9. Promotion of goods (services)

9.1. Promotion Features

Promotion - any form of communication for information, persuasion, reminders of goods, services, social activities, ideas, etc.

The most important promotion functions:
- creating an image of prestige, low prices, innovations,
- information about the product and its parameters,
- maintaining the popularity of goods (services),
- changing the way the product is used,
- creating enthusiasm among sales participants,
- persuading customers to switch to more expensive products,
- answers to consumer questions,
- favorable information about the company.

Promotion goals: to stimulate demand and improve the image of the company. Specific actions depend on the so-called impact hierarchy (Table 9.1).

Table 9.1

Their roles in consumer and industrial marketing are somewhat different (Table 9.2).

Table 9.2

Places according to the importance of types of promotion

If marketing research aims to “listen” to the consumer, then promotion is the second half of the dialogue (see Figure 35).

Rice. 35. Roles of research and promotion in marketing

9.2. The composition and main provisions of the theory and practice of advertising

The concept of coding is as follows. Advertising message transmission media (television, press) have specific features that can distort the message, introduce “information noise” into it. Therefore, a certain optimization of the influence of individual messages is necessary, taking into account the external environment of the recipient.

Promotion should be considered as an integral part of the marketing mix. Advertising refers to competitive brands of products. Therefore, it would seem that with its help it is necessary to try to increase sales of this particular product. However, the progressive element of promotion is the promotion of the entire firm, not its individual brands. Since the company can use different types of promotion, this promotion contributes to the promotion of individual brands of goods. Each type of promotion is designed for a specific target audience. But each of these promotion campaigns must be considered as part of a single whole.

Studies have shown that advertising is more effective if:
- the product is standardized,
- there are many end users,
- typical purchase of a small size,
- sales are carried out through the channels of intermediaries, and not directly,
- important support service,
- the product has a premium price (or premium quantity),
- the manufacturer has a significant profit per ruble of sales,
- the manufacturer has a relatively small market size and/or excess production capacity,
- Most of the manufacturer's sales are new products.

In general, there are three main groups of actions in advertising:
- informing (message that the product exists and what its qualities are),
- persuasion (calling favorable emotions, forming a position of product recognition, switching consumer decisions to purchase it),
- maintaining loyalty (fixing existing consumers as the main source of future sales).

To ensure all this, a single process for managing advertising activities should be carried out (Fig. 37).

9.3. Advertising in industrial marketing

Advertising in industrial marketing has its own characteristics. In many ways, it is carried out through personal contacts, it requires more information. These campaigns last a longer period, the budget of advertising campaigns is relatively smaller (per unit of sales). A campaign typically targets 6-7 individuals in each buying organization, and so on.

9.4. Development of a message (message)

The main message in advertising is usually based on the specific benefit with which the advertiser identifies the main advantage that distinguishes his product from that of a competitor. The advertiser will seek to find a "Unique Selling Proposition" (USP) (Unique Selling Proposition - USP). It may be based on physical or intangible characteristics of the product. On the other hand, SCP can be based on the psychological aspect: fear (insurance of financial transactions), guilt, positive emotions (love), humor. It can also be based on certain associations (Pepsi Cola and Michael Jackson).

Moreover, if a product is nearly identical to competitors' similar products, then the firm may try to explain its merits more clearly than competitors, such as differentiating its advertising style and thus creating an "added value" in advertising effectiveness.

It is believed that an advertising campaign should be built in two stages:
- involvement of public opinion leaders;
- attraction of the bulk of potential consumers (it is necessary to take into account typical groups of consumers at different stages of the product life cycle).

The message can be contained not only in a speech or video sequence, but also in something that was silent, but it is quite eloquent.

The choice of message must necessarily take into account the need to convince the recipient. Experts usually recommend a certain concentration on the central selling proposition. The strength of an advertising campaign depends on the strength of the main idea behind it. This idea should be:
- well-defined and rich;
- clear and simple;
- plausible for the recipient;
- resistant against opposition;
- related to the needs of the consumer.

The actual application of marketing techniques may differ significantly from theoretical provisions. Thus, it is considered an axiom that any marketing decision should be based on marketing research. However, there are situations where it is literally difficult to follow. For example, a competitor abruptly changes its strategy, retaliatory actions should follow in a few days. There is simply no time for marketing research, and decisions are made largely intuitively.

Real ("rough") marketing, therefore, is based on the inclusion of a large number of intuitively estimated factors due to incomplete information and lack of resources. Therefore, when developing advertising messages, success will largely depend on the plausibility of modeling the average consumer.

In theory, the selection of a message transmission medium should be a process of selecting the most cost-effective medium to achieve the greatest coverage and number of representations. Usually both of these dimensions are evaluated. Advertising must reach the maximum number of target audiences. It is usually difficult to master the last percentages of this mass: the cost of cumulative coverage is described by an exponential curve. Thus, the coverage decision in practice represents a balance between the desired full coverage and the cost of achieving it.

Even with high coverage, a single presentation of advertising (“Opportunity To See” - OTS) is not enough to influence the recipient. It usually takes an average of about 5 OTS to reach the required degree of exposure to the level of recognition and attention switching to the advertised brand of goods. To achieve five OTS, even with 70% coverage of the target audience, 20-30 press releases at the national level may be required. The frequency of presentation is a function of campaign time. 12 posts in a year or 12 posts in a week is not the same thing. It is often considered expedient to present information in “rollups” or “waves”.

The main types of message media (in order of importance):

The press can be divided into the following sectors: national newspapers, regional newspapers, magazines, professional and technical literature.

Posters (road posters), radio and cinema are the least attractive communication media due to their specificity.

Research in England determined the positioning of various information environments (Fig. 38).

9.5. The work of advertising agencies

Traditionally, such agencies perform three main functions:
- taking orders,
- creative work,
- purchase of communication medium.

Additional functions:
- production,
- the control,
- administration,
- marketing research,
- marketing,
- “public relations”,
- direct mail,
- promotion.

A typical agency organization is shown in fig. 39.

The hallmark of most advertising agencies is their creative art. To achieve this, large agencies must have certain creative specialists:

Text writers prepare texts and scripts, often being sources of original ideas. The visual element of the advertisement is prepared by artists who are commonly referred to as visualizers. They work hand in hand with the lyricists, sketching the lyrics. Usually they do not produce finished art work, for which professional photographers, illustrators, etc. are invited. Producers are needed in television, radio or cinema. They ensure relationships with external partners in order to comply with all commercial conditions.

From the client's point of view, a typical ad creation process goes through a series of stages:

The order is usually made in a standard form, which is agreed upon completion by the client with the agency responsible for accepting the order and the executive artistic director (visualizer) (Fig. 40).

Acquiring a presentation environment also involves a number of steps:

9.6. Advertising planning

As with all marketing activities, advertising should establish its objectives, including:
- who and where (target audience, its percentage coverage, message environments);
- when (balancing in time of separate parts of the campaign);
- what and how (the essence of the message and its presentation).

The most important aspect of the plan is that it must be quantified, including the results (in particular, awareness and shifts in the audience's position on the recognition of the product).

The budget for an advertising campaign is usually determined based on experience. Most popular approaches:
- if possible (depending on the individual costs and the required profit);
- as a percentage of sales;
- based on parity with competitors;
- by goals and objectives (calculation of the necessary costs).

A survey of companies in England showed that three approaches are most often used in practice:
- percentage of sales (44% of companies);
- estimates of production costs (21%);
- by goals and objectives (18%).

The process of advertising research is usually subject to the same rules as other marketing research: the time and channel of turning on the TV, memorization of an advertising message on TV and in newspapers are investigated. “Spontaneous awareness” is measured by the proportion of those who remember the brand without any other promotion. “Promotion Awareness” is measured by the proportion of those who recognize the brand when presented with it.

Brand recognition is measured by the number of those who changed their position as a result of the advertising campaign. And, finally, an integral indicator is the increase in sales after such a campaign. Trial marketing is also used to compare different campaigns in different regions.

An effective method for studying the effectiveness of advertising in the press is the system of coupons - discounts upon presentation of a coupon in a newspaper. Thus, it is possible to evaluate the effectiveness of advertising by publication, release time, placement of information, etc.

One aspect of advertising planning is the choice of an advertising agency. The following order is recommended:
1. A clear definition of needs and goals.
2. Desk search - selection according to directories and based on your own experience.
3. Statement of the task - optimal benefits, key questions.
4. Narrower search - narrowing down alternatives to two or three agencies.
5. Real choice.

