Reference no: EM132327684
Marketing Management Assignment - Marketing Mix Tools
Write a brief report on the various promotional mix tools - explain the characteristics of each tool (Advertising, sales promotion, events & experiences, public relations, direct marketing, interactive marketing, word of mouth marketing and personal selling). And state their advantages and disadvantages.
Need 3-4 pages.
Below points will help.
Marketing Mix Tools - Marketing mix tools are methods used to advise and inform the customers about your products, in the early days' companies were utilizing 1 or more of these tools at a time. In the 50's of the last century the mix tools concept starts to become the approach used by the companies to increase the customers awareness about the products. There are:
1- Advertising: It's a paid form to create a presentation or promotion of the product requested by the manufacturer or the company. This way is good to create awareness about the product and to inform a lot of customer about it. Also, it can build trust among the customers. But there is no personal teach in this tool, and customers may not be able to reach to the decision easy because there is no one to answer them directly.
2- Sales promotion: Different ways to motivate and encourage customers to purchase or try a product. It good because its great way to attract customer, and it will work nicely in the short term. On the other hand, it can damage the product image if it is used for long term, and people may get use to the promotion to be the norm.
3- Events and experiences: This are when the company-sponsored activities and programs designed to create daily or special brand-related interactions with consumers. Great because hosting your customer is good communication style, a lot of people will visit you at one time which will make them learn about your product. The downside it is expansive because you will need to travel a lot and find the correct platform to sell you product, and to buy for the events you need to sponsor. Also, you will need to put a lot of effort in talking and engaging with the people to explain about your products.
4- Public relations and publicity are a variety of ways to promote or protect the products in the perspective of the media and the public. Looks good when people believe the message because it came from a third party, and as we target a huge number of audiences it can reach to a lot of people. We need to keep in mind that we can't control what other think about you, or how the massage can alter. Furthermore, if we lose control it will cause a big damage.
5- Direct marketing: The use of varies ways to communicate directly with or request feedback from specific customers and prospects. It will work in establish direct contact with the customers or future ones, it could be tailored to the customer and at the same time we can find if our product attracts the customers attention. Furthermore, your competitors will not be able to find what is the relationship level you have with your customers. If we didn't know how to approach the customers it will backfire, and it consume a lot of effort as you are looking to reach to a lot of people.
6- Interactive marketing is online activities and programs designed to engage customers or prospects. It is good to rely the company message, also it a good way to reach to wide exposure and it can spread to a global level because a lot of people are using internet these days. Segmentation and targeting are easy for the companies and it is cost effective. The message can be easily changed and adapted and communicate with customers is easier through social media. The bad side, the message could be interfered. This method comes with high security risks and companies will need to invest in security software.
7- Word-of-mouth marketing refers to people-to-people oral, written, or electronic communications. Its good because its cheap way of marketing, it has big impact because of high level of credibility, also it supports and improve the product image. The negative part when the massage wrongly delivered, or when you are not able to track the results in the markets. It is informal way to communicate with the customers, and on the other hand we can't know their feedback on the product.
8- Personal selling is face-to-face interaction with one or more potential purchasers for the purpose of making presentations, answering questions, and procuring orders. Its good because you can interact a lot with the potential customers. Excellent to explain if the product is complicated or a lot of details of the product is required. A good way to establish good relationships can be built up with the customers. The bad end, it will cost as you are required to have a good number of sales forces. If your product attracts a lot of buyers, you will be able to reply to a small amount of people at a time because of you team size.