IMPORTANCE OF SALES PROMOTION

  

IMPORTANCE OF SALES PROMOTION   

 

BY

SMART LEARNING WAY

CONTENTS 

•          Introduction of sales promotion

•          Definition of sales promotion

•          Importance of sales promotion

•          Conclusion

•          Bibliography

INTRODUCTION OF SALES PROMOTION

•          The term sales promotion covers a wide range of activities intended to provide a short-term increase in sales, Some sales promotions are aimed at retailers, some are aimed at consumers, others are aimed at wholesalers, but in all cases the intention is to provide an extra incentive to buy [ to stock] a specific brand or product range.  

•          Sales promotion consists of a diverse collection of incentives tools, mostly short-term designed to stimulate quicker and greater purchases of a particular product by consumers. 

•          When advertising offers a reasons to buy, sales promotion offer an incentive to buy.

DEFINITION OF SALES PROMOTION

·               “Those marketing activities, other than personal selling, advertising, and publicity that stimulate consumer purchasing and dealing effectiveness, such as displays, shows and exhibitions, demonstration and various non- recurrent efforts not in the ordinary routine is known as sales promotion.”-American marketing Association.  

·                   “Sales promotion consists of all those activities whose purpose is to supplement, to coordinate and to make more effective efforts of the sales force, of the advertising department and of the distributors and dealers to increase sales and otherwise stimulate consumers to take greater initiative in buying.”-By L.K. Johnson

·           “Sales promotion is an organized efforts applied to the selling job to secure the greatest effectiveness for advertising and for dealer’s help”- By George w. Hopkins

·             “ We define sales promotion as those promotional activities ( other than advertising, personal selling, and publicity) that are intended to stimulate customers demand and to improve middlemen’s marketing performance.”- By W. J. Stanton.

·          “ Sales promotion is a short term prize, gift or product incentives designed to include purchase when offered to distributors , industrial users, or consumer.- By Tull & Kahel.   

•          IMPORTANCE OF SALES PROMOTION

 Sales promotion is an important component of a promotion campaigning programme. It can be specific tool of the marketing strategy of an enterprise. Because of increasing level of competition and costs of advertisement, producers largely use this technique as a promotional tool. 

 Sale promotion techniques are not only useful to the producers and distributors, but also are useful to consumers. The importance of sales promotion may be grouped as follows:

a). Importance to Consumers.

b). Importance to Manufactures/Producers.

c). Importance to Dealers/Middleman.

d). Importance to Society & the nation.

A)  IMPORTANCE TO CONSUMER

1. Sufficient product knowledge:-

                     Various consumer promotion methods such as demonstrations, training to use the product, etc. give sufficient product’s knowledge to consumer with regard to uses, operations, maintenance or upkeep of the product.    

2. Availability of product at reduced prices:-

                Sales promotional tools like prices-off deals, premium offers, discounts, etc. reduce the price of the product when purchased on notified occasions.

3. Increase in consumers buying confidence:- 

                           Free samples offered under the sales promotion programme give the potential consumers an opportunity to use the goods and satisfy with the quality of product. This experience may give them confidence to take a better decision towards the purchases of products.

4. Increases in the quality of goods purchased :-

                         Stimulated by the various promotional incentives like free goods, premium and coupons, etc. the buyer are attracted towards larger purchases than their usual needs to avail the opportunity.

5. Higher slandered of living :-

                       The consumer also get plenty of opportunities in using the new , cheaper & durable items, to their satisfaction, which may help them to maintain a higher standard of living. 

                                                 

6. Minimize exploitation :-

                      The consumer promotion programme gives sufficient knowledge about product and substitutes available for a product, its quality and price. As a result, a seller cannot be able to create a monopoly in his product an exploit the consumers. This may be the reason that for product like soaps. Detergent, toothpastes, etc. the exploitation is not at all possible.  

B)  IMPORTANCE TO PRODUCER / MANUFACTURE

1. Increases in sales :-

                                       sales promotion programme attracts the consumers & stimulates them for larger purchases leading to increased sales.

2. Regular sales of seasonal product :- 

                                        The offer of off-season discounts, price cut etc. on seasonal products like fridge, coolers, fans, etc. are able to maintain regular are continuous sales of such items.  

3. Improve effectiveness of advertisement and personal selling :-

                                                       The sales promotion makes the advertisement more effective to push the sales. It is effective technique to minimize the dissatisfaction of customers that have been create by retail selling.

4. Cooperation from middlemen :- 

                                                    The various promotional incentives offered to the dealers help to achieve co-operations from them to sell the product on priority basis and to maintain maximum stock with them.   

5. Demand for product & services :-

                                                 The sales promotion techniques have proved successfully in introducing new product & services. By the supply of free samples, the new product makes its place in the market.

6. Able to capture new market :- 

                                               The sales promotion programme facilitates the producer to capture new markets for his products easily. The markets of plantation products have been successfully in capturing the markets by the distribution of free samples.  

7. Increase in goodwill :- 

                                       The repeated uses of sales promotion tools facilitate the consumers to get a special identification of the product as well as of the producer. The satisfaction that have been arrived to the consumers by continuous uses of the products will gradually increase the goodwill of the firm.  

8. Direct control :- 

                             Since the advertising media is controlled by advertising agencies, the advertising costs are on higher side. This has adverse effect on the sales and profits. But in the sales promotion programme, the producer has full control over the promotional tools & therefore, can achieve maximum results at minimum costs.

9. Effective steps to face the competition:-    

                                                         Larger sales, reduce production costs, increase in profits, special identity and goodwill of the producer, etc. achieved through sales promotion measures can help to face the competition more effectively.

10. Improvement & new uses of the production :-  

                                                   The sales promotion programme invites suggestions from the consumers from time to time to know about their change in need & performance. According, necessary improvements or modifications are made in the product to satisfy the consumer need. 

                         

C) IMPORTANCE TO DEALERS/ MIDDLE MEN

           1.       Facilitates larger sales :-

 The dealers get advantages of sales promotional techniques for increasing their sales. Sales promotion is a coordinating activity between sales, advertising, research & public relations efforts & they reduce the resistance at the point of sales.    

     2. More facilities & assistance :-

                                          

 The producer, under the sales promotional programme, provides various facilities & assistance to the middlemen, such as assistance to marketing research, providing with display materials and managerial assistance, etc. for maintaining regular stock for sales.

3. Direct relation with customers :-

                                              

  A direct relationship between the dealers & the consumers are established through the sales promotion techniques which will continue for a long time.     

D) IMPORTANCE TO THE SOCIETY & THE NATION

The importance of sales promotion programme for the society & the nation can be summarized as below :-

·         Increase in standard of living the people.

·         Increase in employment opportunities.

·         Development and expansion of transport, communication, baning, insurance and warehousing facilities.

·         Increase in Gross National Product and percapita income.

·         Creation of healthy competition in national and international trade, etc.

CONCLUSION

Sales promotion refers to non recurring and short-term sales activities other than advertising and personal selling. Brand proliferation, trade pressures, growing competition recession, quick returns, competent staff and attitudinal change are the causes of growing popularity of sales promotion. 

 Sales promotion methods or scheme are used at the level of declares, consumers and salesmen. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

•          “Philip kotler”,  “Marketing management “ Himalaya publishing house

•          “Dr M. J. Mathew”,  “ Sales management & sales promotion”