9.7. Legal aspects of promotion

Legislation regulates the activities of promotion firms. The range of these requirements is quite wide: from the prohibition of billboards in certain places to the requirement for popular personalities advertising certain products to actually use them.

There are five main ways to legally protect consumers and competitors from unfair promotion:
- providing complete information;
- the confirmation;
- termination orders;
- corrective advertising;
- fines.

Providing complete information requires that the consumer has all the data necessary to make the right decision (composition of the product, consequences of use, etc.).

Verification requires that the firm be able to prove all claims it makes, including through rigorous testing.

Fines can be levied to the treasury and in the interests of specific consumers.

9.8. Direct and Interactive Marketing

Direct marketing (direct-marketing) consists of direct (interactive) communications with a selected specific buyer, often in the form of an individualized dialogue, in order to get an immediate response.

Main forms of direct marketing:
- personal (personal) sales - direct interaction with one or more potential buyers in order to organize presentations, answer questions and receive orders;
- direct mail marketing - includes postal mailing of letters, promotional materials, booklets, etc. to potential buyers at addresses from mailing lists;
- catalog sales - the use of catalogs of goods sent to customers by mail or sold in stores;
- telephone marketing (telemarketing) - using the telephone as a tool for direct sale of goods to customers;
- direct response television marketing - marketing of goods and services through advertising television (or radio) programs using feedback elements (usually a telephone number);
- interactive (online) marketing - direct marketing carried out through interactive computer communication services in real time.

Companies using direct marketing closely monitor the relevance of the marketing proposal to the needs of a narrow segment of consumers or an individual buyer.

Many companies, when using direct marketing, focus primarily on the conclusion of individual transactions. Recently, however, more and more companies are turning to direct marketing to achieve not only a more effective reach to target consumers, but also to create stronger, longer-term and individualized relationships with them (relationship marketing).

According to most experts, the transition from mass marketing to individual marketing is associated with changes taking place in the household, with the emergence of technologically complex products, new ways of making purchases and paying for them, with intense competition, with the development of additional distribution channels and new information technologies.

The following are the main differences between mass and so-called individual marketing:

Mass Marketing	Individual marketing
Average buyer	Individual buyer
Buyer anonymity	Focus on a specific customer
Standardized item	individual market offer
Mass production	Customized production
Mass distribution of goods	Individual distribution
Mass promotion of goods	Creating individual incentives to buy
Unidirectional product message	Bidirectional product message
Emphasis on scale	Emphasis on the depth of coverage
Coverage of all buyers	Beneficial Buyer Reach
Market share	Share among buyers
Attracting buyers	Customer retention

In direct marketing, detailed information about the individual consumer is the key to success. Modern enterprises create special databases about buyers, which are an array of detailed information about individual (potential) buyers, including geographical, demographic, psychographic, as well as data on the characteristics of purchasing behavior. Such databases are used to find potential buyers, modify or develop products according to their specific needs and maintain relationships with them.

Database marketing is the process of creating, using, maintaining customer databases, as well as other databases (of products, distributors, sales, etc.) in order to carry out sales transactions and establish relationships with customers.

Companies use both separate forms of direct marketing and integrated direct marketing, which may include all forms. One of the schemes of the integrated system MSP (Marketing and Sales Productivity System) is shown in fig. 41.

Rice. 41. Information support of direct marketing

A relatively new and rapidly growing form of direct marketing today is interactive marketing and e-commerce. Interactive marketing has gained such popularity for the following main reasons:

Other benefits of interactive marketing include:
- the possibility of its use by both large firms and small ones;
- practically unlimited electronic (as opposed to, for example, printed) advertising space;
- fast enough access and copying of information;
- as a rule, confidentiality and speed of electronic purchases.

In addition to the advantages, modern interactive marketing has some disadvantages:
- limited access of buyers and, consequently, the volume of purchases;
- some one-sidedness of demographic and psychographic information about buyers;
- randomness and information overload in global networks;
- Insufficient security and secrecy of data.

9.9. Sales promotion

Key characteristics of this type of promotion:
- effectiveness for a relatively short time;
- direct impacts on sales potential, distribution channels, consumers or a combination of these groups;
- use for specialization of some specific actions.

Sales promotion encompasses a broad area of ​​opportunity. To those given in Table. 9.3 should also add sponsorship (for example, for sporting events).

Table 9.3

Types of Sales Promotion

		indirect		indirect		indirect
Consumer	Price reduction	Coupons Vouchers Monetary equivalent Competition	Free access Premium Purchases free gifts	Coupons Vouchers Monetary equivalent Competition	Warranty Group Participation Special exhibitions and performances
Trade	Instructions to dealers Loyalty schemes Stimulation Shopping in the whole range	Expanding credit Deferred payment Returns Coupons Vouchers Monetary equivalent	free gifts Trial purchases	Coupons Vouchers Monetary equivalent Competition	Warranty Group Participation free service Risk Mitigation Scheme Education Special exhibitions, demonstrations Reverse trade schemes	Coupons Service vouchers Competition
Sellers	Bonds Commission	Coupons Vouchers Point systems Monetary equivalent	free gifts	Coupons Vouchers Point systems Monetary equivalent	free service Group Participation	Coupons Vouchers Service points system Recognition of accidents Competition

The main advantages of sales promotion:
- sales growth is the main short-term benefit;
- specific target audience;
- a clear role;
- indirect roles - the ability to use to achieve other goals.

Disadvantages:
- short duration of exposure;
- hidden costs;
- the possibility of conflicts with advertising representations;
- price cutoff - an opportunity for buyers to expect lower prices in the future.

Targeted incentives include:
- price reduction;
- coupons (purchases or services on obligations with a price reduction);
- financing of the following purchases;
- credit;
- seasonal price reductions.

Non-price incentives:
- competition of buyers (lotteries);
- personal promotion;
- free gifts (the possibility of additional free purchases);
- presentation of samples of new products for trial operation.

9.10. Public relations

Public relations (public relations, PR) is a range of programs whose purpose is to promote and (or) protect the image (image, prestige) of a company or individual products.

Publicity (propaganda) is a type of public relations and is defined as the non-personal and non-remunerated promotion of demand for a product, service or activity through the placement of commercially important information in print media or a favorable presentation on radio, television or from the stage.

One of the most important tasks of PR is to maintain contacts with key journalists in their respective fields (press, magazines, radio, TV). It is essentially a process of “investing” (results will not appear instantly). First of all, these are messages about new results, new products, demonstration of such new products at business meetings, lunches, conferences using communication technology. It is advisable to create certain press centers in firms.

Corporate PR tools include:
- communication with shareholders;
- advertising;
- communication with local communities;
- sponsorship;
- Exhibitions.

Exhibitions allow you to get a double effect: product demonstrations and personal contacts. Therefore, exhibitions should be carefully planned based on objectives, theme selection, placement and design.

Goals should consider retaining existing customers and acquiring potential ones. This can be illustrated by the matrix in Fig. 42.

Rice. 42. Goal matrix for public relations

Previous

The concept and structure of marketing promotion of goods

Definition 1

Product promotion is a set of works and activities to bring information about the benefits of a product to potential consumers and stimulate their desire to make a purchase.

Promotion is carried out through marketing communications tools: advertising, sales promotion, public relations and personal selling.

Main functions of promotion:

• formation of an image of prestige, innovation and at the same time reasonable prices (consumers will be able to distinguish a product from others);
• positive information about the company (increased due to reviews, recommendations, as well as participation in social projects, sponsorship, etc.);
• bringing information about the product and its characteristics to the consumer;
• maintaining the popularity of goods (a reminder of the importance and necessity of the goods in the lives of consumers);
• changing the way of using products or products (eliminating stereotypes of perception of goods that do not always meet the expectations of the manufacturer and supplier);
• feedback with consumers (answers to questions, complaints, recommendations, etc.);
• the formation of enthusiasm among all participants in the promotion (stimulation at each stage of bringing products to the end consumer, stimulating end demand);
• persuading buyers to switch to buying expensive goods (over time, the price becomes not a decisive factor in choosing products, consumers want to purchase unique products).

Definition 2

The promotion structure is a complex of promotion types, which includes marketing communication tools. In addition to this, it also includes product design and packaging.

As a rule, product promotion takes a large part of the marketing budget, an average of 60%. A proper approach to the use of tools and methods of promotion is needed so that both the costs pay off and consumers are satisfied with the purchase (price / quality).

