Advertising, Sales Promotion or Public Relations Term Paper

Advertising, Sales Promotion or Public Relations - Term Paper Example It is thus important to examine the interaction of these elements and how a company can make a successful marketing strategy by interconnecting the different elements of promotion and marketing. This paper will analyze the significance of advertising, sales promotion and public relations and their role in allowing companies to achieve their organizational goals. Advertising, Sales Promotion and Public Relations Advertising is understood as different forms of paid promotion and communication strategies for products and services. Sales promotion is a marketing tool that is used to increase sale of goods and services in the short term. While advertising focuses on creating a reason for consumers to make purchases, promotion focuses on creating incentives so that consumers make purchases. The incentives for consumers could be in the form of samples, free trial offers, gift coupons and demonstration of products by company representatives. Sales promotion activities are carried out to attr act new customers, give rewards to current customers or to enhance consumption by infrequent users. Sales promotion uses strategies to target customers that are prone to switch brands and these activities are selected in keeping with the over all marketing objectivities of the firm. The selection process of promotional tools considers competitive responses, budget, target audience and the tool’s objective. ... Advertising, sales promotion and public relations play crucial roles in assisting firms to achieve their marketing goals. Advertising is very important for firms in communicating with customers in different ways. Impersonal communication is done through promotions and point of sale practices while personal communication is done through direct person to person contact. Assuming that a buyer is impacted by four sources of information such as media, sales calls, exhibitions and direct mail, it implies that several people in the firm are engaged in influencing purchases. Sales people are not able to come in contact with all people that impact sales decisions but firms get information from different sources. The buying process is considered to be quite complex as there is a great deal of commercial uncertainty relative to the purchase outcomes. Specifications have to be drawn in regard to characteristics of design and processes relating to operating conditions, size, weight, performance e tc. Potential suppliers will provide product details and evaluation plans, and after trials by the firm, the supplier will be selected. Advertisement Goals The uniqueness of any product is determined by its complexity and the commercial uncertainty relative to its purchase outcome. It was believed for several years that advertising is a simple process whereby the firm simply advertised and customers took note of the message and made decisions accordingly in keeping with their aspirations and needs. However, the process is very exhaustive, in that before any objectives can be set for advertising, the firm has to take decisions about advertising