conduct by the advertisers. For their self regulation. However, most of the criticism against advertising is not entirely true. In the changing economic environment of globalization, advertising is considered as an important tool of marketing. It helps a firm in effective communicating with its target market, increasing the sale and thereby reducing the per unit cost of production. It is not a social waste. ; rather is adds value to social cause by giving a boost to production and generating employment. What factors will you keep in mind before selection a particular medium of advertisement?

Nature of product, Size of the business firm, message to be communicated, area of coverage, preeminence and cost of advertisement, are some factors which you will in mind before selection a particular medium of advertisement. Advertising misleads customers and increases the cost of products. Do you agree with this statement? Give reason in support of your answer. NO, we do not agree with this statement. Explain 1st and 3rd points from objection to advertising. 2. Personal Selling: Personal selling involves oral presentations off message in the form of conversation with one or more prospective customers for the purpose of making sales. It is a personal form of communication. Companies appoint sale persons to contact prospective buyers and create awareness about the product and develop product preferences with the aim of making sales. FEATURES OF PERSONAL SELLING: a. Personal Interaction: In personal selling, the buyers and sellers have face to face interaction. This closeness allows both the parties to observe each other s actions closely. b. Relationship: When the seller and buyer come together, this may improve relation between the customer and seller. Sales person normally make friendly relations with the customers.

MERITS OF PERSONAL SELLING a. Flexibility: There is a lot of flexibility in personal selling. The sales presentation can be adjusted to fit the specific needs of the individual customers. b. Direct Feedback: As there is direct face to face communication in personal selling, it is possible to take direct feedback from the customer and to adopt the presentation according to the needs of the prospects. ROLES OF PERSONAL SELLING A. Importance to businessman: Personal selling is an important tool to increase the sale. It is important for businessman due to following reasons. i. Effective promotional tool: Personal selling is an effective tool to increase the sale of product. Sales man explains the merits of products to customers. ii. Flexible tools: Personal selling efforts can be changed according to the type of customer. Salesmen are attending. They may change the offer in varying purchase situations.

Minimum wastage of efforts: As compared to other methods of promotion, in personal selling the wastage of efforts is minimum. iv. Consumer Attention: Through personal selling it is easy to get the attention of the customer and there is a face interaction between salesman and customer. v. Lasting relationship: Personal selling helps create lasting relationship between customers and sales persons which help in increasing sale. vi. Personal Support: Through personal selling salesman create personal support with the customers. This can improve competitive strength of the organization. vii. Very effective to introduce new product: Personal selling is very effective to introduce a new product as salesman can explain the merits, show the demonstration and clarify the doubts of the customers. viii. Link with customers: Sales people play three different roles namely persuasive role, service role, and informative role and thereby link a business firm to its customers. B. Importance to customers: Personal Selling is very important from customers point of view, as customers can get required information about the product from customers. Customers are benefitted by personal selling in the following ways. i. Helps in identifying needs: Sales men help the customers to discover their needs and wants and they also want customers to discover their needs and wants and they also help customers to know how these needs and wants can be satisfied. ii. Latest market information: In personal selling, a salesman provides information regarding the new products available. In the market, uses of the products etc. iii. Expert advice: Customers can get expert advice and guidance in purchasing various goods and services. iv. Induces customers. Personal Selling induces customers to buy products for satisfying their needs. C. Importance to society: Personal selling brings following positive effects to the society. i. Converts latent demand into effective demand: Personal selling creates effective demand, which results in increasing sale and more income. With more income, there will be more products and services, which in turn bring economic growth. ii. Employment Opportunities: Unemployed youth can work as salesmen and earn their livelihood.

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Career Opportunities: Personal selling offers attractive career with job satisfaction and security. Mobility of sales person: Sales persons people move from one place to other, this promotes travel and tourism industry. Product standardization: With the help of personal selling, there can be uniformity of consumption by supplying undersized products. PERSONAL SELLING It is formal form of communication Flexible messages can be changes according to type of customers. Only limited number of customers can be contacted. Cost per person is high as at a time limited members can be contacted. It takes long time to cover the market Doesn t make use of mass media Direct feedback can be collected by salesman More useful for industrial and customized products.

SR. ADVERTISING NO. 1 It is impersonal form of communication. 2 Less flexible as standardized messages are used. 3 It reaches masses 4 5 6 7 8 Cost per person is less as it covers large number of people. Covers market in short time Makes use of mass media No direct feedback can be obtained More useful for standardized and consumer products

3. PUBLICITY : Publicity is a non- paid form of impersonal communication. It is just like advertisement except that advertisement is a paid form whereas publicity is non-paid. e.g. Some events are covered in news and technology of any product is discussed in news free of cost. FEATURES OF PUBLICITY: a. Publicity is an unpaid form of communication. b. There is no identified sponsor when message is given to general public. MERITS: a. More credibility: In publicity the message is given by an independent source. E.g. News, press, etc. So people have more trust in this as compared to advertisement. b. Mass reach: Through publicity, message can reach more number of people as people give more importance to information given in news and they do not pay attention to advertisement. DEMERITS: a. No Control: Firms have to control over the information which is given in the advertisement. b. Limited information: In publicity only news worthy information is given, so firms cant use publicity as an effective tool to promote sale.