Marketing promotion strategies

The marketing promotion strategy allows the company to determine the current position in the market of a given brand or product, to analyze the market situation, the competitive environment. The promotion strategy allows you to set goals and objectives that need to be implemented, determine the ways and means to achieve them.

Definition 3

Remark 1

The purpose of the strategy is to encourage consumers to make a purchase of goods and services of a particular company.

There are two main promotion strategies:

• forcing strategy;
• push strategy.

The first strategy is aimed at the end consumer of goods in order to force trading companies to purchase goods that are in demand. Another name is strategies - "pull". It involves an active advertising campaign that is aimed at the end consumer through the media. The consumer receives a message or incentive (discount, special offer or coupon), is interested in the product at the point of sale. This forces owners to order goods that are in demand. There is a reverse chain construction: a retailer orders goods from a wholesale company, which makes an order to the manufacturing company. The forcing strategy is used at the last stage of production. Therefore, by the time it enters the market, the consumer has already created an attitude towards this product.

The second strategy is aimed at the reseller, so that he himself promotes the product through the distribution channel to the final consumer. This strategy is also called "push". It involves the imposition of goods on consumers through targeted advertising impact and sales promotion measures in relation to intermediaries. The push strategy should be aimed at wholesalers and retailers first. For them, special events are being developed, such as a preferential purchase regime, special offers, etc. The final goal of applying this strategy is to form mutually beneficial relations between participants in promotion channels. At the same time, the product is “pushed” to the market through the channel, and the process of its promotion is carried out without stopping to the final buyer. Such a strategy has a narrow focus and high cost, as there is a thorough work with resellers, which increases the cost of industrial advertising and, as a result, minimizes the cost of consumer advertising.

The choice of a marketing promotion strategy is influenced by the specifics of the product itself, the image of the reseller, the location of the target audience, etc.

Modern methods of product promotion

There is a set of traditional methods of promotion, but the company that takes an integrated approach to promotion achieves success. Therefore, at the present stage of development of the organization, the following methods of promotion are used:

1. advertising;
2. direct marketing;
3. telemarketing;
4. relationship marketing;
5. printed products;
6. sales support, etc.

Remark 2

An integrated approach implies the use of all methods in a complex. In this case, there is a synergistic effect: 1+1=3. Individually, each method of promotion brings less results than in combination.

Currently, such methods of promotion are gaining popularity as:

• event marketing;
• Promotions;
• merchandising;
• using packaging as a promotional tool.

An effective method of promotion is promotion on the Internet. This is the creation of Internet sites, promotion through social networks and various advertising campaigns. Promotion through social networks or SMM is especially popular. Companies or shops create profiles or groups on social media (VKontakte, Facebook or Instagram) and attract subscribers who turn into customers.

I chose this topic for today's article for a reason. The 21st century is the era of networks and the Internet, modern society has covered the information tsunami. As a result, clouds of false ideas and outright misconceptions began to replace true data and knowledge. Huge waves inevitably wash ashore any debris.

Of course, it was not without him in the field of sales, marketing and promotion. These concepts slowly mixed up and became a single whole. You ask what “marketing” is, you hear “promotion” in response. What is "promotion"? And this is sales. Brilliant.

Let's take a look at these concepts and draw clear boundaries between them. Since understanding this directly affects the welfare and financial success of your company.

Marketing

Marketing: (from English marketing - literally translated from English means “action in the market”, “market activity”) conceiving, packaging and placing a product on the market in such a way as to achieve the maximum possible sale and maximum response (definition given by L. Ron Hubbard).

Marketing, like any strategy, consists of a set of tactical steps, by turning which, you achieve a strategic goal. In the case of marketing, results are measured by increased revenue.

What does “marketing” look like in most companies? The manager has an idea of ​​what customers need and what kind of advertising they (in his opinion) will like. He gives the task to the designer. The designer provides several options (at best). The manager evaluates the work he has done and begins to distribute it, expecting that now millions will begin to pour in on him. And he's waiting. In one case out of a hundred.

Why? Yes, because he was not real to his clients, did not tell them what they would like to hear. Several vital steps were skipped in the creation of the advertisement. Perhaps even the channels of communication were chosen incorrectly. Your failed client received a letter and immediately put it in the trash, closed the email or continued to scroll through the site, ignoring the ads. It happened automatically, he won't even remember you or your product.

Marketing has a standard, working technology. Concrete steps, by conscientiously completing which, you will get the result - applications, response, desire to buy your product. People come and say, “I want your product! Take the money, give me this." A lot of people. More than your organization can handle.

Marketing is a strategy, the implementation of which leads to a multiple increase in income per year (if we talk about small and medium-sized businesses) or billions in additional income (if we talk about large ones). It's not just "how to advertise the right way," which is in the field of promotion. It includes the activities of analytics, planning, concept creation, reorganization - a lot of "home" work.How do you know if a small business company uses marketing and understands it enough? If revenues double in a year or more, yes. If revenues are growing only slightly, then most likely the leaders understand sales, but are far from marketing.

Promotion

Promotion is not all marketing. This is the customer-facing part of it. His goal is to get a response.

Promotion: An activity that consists in making something known and creating a good opinion about it. It means to send outanything that will result in people responding in the form of personal visits or in the form of written orders or responses, as a result of which they (or someone else through them) will receive services or sell goods that will benefit these people andpositively affect the solvency of the organization.

Promotion is the art of offering something to the public that will get a response. Promotion includes only two points: what to offer and how to offer it in order to get response.

It means to make contact with the public and create desire (L. Ron Hubbard's definition).

How do we make ourselves widely known and create a favorable impression? You must communicate with your customers. The website, letters, social networks, calls, etc. are all lines of communication, which implies a two-way flow of messages. But if you take a broader view, you will find hundreds, maybe thousands of ways to promote. For example, when we smile at a client, it leaves him with a certain feeling that fits into the image of your company (and many businessmen know how an employee’s careless word can ruin your entire image, and a kind one can save you). Or when we truly care about a person when selling a service or product. When your employees are smartly dressed and make a solid impression on your customers. And many many others.

For example, one of my clients, during the program, made an advertisement according to all the canons of technology, and sent it to 30 clients with the question “does this promotional material cause a desire to buy products?” Within an hour, her organization unexpectedly received 14 responses from these 30 respondents and 2 orders (which were later paid in full) worth 2,200,000 rubles during the first day. She was the head of the marketing department of a flooring factory, with two higher educations in marketing. She noted that before applying the technology mastered in the program, she had never seen such effectiveness before (especially considering that it was just an advertising test as part of an exercise, and not an actual advertising campaign).

Sales

This is the moment of exchanging goods and services for value, that's how simple it is. For example, you sell doors. The client comes to you, gives money, and you are the door to him. The sale took place.

The topic of sales has become incredibly hot and for many years has been a leader among business search queries in search engines. It was this huge demand that generated offers in the training market that did not always meet expectations.

We have repeatedly told in our articles when the "smartest" people called us and asked if we could teach them how to conduct sales trainings. That is, not to teach sales, but to conduct trainings. These guys did not know how to sell, they never managed the sales department - but they saw the potential of the market. There is a demand - why not be a coach? And these “wits” have generated so much false data in sales that by now managers and entrepreneurs have become disillusioned with the effectiveness of specialty sales training.

In fact, if you follow the first two steps properly, then the sales will go like clockwork. You don't have to expect extraordinary genius from every salesperson.

If you think about it, you can remember a couple of moments when you wanted some product (thanks to advertising and other marketing factors), went to the store (or contacted the company), you also liked everything on the spot, and you bought what you wanted. And the sellers didn't even have to deal with your objections too much. Well, these guys did a pretty good job with all three steps, didn't they?

All that incredible objection handling, customer interest generation, emotion management, and other complex techniques that are taught in good sales training become vital as a result of a lack of understanding of marketing and a lack of quality promotional activities. Perhaps they should be the ones to learn first, rather than trying to squeeze the last out of salespeople.

Sincerely, Sergey Imanov
Entrepreneur, Moscow

Sales Generator

Reading time: 19 minutes

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Every entrepreneur knows that if the consumer correctly evaluates and understands his product, then the proceeds from its sale will grow. Marketing is needed to promote products. In our today's article, we will look at how products are distributed on the market and through whom, as well as what methods of product promotion exist.

From this article you will learn:

1. Old ways that bring real results
2. Modern promotion of goods on the verge of outrageous
3. Different and effective ways to promote a product on the Internet
4. Methods of promotion in social networks

Classic ways to promote a product on the market

Under the methods of promoting a product on the market, they understand certain activities aimed at making sales more efficient. Such events involve a communicative impact on partners, consumers and staff.

It is necessary to promote a product in order to maintain the company's reputation and increase demand for products. Promotion allows you to:

• create an image of prestige, innovation and low prices;
• provide consumers with product information;
• change the standards of its perception;
• support the popularity of services and products;
• increase the popularity of high-value goods and services;
• stimulate the distribution system and its participants;
• spread favorable information about the company.

Modern marketing divides the ways of promoting a product into such four kinds:

Direct sales or personal

The basis of this method of product promotion is verbal communication with the client in order to convince him of the need to purchase a product / service. This method does not require investment.

The level of business organization using the direct sales method is high, in contrast to the provision of personal services or banal retail trade. If direct sales are not developed, this will lead to a drop in sales volumes even if all other marketing conditions are met.

The essence of personal selling is as follows: they require the ordinary operator taking orders to transform into an active sales manager.

Personal selling as a way to promote products has the following advantages:

• individual approach to the client, providing him with a large amount of information;
• feedback from consumers, making it possible to adjust the entire advertising campaign;
• costs that do not bring financial results are minimal.

To promote a product in this way requires a lot of turnover costs, and this is its disadvantage. The effectiveness of personal sales is highest when the seller has an exclusive product.

Advertising as a way to promote a product

Advertising is needed to inform customers about the activities of the company and the consumer properties of the product. It must be viewed from this perspective. No advertising, even prestigious and very expensive, will help sell a product if its relevance and demand among consumers are very low.

There is a dependence of the promotion of products on the content of the advertising message. It should be a highly unique selling message (“Purchase our products and get a specific benefit”).

There are usually three types of advertising perception in marketing:

1. Information is in demand, it is distinguished by understandability, accessibility and ease of remembering.
2. The information is random, it is problematic to remember it.
3. Information is unnecessary, irritates consumers and is therefore ignored by them.

When the consumer understands that he needs the advertised product, he is ready to make a purchase. This is the way to promote a product through advertising.

Sales promotion

This is a set of various activities, the task of which is to promote the product. The target audiences for sales promotion are as follows:

1) Buyers. Customers are encouraged to purchase more products using the following methods:

• loyalty programs;
• games, lotteries, contests;
• promotional product demonstrations;
• promotions for new items of goods;
• free provision of product samples.

2) Counterparties. They are encouraged to increase the volume of trade transactions. You can stimulate sales in the following forms:

• train sales staff;
• provide equipment for trade and campaign materials;
• authorized leadership, holding competitions based on the results of sales;
• you can provide related services (information, in the field of jurisprudence).

3) Sales staff. Retail workers are encouraged to give up all their strength to attract new customers and improve the quality of service. You can encourage:

• financially (bonuses, awards), morally (thanks, diplomas);
• arranging competitions in terms of sales volume between employees;
• paying employees who work flawlessly for rest (a ticket to a sanatorium / resort);
• compensating the costs of treatment, training and retraining of employees.

Propaganda

This is a way of interacting with society that does not involve personal contact or payment. That is, the demand is stimulated by the dissemination of information of a commercial nature, as well as image information, both through intermediaries and independently. The purpose of propaganda is to attract the attention of potential customers without spending money on an advertising campaign.

Propaganda is carried out through the following tools:

• events (online meetings, press conferences, contests, competitions, etc.);
• publications (newsletters, prepared reports, articles in newspapers and magazines, brochures, etc.);
• news (positive product reviews in local media);
• means of identification (room design, development of a single style, multi-color seals, watermarks, etc.);
• sponsorship (material and monetary assistance in organizing and holding sports events, as well as charitable ones).

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Target audiences for these tools:

1. Counterparties.
2. Consumers.
3. Municipal and state authorities.
4. key journalists.

For a long time already not new ways of promoting goods, but bringing real results

A good effect can be obtained if, in combination, the methods of promoting a product to the market, presented below, are used.

telemarketing

• direct telephone sales to potential customers;
• building relationships with existing audiences;
• using relationships to bring new products to market;
• highlighting real "leads" from general mailing lists;
• holding events after the completion of direct marketing programs;
• returning disappointed customers by offering them new products that may interest them to a greater extent;
• further work with "leads" to sales, attracted by an advertisement, direct marketing event or through intermediaries;
• conducting marketing research, evaluating the response of customers to novelties or innovations in the field of sales through surveys and surveys;
• Establishing contacts with consumers as part of the relationship marketing program.

Telemarketing also makes it possible to obtain various information from respondents and use the results obtained as a result of their analysis for organizing and implementing marketing activities in the future.

Merchandising

Merchandising is about making products easily accessible and attractive, and making the buying process easier. This promotion method has the following features:

• control over the availability of products on store shelves, tracking the popularity of certain products;
• organizing points of sale and supplying them with all necessary materials;
• ensuring the layout and location of products, that is, the presentation of specific product items.

The initial task is to create the necessary stock of goods, then you need to place them at points of sale in a certain assortment and volume. In merchandising, the right choice and location of promotional materials (price tags, stands, booklets, coin boxes, posters, hanging and floor models of products) is very important.

One of the most important merchandising methods is product display (exposition).

Under the exposition is understood the procedure for placing goods on specialized commercial equipment. The rapid growth of product sales is facilitated by its display in places that attract the attention of potential consumers. In addition, the presentability of product packaging is very important.

Event Marketing

Another name is creative marketing. But in reality, it is event-based, since it involves the promotion of products / services through events (events).

A striking example of Event Marketing is the main music and technology festival Alfa Future People, held by Alfa Bank. Below is a link to a video from this event held in 2016. It is striking in its scope.

But what if your organization is not so large? Everything is easy enough! If possible, participate in various events, use event marketing to the maximum. For example, on the day of the city, you can distribute balloons with the company logo to people. It really works!

On the eve of City Day, the owner of one coffee shop prepared balloons with the logo of the establishment and handed them out to the kids, who ran around the city with them all day. It is worth noting that at the end of the holiday, many families with balloons came to this institution. They were given loyalty cards to keep in touch in the future.

Territorial marketing

This is a relatively new concept (appeared in 2002), meaning marketing in the interests of the territory. In simpler terms, territory marketing aims to "sell" a territory to potential customers in order to improve the lives of the people living on it.

The most well-known examples of area marketing are spending on advertising to increase the flow of tourists. For example, Greece spends about 100 million euros per year on attracting tourists/advertising resorts.

A well-known domestic project of territorial marketing is the Olympics in Sochi. According to official statistics, investments in the construction and promotion of the Olympic Village amounted to about $52 million, and the amount of income from the Games was about $80 million.

Modern ways of promoting goods on the verge of outrageous

The following methods of promoting goods and services are now popular.

Guerrilla Marketing

This method of promotion is low-budget. With the help of guerrilla marketing, you can organize an effective promotion of a product / service, attract new customers and increase your income with minimal investment or no investment at all.

This method is an alternative to television and radio advertising, as it involves the use of inexpensive advertising media, various tricks and tricks.

Here are some types of guerrilla marketing:

• word of mouth

For example, one of the restaurants does not spend on advertising at all. The main expense item is free lunches for hairdressers. Moreover, their quality, as well as the level of service, are quite high.

Everyone knows that usually people trust their hairdressers, makeup artists, stylists (after all, you can’t trust your transformation to a stranger, especially women). They constantly communicate with customers, share news. It is not difficult to guess that free access to the restaurant was also mentioned.

• Scandalous action

Guerrilla marketing can be effective even if it consists of holding a high-profile action that will be talked about by all the media. A good example is the advertising campaign of the mobile operator Tele2.

At the exhibition of cellular communications in St. Petersburg, promoters under his brand carried a coffin with the inscription "Dear communication". Naturally, people were shocked, and subsequently the promotion was broadcast by many media outlets.

• collaboration

In general, our opinion is that guerrilla, viral marketing, which requires minimal investment, is a partnership or, in a modern way, a collaboration.

For example, in a dentist's office, a company that makes toothpaste and mouthwash posted a message on the ceiling: “You don't want to see that boring ceiling again, do you? Our toothpaste will help you!”. Everyone knows: sitting in a chair during dental treatment, people have to look at the ceiling.

Stars in advertising

The practice of inviting celebrities to advertise goods is widespread all over the world, including in our country. But no well-known personality can give you guarantees of sales growth and successful PR. You can find examples of how successful attracting stars to brand advertising, and not so much.

Neither world nor Russian practice has "win-win" celebrity options. First, the stars are not universal. Everyone has a certain image, character, experience that may not fit with some brands and products.

Secondly, the work of the image of a star is rarely good in isolation from the creative idea. If the idea is weak, then even the most successful celebrity will not help promote the brand. Thirdly, attracting stars to marketing campaigns is comparable to playing the lottery, in which you can not only hit the big jackpot, but also lose big.

The video was filmed in the style of the film "Tron". The son of the famous director Ridley Scott, Jake, supervised the filming process. The creator of "Gladiator" and "Alien" himself was the producer of the video, which called it "a dynamic short film."

Any celebrity is, first of all, a living person, so his behavior is unpredictable. An example of this is the situation with the Nike brand, which attracted Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius to advertise its products.

Hidden advertising in cinema

Currently, there are many different hidden advertising mechanisms. It is safe to say that films are used to promote almost all types of goods. Nevertheless, the specifics of countries also have an impact on the content of product placement to some extent.

For example, in domestic films, up to 60% of hidden advertising is in food, in second place are cosmetic products (about 10%). The rest of the market falls on cars, banking services, electronics, resorts, hotels, communications.

There is a rapid growth in the alcohol and tobacco market segment in product placement, since direct advertising of beer, spirits and tobacco is prohibited by Russian law.

For example:

Such different and effective ways to promote a product on the Internet

SEO

Almost all users visit the first three web resources of search results. Only 20-50% scroll through the first page to the end. If you want to attract users, then your site should be in the top ten. SEO optimization will help with this.

It involves correcting resource errors, editing its content taking into account key queries on your topic, often changing the site structure and other important work that is invisible to people, but taken into account by search engine bots.

You can't underestimate the importance of SEO by thinking that the content is for people and the bots will figure it out on their own. SEO is now the main tool that you need to apply first and then turn to other methods of promotion.

Pros:

• relatively small costs;
• high conversion rate;
• simple definition of the target audience;
• almost complete absence of a negative effect;
• increase in traffic.

Minuses:

• results can be obtained only after 3-6 months;
• requires complex changes in the root of the site;
• you need to constantly edit the content;
• it is necessary to take into account the high requirements of search engines.

contextual advertising

For example, citizen H decided to purchase a double boiler. He enters the Yandex search engine, enters “I will buy a double boiler” in the line. And a miracle happens: in the first place in the search results is an advertisement for your best steamers.

Display advertising

These are exactly the banners that make you want to immediately turn on AdBlock when they appear. However, if they are bright, original and appear in a timely manner, then you want to click on them. This type of media advertising was initially rejected on the market, but new technologies have made it modern and quite effective.

Native advertising

This Internet marketing tool is progressive and made in the form of interesting "live" content. Not everyone can even understand that in front of them is native advertising, since it harmoniously fits into the content of the site / application.

These are special projects in popular publications, and tests (for example, Buzzfeed with the “How would you die in the Game of Thrones” test?), And useful information from your experts on external platforms, and brand demonstration in films.

Email marketing

Often this type of marketing is ignored by companies because they don't want to spam their customers. However, email marketing is a great way to keep in touch with consumers, persuade them to purchase a product, increase loyalty, send information about upsells and special offers. But this is in the case of working with mailing lists of high-level specialists.

Viral Marketing

Since the advent of this method of promoting goods, there have been many positive examples of its use (for example, a Mercedes-Benz video with chickens or Jean-Claude Van Damme's epic twine in an advertisement for Volvo Trucks). However, such marketing does not always bring results, especially if the emphasis is on viral content.

Partnership programs

They involve business cooperation between the seller (company) and a partner, under the terms of which the partner is entitled to a certain percentage or amount of attracted customers if they perform a certain targeted action (at the discretion of the seller).

The principle is simple, and the models of work are as follows: PPC (pay per click), CPA (cost per action), CPS (cost per sale). That is, leads in affiliate programs can be the following: clicks, registrations, applications, orders, sales.

Ways to promote goods in social networks

Ways to promote a product on Instagram

Instagram is a convenient service that allows users to share photos and videos. Not so long ago, the attitude towards it was skeptical, but now it is considered as an excellent platform for posting ads. Users like bright pictures and short captions to them.

Users of the service can earn money, especially if their pages are popular. Young people browse their idols' accounts with interest, so the cost of celebrity advertising posts is very high.

Ways to promote a product on Facebook

In the first case, the advertiser will need to set a daily budget and cost per 1000 impressions. In the second, only target actions of users are paid after the fact. Their price varies from 8 to 20 rubles, which depends on the selected settings. You can pay for advertising with a bank card or using PayPal.

Ways to promote goods on Vkontakte

Until recently, Vkontakte was considered a network for schoolchildren. However, the developers, taking an example from other successful social networks in the field of advertising, decided to keep up.

We have developed our own targeting tool for Vkontakte. The source of information about users on the Facebook network and others is data on the IP address of the computer, and VK takes it from the information specified in the person's profile. What is the convenience?

A person who lives in the capital and has come to Barnaul for work for two days is unlikely to be interested in the novelties that have arrived in the Barnaul showrooms. Vkontakte shows users advertisements related to the settlements in which they live permanently.

Like other social media, VK allows you to place ads in various formats. Large images or community ads are quite popular. You can post ads yourself or through the administration of groups.

To advertise in the community, you need to pay from 200 rubles, the amount depends on user activity and the number of subscribers. For 200 rubles, you can publish an ad in a group with 50,000 followers.

If the community has a million-strong audience, then the placement price will be much higher. The cost of independent publications is 6-10 rubles per 1000 impressions. It depends on the reach of the audience and the selected settings.

Non-traditional ways to promote a product on the Internet

Website with virtual reality elements

When developing an advertisement for the RAV4 car in South Africa, Toyota took into account the characteristics of the target audience as much as possible. These are people with an active lifestyle, they are not afraid of off-road, they love playing sports, they do not spend much time at the computer. An unusual action with elements of virtual reality was organized for them.

Created a 1.8 km long cycling route that simulated exploring the site. The analogue of the cursor was directly the cyclist. Participants of the action stopped at various points of the route - sections "Models", "Safety", "Salon", "Design" and "Order a test drive".

Access to additional information was opened after hitting the "button" with the palm of the hand. Part of the elements was made of wood, posters with information were also used. If the participant, finishing, hit the “Refresh” sign with his hand, then an invigorating shower spilled on him from the arch.

Word of the unusual site spread quickly, with a 400% increase in traffic and a 433% increase in test drive requests.

The amount of the discount, which depends on weather conditions

During the cold season, the demand for Venus women's machines in Sweden fell significantly. Then the Gillette company invited users to post on Instagram the violence of the elements captured in the photo, putting the hashtag of the action under them.

There was an automatic comparison of the weather conditions in the place from which the picture was posted, with the weather observed there over the years. The lower the temperature and the darker the sky, the greater the discount offered to the user to purchase the Venus machine.

The partner of the action was an online store. The winning author was awarded a trip to Miami.

Advertising in exchange for 10 subway rides

The largest Brazilian publisher of pocket books LP&M organized an action in the subway. It consisted in placing stands with free books - masterpieces of world literature at the entrance to the station. A ticket for 10 trips was embedded in the cover of the books. Book lovers were given free rides, which improved their perception of the brand.

Those who were not attracted to reading could fall in love with books during the time they carried a travel book with them and become clients of LP&M. In addition, the “pass” was assigned a unique number, according to which the ticket was “recharged” on the campaign website: the person entered the code and received 10 more trips (for example, to give the book to a friend).

The publishing house also implemented another idea for promoting its products: it found the small format convenient and placed ads on pockets! More precisely, on the lining of jeans pockets, having concluded an agreement with their local manufacturer.

Excerpts from prose or poetry, as well as the logo of the publishing house, were used as advertising text. The message of the campaign was: "Great books can fit in your pocket." The project allowed to increase traffic to the publisher's online store by 24%, and sales - by 13%.

Any businessman knows that the correct assessment and understanding of his products by customers leads to an increase in sales revenue. The task of a communicative marketing policy is to promote the goods of a manufacturer or entrepreneur. How is the distribution of products on the market and through whom? What are the ways to successfully sell a product?

Promotion- an action that is focused on increasing the effectiveness of sales through a certain communicative stimulation of customers, contractors, partners and employees. It pursues the following goals: increasing consumer demand and maintaining a positive attitude towards the company. Product promotion carries out such important functions, as:

• creation of an attractive image of the enterprise: prestige, innovations, low prices;
• bringing information about products, including their characteristics, to end users;
• maintaining the relevance of the product (service);
• motivation of all participants in the product distribution chain;
• transformation of the usual perception of products;
• dissemination of information about the reliability of the company;
• promotion of expensive goods.

The totality of all these functions can be called a complex. That is, the complex for promoting trade items is a kind of generalization of marketing tools and techniques that guarantee bringing information about the entrepreneur's products to end consumers. This set of actions consists of different methods of product promotion.

Promotion Methods- These are certain marketing techniques, means and tools that are used in order to achieve the goal of increasing sales. They are considered an integral part of a well-formed and competent strategy for advertising products or a company's communication policy. There are a sufficient number of methods for promoting a product in marketing, among them there are some that are especially popular.

The main methods of product promotion - 4 components of a marketing campaign

Promotion method 1. Advertising

Advertising is a specific type of communication achieved through the commercial dissemination of information with a clear indication of the source of funding. You need to understand that advertising in general and it as a marketing tool are two different techniques.

An important function of advertising in the second case is to inform potential consumers about the manufacturer's new products. An entrepreneur can spend a lot of money on various campaigns to promote a product, but if it is not popular among buyers, then it is quite difficult to implement it.

• validity;
• analysis of the proposed subject of trade.

When a person does not find these provisions in the information about the product, then the benefit from advertising is likely to come to naught. The arguments by which an entrepreneur can interest consumers in his product are divided into the following types.

• subjective- this is the emotional mood that appears from viewing advertising (for example, after a video about juice "Orchard").
• objective- this is the specificity of the product (for example, advertising tablets "Mezim").

Communication with buyers through advertising should be exclusive and different from the presentation of information about competitive products. Uniqueness can be associated with the product, with the scenario of the communication unit or the target audience using this product. The consumer must be provided with a special product, otherwise you should not count on successful sales.

If a potential buyer remembered your advertisement, then it conveyed certain information to him, which expresses the value and effectiveness of the campaign undertaken. According to the level of perception, three types of information used in the promotion of goods can be distinguished .

• Demanded information that is accessible, understandable and quickly remembered. For such distribution of data, you can not spend a lot of money. Advertising will work even if you submit an ad in a newspaper with several lines. So, the target audience in the form of students will find information about writing essays and term papers without much difficulty.
• Random information that is not remembered or stored in memory with great difficulty. This type of information is associated by consumers with the advertising medium. That is, the future buyer must understand that even if he needs this or that product or service, he can find it there. For example, most customers who decide to replace old windows with new ones realize that they will find many offers in free advertising publications. Accordingly, the task of the window seller is to regularly submit advertisements to newspapers that are freely distributed among consumers.
• Unnecessary information that the consumer ignores or annoys him. There are products intended for a narrow target audience, an overabundance of advertising for such items can unnerve other people. Sometimes the seller does not know which buyer needs his product, and which one will be dissatisfied with the often found information about him.

When a person consciously comes to understand that he needs the advertised product, he makes a decision and buys it. The purpose of marketing is to correctly identify the target audience and create a tool for communicating information about a particular product.

You do not need to make every effort and force them to buy your product, you need to correctly approach the formation of a communication campaign that leads the consumer to a conscious purchase. Advertising methods for promoting goods are quite effective if the provisions of marketing are correctly applied.

Promotion method 2. Direct sales

Conducting a dialogue between the seller and the buyer, the purpose of which is to assist in the acquisition of products, is called direct sales. This method of promoting a product does not require any financial investment and is considered the highest level of business formation, rather than the provision of any services or ordinary retail.

Even if all marketing conditions are met, but with a careless attitude to direct sales, the manufacturer will not be able to effectively promote his product. The secret of this type of implementation is that an ordinary seller not only accepts orders, but becomes an initiative earner of transactions.

We do not recommend ignoring direct sales, as this can significantly reduce profits. For example, an entrepreneur has chosen a good location for a commercial outlet, has taken a high-quality product in demand, but the sellers are rude to customers, not interested in revenue, and, as a rule, the level of trading operations will be extremely low.

The primary function of personal selling is to transform the sales agent into a deal maker. The formation of this type of sales of goods consists of two main aspects.

• Customer orientation. This method is aimed at determining the needs of buyers and the recommended ways to implement them.
• Sales orientation. The method is considered offensive, as it is aimed at aggressively obtaining deals by any means.

Pros of personal selling:

• personal attitude to the consumer and the ability to give out all the information about the product;
• minimum expenses that do not bring financial effect;
• feedback with the consumer, allowing to make changes and additions to promotional activities.

The disadvantage of this method of promoting goods is the high level of turnover costs. The more exclusive the product being sold, the more effective personal selling.

This method of implementation brings good results in solving the following marketing tasks: searching for potential consumers and information about the market, etc. Relying on competent sales personnel, the entrepreneur is able to effectively communicate with customers and quickly respond to changes in the market situation.

Promotion method 3. Propaganda

Propaganda- this is a procedure for the formation of reliable relationships with society by free use of space and time in the media. The purpose of this tool is to create a favorable attitude towards the company in order to make the most effective communication actions in the future. Propaganda concerns the entire enterprise, and in order to conduct public advertising, it is necessary to have a large amount of information about the company, including confidential information.

The most important propaganda mechanisms:

• speeches: representatives of the company should be active at the opening of various event events, delivering welcome speeches at them;
• Events: holding and participating in seminars, round tables, online meetings, press conferences, competitions, exhibitions, competitions .;
• news: bringing good news about the company, its products, personnel to the media;
• publications: newsletters, brochures, reports, articles in newspapers and magazines and other materials that can be used as a means of influencing markets to promote goods;
• sponsorship: provision of material and financial assistance to accompany various events: sports, charitable and other significant for the public;
• means of identification: use of the company logo, business cards, uniforms for staff, a uniform style of office interiors, promotion of promotional materials about the enterprise, development of letterheads with its logo, etc.

The direction of propaganda is addressed to the following subjects:

• consumers: to create a trustworthy business card of products (including the environmental friendliness of the product) and the company's reputation, using the method of holding public events, promotions, advertising in the media, etc.;
• counterparties: to grow the trading network, attract new customers and partners through the organization of presentations, exhibitions, advertising, etc. Due to activities such as product presentation and contact with customers, you can get a double benefit for the company;
• key journalists(radio, TV, Internet, press): for free promotion of information about new products, important events in the life of the company, using the method of holding press conferences, as well as distributing press releases, etc.;
• state and municipal authorities and administrations: to participate in public and social projects and sponsor cultural events, etc.

Propaganda activities are developed and implemented in several stages.

1. Definition of tasks.
2. Selection of means of appeal.
3. Organization of appeals.
4. Implementation of events.
5. Analysis of results.

One pattern can be identified: propaganda prevails over advertising with a high level of market monopolization. Otherwise, according to the commercial results, the activities of the first campaign will be less effective than those of the second campaign. In any case, propaganda loses to advertising in promoting goods.

Promotion method 4. Sales promotion

The use of certain means that are designed to stir up the interest of the target audience in response to various activities within the boundaries of marketing and communication strategies is called sales promotion. This is another tactic for revitalizing the business process.

Sales promotion is a short-term market stimulation tool that is not able to guarantee either a stable demand for products or attracting new regular customers. But an entrepreneur can get a result much faster from such a maneuver than from other methods of promoting a product.

Incentive tools include: brochures, diagrams, presentations, posters, souvenirs, advertising inside product packaging, calendars, exhibitions, catalogs, stickers, tables, etc.

The focus of this tactic of activating sales is addressed to the following subjects.

• How to attract the attention of the buyer: statistics on the main channels

Subject	Target	Methods
Buyers	To purchase more items	promotions aimed at promoting new products; various competitions; distribution of free samples (probes); games, lotteries; demonstration of products by the promoter; loyalty programs (discount card, repeat purchase discount, etc.).
Counterparties	To influence the number of transactions in the direction of their increase	proper staff training; provision of campaign materials and related equipment for trade; provision of information, legal and other services; competition based on sales results.
sales staff	to motivate employees to attract more customers, as well as to improve the quality of service	material motivation in the form of accrual of bonuses, payment of bonuses; moral encouragement in the form of rewarding with diplomas, thanks; holding competitions among sales managers; payment for travel vouchers for employees who have no comments from the company administration; carrying out studies, retraining, advanced training, treatment of employees at the expense of the enterprise.

12 promotion techniques that will raise even “dead” sales

Are you already using additional and cross-selling, regularly holding promotions, offering “locomotive” goods, but the average check is not growing? Try to implement non-banal methods that will attract the attention of even indifferent customers and motivate them to buy. You will learn them from the article of the electronic magazine "Commercial Director".

What determines the methods used to promote the company's product

1. Promotion Campaign Objectives

The impact of promotional goals on the methods chosen can be summarized as follows. If the enterprise is faced with the task of generating information about new products, then priority should be given to advertising, and not to other types of marketing.

If the goal is to bring out the detailed characteristics of a durable product, then it is preferable to use personal selling and sales promotion to further attract customers to retail outlets, while advertising should be used in moderation.

1. Target Market Characteristics

The choice of methods for promoting goods is influenced by the prevalence of economic relations of the enterprise, as well as their geographical and socio-economic characteristics. If the market is small, then it is better to choose personal sales as a sales method. If products are sold within a limited region, then your method of promoting the product is local media. If on a national scale - national mass media.

1. Product characteristics

The promotion method is also influenced by product characteristics. To promote technical products, it is better to use personal selling; products intended for the mass buyer - advertising campaigns; seasonal products - enhanced sales and sales promotion techniques.

It is sometimes impractical to have a full staff of sales managers throughout the calendar year, since it is not always necessary to apply the method of personal selling.

1. Product life cycle stage

The choice of methods for promoting a product depends on what stage of the life cycle this or that product is at. It is good to accompany the stage of introducing a new technical product to the market with personal sales and sales promotion, and for everyday items - with advertising campaigns.

At the stage of stagnation, marketers tend to reduce the promotion of the old product. Communicative information blocks are no longer such an effective tool as they were at the time of product introduction. In this case, it is better to use the method of direct sales and sales promotion.

1. Price

The cost of goods has a significant impact on the choice of the method of their promotion. Increasing personal sales will require products with a high price, and for low-cost products, the tactics of using advertising are excellent.

1. Possibility of applying the method

The choice in applying one or another method of promoting a product depends on bringing it to the target audience. So, for example, at the state level there may be a ban on advertising a particular product (alcohol, tobacco). The aggravation of the problem is observed when the goods are promoted for export.

Effective modern methods of promoting goods and services

Promotion method 1. BTL events

The concept below the line (from English - “under the line”) carries a full range of practical activities. The term arose by chance: the director of an American firm had to approve the budget for an advertising campaign that included classic media information.

The manager considered that such events would not be enough and, under the line of existing costs, added by hand additional costs for the distribution of free product samples, promotional coupons for participating in contests and receiving gifts.

In modern reality, the buyer enjoys the presence of a wide range when purchasing the things he needs, as he has unlimited access to a large range of goods and services. For a person, the possibility of choice, the satisfaction of needs, personal positioning, the need to participate in the creation of new public goods are important.

If the target audience of the manufacturer consists of such buyers, then each time it becomes more and more difficult to develop an effectively selling product. That is why new methods play a big role in promoting a product to ensure customer loyalty. After all, they guarantee bringing a unique product to a specific buyer. BTL services have all of the above qualities, and therefore, they are actively developing in the Russian Federation.

The main tools used in the field of BTL:

• competition - a procedure for promoting a product, as a result of which buyers perform a specific task, show their knowledge and skills in order to take the prize of the competition;
• presentation - presenting a product with a demonstration of its characteristics and specifics;
• tasting - providing an opportunity for future consumers to taste the product;
• distribution of advertising and information materials (leaflets, discount coupons) - the offer of special tools to stimulate sales or the design of advertising at retail outlets, which would allow the promoted product to be actively sold directly in the store.
• sampling - distribution of samples (probes) of the advertised product;
• lottery - an event during which a winner is randomly determined;
• premium (present for the purchase of goods) - promotion of products through the introduction of a special offer.

Promotion method 2. Telemarketing

One of the new methods of product promotion, used in addition to advertising or direct sales, can be used both as programs for finding information and for its distribution. This method performs the following tasks:

• networking with regular customers ;
• highlighting real "leads" from public mailing lists;
• direct sales future buyers by phone;
• relationship use for the production of a new product;
• hosting an event after the implementation of direct sales programs;
• further work with "tips" for sales who were attracted through advertisements, direct selling events or through intermediaries;
• establishing contacts with buyers within the boundaries of the relationship marketing program;
• attract reluctant consumers by offering them new products that arouse their interest;
• conducting marketing research, and the use of various surveys and surveys to further evaluate customer response to new products.

Based on this method of product promotion, it is possible to obtain a variety of information from participants, analyze it, and use information bases to develop and implement further marketing programs.

Promotion method 3. Event marketing

This is a set of ongoing activities to support the image of the enterprise and manufactured goods, to promote the brand through unforgettable and exciting events. That is, with the help of certain actions, the company is in contact with its customers, which, in turn, creates a favorable image of the company and consumer interest. The types of event marketing activities are presented below.

• Special Events(special events): advertising tours, festivals, sports competitions, organization of city holidays, awards, promotions for the media. Such events are favorable for creating the image of the company, as well as for the formation of the reliability of the brand. As a rule, after a successful event, a positive response from the target audience follows in the form of increased loyalty to the company and a pronounced interest in the product produced by regular and potential buyers.
• Events for partners, dealers and distributors(trade events). Such events are both business and entertainment in nature, for example: presentation, round table, reception, seminar, congress, conference, forum. The purpose of such actions is to clearly demonstrate the positive qualities of products, convey the latest goods or services to consumers, exchange experiences, find new partners, etc.
• Corporate events(corporate events): celebrating state, professional holidays, anniversaries of the company, birthdays of employees, joint holidays with the team. Such events allow the director of the enterprise to become a more authoritative and respected leader for his subordinates, effectively convey the ideas of the company's administration to each employee, and show the care and attention of the authorities to the staff.

Promotion method 4. Children's marketing

Children have long been recognized as full-fledged and special consumers, and, as a result, such a method of product promotion as children's marketing has appeared. To develop such strategies aimed at the audience of the younger generation, it is necessary to deeply study its specifics.

A manufacturer of children's goods should focus on the needs of schoolchildren and younger children, as well as on the perception of the world through the eyes of a small person. For such marketing, it is important not only the quality and appearance of products, but also the packaging, as well as the methods used to promote and distribute the product.

Children's needs change as the child grows psychologically and physiologically. This category of the population gives an instant reaction to any social and social changes, this feature is successfully used by marketers in the development and promotion of children's products. Consider why the younger generation is an extremely attractive target audience for marketing:

• children are very emotional when buying goods that are interesting to them, they easily say goodbye to money;
• often the guys manage their pocket money on their own;
• children have influence over parents who buy many items for them;
• the child, as a rule, retains interest in a particular brand of a particular product for a long time;
• Children spend a lot of time watching TV and, accordingly, advertising.

The children's audience is more often represented not by buyers, but by users. The product for the child is purchased by the elders, but the role of the baby in making a purchase decision is significant. Parents listen to the desires of the child, assist in choosing a particular brand. As a result, when the final decision on the purchase of children's goods is voiced by the child, it is made under the influence of the opinions of adults. Manufacturers and retailers who rely on children's marketing need to understand this.

Promotion method 5. Promotions

In order to become more famous, companies arrange various show programs and presentations, sponsor socially useful events, city holidays, competitions, festivals, where advertising campaigns are widely carried out and free samples of goods are distributed.

The manufacturer is interested in the quick response of the consumer to the actions to promote the sale of a new product. To date, promotions are the most effective method of promoting a product, it is not surprising that the number of promotional events has increased.

It is important not just to show the buyer a new product, you need to do it brightly, boldly, with high quality. Such promotions should be approached responsibly, it is necessary to purchase materials, arrange transport support, order souvenirs, invite the media to review events, arrange in advance price lists, catalogs, brochures, leaflets, business cards, invitation cards, etc.

Decide which of the staff will actively offer your product to customers. Promoters are specialists who advertise products, who must have the skills of cultural communication with potential consumers. The activity of product promotion directly depends on their professionalism.

Promotion method 6. Merchandising

Merchandising refers to new methods of promoting products. Receptions of this kind can completely replace the usual seller. This technique attracts the buyer to the product right at the point of sale.

The main goal of merchandising is to make products easily accessible and attractive, as well as to simplify the procedure for purchasing them. The functions of the method are:

• control over the availability of goods on the shelves of retail outlets, taking into account the popularity of certain items;
• organization of sales points and their supply with all necessary materials;
• ensuring the layout and location of products, i.e. presentation of specific products.

First, it is necessary to create a commensurate stock of goods, and then they are placed in retail outlets in a certain assortment and volume. In merchandising, it is extremely important to choose and position promotional materials correctly, such as:

• price tags,
• stands,
• booklets,
• coin boxes,
• posters,
• hanging and floor model products.

Display of goods (exposition) is considered one of the most important methods of merchandising.

Exposition - the procedure for placing products on specialized commercial equipment. If the display of goods is made in places that catch the eye of a potential buyer, and the packaging of the items itself has a presentable appearance, then sales of such products grow quite quickly.

Promotion method 7. Packing

The appearance of products should not be underestimated, as it plays a large communicative role in marketing.

Packaging (package) - a kind of product shell, which is a progressive and independent form of promotion. It can be used as a tool for presenting and communicating information sent through marketing communications. In today's reality, packaging is a significant means of influence through which the manufacturer communicates with customers.

Due to the fact that most of the outlets are focused on self-service, the role of the outer shell is great and has a significant impact on the degree of product promotion on the market. Packaging should attract the buyer to the product, convey its features and characteristics, assure the consumer of the quality of the product, create a good impression, etc.

An important role is played by increasing the income of buyers. As consumers become more affluent, so does their willingness to pay for quality, reliability, brand, convenience, and even better packaging.

The manufacturer himself understands that good packaging helps in advertising the product, in recognizing the brand. A creative and innovative approach to the development of packaging also brings benefits to the manufacturer in the promotion of goods, and allows the designer of the company to realize his creative ideas.

Promotion method 8. Film merchandising

When designing and developing packaging, the manufacturer often focuses on one or another movie or cartoon character, as well as on any items that are widely used by them. It is extremely effective to use film brands in the product market.

Against the background of a certain figure of a character from a movie, promotion of goods gives a certain advantage to the manufacturer. This reduces the cost of launching new products and significantly reduces the time to market for new products.

Due to the fact that on-screen characters are widely known and recognizable, consumers are more likely to remember brands that use movie brands to promote their product.

Example of cinema merchandising (Hulk figure in a shopping mall, Bangkok)

Expert opinion

Features of promotion through event marketing

Sergey Knyazev,

general producer of the Knyazev group of companies, Moscow

When there is a need to increase sales everywhere throughout Russia, then you need to hold a mega-event in the capital of the country, which would cause a resonance in the federal media, or organize a series of actions in the largest cities of Russia. The budget for measures to stimulate the sale of products in the country will amount to 25-100 million rubles, to promote goods in the territory of a particular region - 2-20 million rubles.

The main items of expenditure: coordinating events with the city administration, finding a venue for them, developing a script, technical support (light, sound, monitors, special effects, etc.), preparing props, costumes, scenery, inviting the media, artists, well-known public figures people, etc. We must not forget about secondary costs, depending on the specific theme of the action.

The result is not at all difficult to determine and fix: set the level of sales before and after the event. The results can be calculated both as a percentage and in units of goods sold. Applications are a good indicator, evaluate the number of orders for a product (service) before and after the event.

Do a survey of your company's sales representatives and dealers, they will see changes in the increase in demand for your product like no one else. For example, our company organized a fireworks festival to establish the Sharp brand in the market.

The festival gathered half a million people, various media covered the event in their publications. After the holiday, held on a grand scale, many retail chains selling goods from this manufacturer saw a sharp rise in sales of Sharp products. The result of this event was preserved for quite a long time.

The main methods of promoting goods on the Internet

1. Create your own website

Almost any company has its own web resource, the address of which it actively distributes on the Internet. On the site you can find the full amount of information about the work of the enterprise, prices for products or services, contact information, etc. Often a web resource is made in the form of an online store. Within its framework, a potential client is invited to choose a particular product, look at the characteristics declared for it, consumer reviews, and buy products with home delivery. Modern sites are equipped with a callback service.

1. SEO optimization

SEO optimization is a set of actions that are used to increase the rating of a company's website when indexing its content by well-known search engines such as Google, Yandex, Rambler and others. The purpose of this technique is to increase the number of visits to the company's website and, accordingly, the number of future buyers.

1. banner advertising

Banner and contextual advertising is a fairly effective method of promoting goods on the Internet. An ad in the form of a banner, i.e. a graphic drawing with a link to the company's web page, placed on resources with a large number of visitors, is extremely effective for product promotion.

Such popular and active sites, in addition to bringing useful content to people, are large advertising platforms used by various companies to promote their products. Such information attracts potential consumers, arouses interest in a new unique product, thereby provoking a purchase.

1. contextual advertising

This type of advertising is also widely used to promote a product. It works efficiently and quite simply: information about your company or a new product is displayed on specialized sites whose target audience matches the theme of the advertised product.

1. Viral Marketing

Viral marketing is the active dissemination of the information you need through the Internet. In a couple of hours, a huge number of users can learn about your product or about a planned company event. This method of product promotion is widely used by entrepreneurs.

The effectiveness of this technique does not need to be proven. The main advantage of the method: the absence of financial costs, since information goes to the people without the involvement of specialized advertising agencies. The person who received such an advertisement is already favorably disposed towards it due to the fact that it came from the same user.

1. Social media

SMM promotion is an excellent method of promoting a product on social networks. These Internet platforms contain a huge number of users, therefore, by advertising themselves and their products using SMM, the company will definitely find a target audience that will increase sales of a particular product. You can engage in marketing in social networks for a long time and completely free of charge.

1. E-mail newsletter

Email marketing is also a popular and effective method of product promotion. Messages with advertisements about the product are sent to the e-mail addresses of Internet users. Such emails contain information about planned events, contests, discounts, promotions, bonuses, etc.

Companies using this method of product promotion should not forget that users must first agree to receive such mailings.

• How not to fall into spam: 10 secrets of competent e-mail marketing

Expert opinion

Free advertising can be better than paid advertising

Kirill Redin,

General Director of the trade and production company "Octopus-DV", Khabarovsk

In 2011, our company developed high-quality selling texts and distributed them on such free advertising platforms as "From Hand to Hand", "Pulse Price", "Goods and Services", etc. Sales increased 3-4 times, which amounted to about thirty doors per month. During this experimental period, we did not serve other advertising than in free publications.

Previously, we searched for buyers in construction site chats, where users shared with each other successes and failures in repairs, choice of materials, brand evaluation, etc. The manager of our company started a correspondence and talked about high-quality inexpensive doors that he installed at home . Entering into such dialogues on 25-30 specialized sites, we were able to sell 4-8 doors per week.

Disadvantages. Time costs. At least one supervisor is required.

What are the methods of promoting a product to the market with minimal costs

Method 1. Exhibitions

A great way to advertise your company among competitors and consumers is to participate in an exhibition. To do this, you do not need to rent an expensive site, install a stand. Think about how you can creatively and effectively participate in the exhibition, while getting the maximum amount of data on potential partners and customers, as well as expressing yourself.

Carefully review the invitation of the exhibition organizers and the venue, look for a low-budget way to demonstrate your activities. It is enough just to place the name of the company in the event catalog or on the website. You can rent a couple of square meters at the entrance to the exhibition, hire a teenager who will distribute tasty or healthy little things, accompanying them with business cards with your company's contact details.

Method 2. Press Releases

A good way to promote your product is to issue weekly press releases about the work of your company. You should not make them very voluminous, enough text on half an A4 sheet, accompanying it with a few key phrases about the company.

Informative occasions for press releases about the company must be sought throughout the week. Organize the data collection and processing scheme. Place articles about the company in all sorts of ways: websites, a corporate publication for regular consumers, newsletters, announcements on the trading floor, etc.

You can register your message for free in the press release directories. Be active in sending company news to various publications in your area, both print (newspapers, magazines) and online media.

Method 3. Cases

Cases are called success-story or case-study, they differ from each other in nature, but the essence is the same - to demonstrate to people of your target audience on a specific example how to solve their difficulties. It is better to write the narrative according to the schemes: “problems – solutions – effectiveness”, “unsatisfactory DO – great AFTER." Such stories are interesting to users.

Plots should not be presented automatically and dryly, they should be humanized. You need to write stories in simple language, imagine that you are addressing a story to your friend. The main thing in such narratives is not to set the goal of increasing sales, you simply report some events and show how you got out of this or that situation, while the other person is suffering. In this case, you do not impose information, you share it.

Method 4. Reviews

It is imperative to collect feedback from your customers from the moment you first started doing business. If your client is a well-known enterprise, then include it as an example in your advertising campaigns.