Determining the Sales Promotion Programme

The main stages which are involved in sales promotion planning are:

1. Establishment of objectives: Sales-promotion objectives vary according to the target

market. If the target is the customer, objectives could include the encouragement of
increased usage or the building of trial among non-users or other brand users. For
intermediaries, objectives could be to encourage off-season sales or offsetting
competitive promotions. Sales-promotion activity could also be aimed at internal
personnel, making up part of the reward system.

2. Selection of promotional tools: Promotional objectives form the basis for selecting the
most appropriate sales-promotion tools. The cost and effectiveness of each tool must be
assessed with regard to achieving these objectives in respect of each target market. The
tools available to the service marketer are described in more detail in the next section.

3. Planning the sales-promotion programme: The major decisions that need to be made
when designing the sales-promotion programme relate to the timing of the promotion and
how long this tool is to be used. Also important are the size of incentive, rules for
eligibility and, of course, the overall budget for the promotion.

4. Pre-testing: This needs to be undertaken to ensure that potentially expensive problems

are discovered before the full launch of a promotion. Testing in selected market segments
can highlight problems of ambiguity, response rates and give an indication of cost
effectiveness.

5. Implementation: The programme for implementation must include two important time
factors First, it must indicate the ‘lead time’- the time necessary to bring the programme
up to the point where the incentive is made available to the public. Second, the ‘sell in
time’ which is the period of time from the date of release to when approximately 90-95
per cent, of incentive material has been received by potential customers.

6. Evaluation: The performance of the promotion needs to be assessed against the

objectives set. If objectives are specific and quantifiable, measurement would seem to be
easy. However, extraneous factors could account for the apparent success of many sales-
promotion activities. For example, competitive actions or seasonal variations may have
influenced customers’ decision making. It can also be extremely difficult to separate out
the effects of sales-promotion activity from other promotional activity-or indeed from
other marketing-mix changes.

Personal Selling

Personal selling uses in-person interaction to sell products and services. This type of
communication is carried out by sales representatives, who are the personal connection
 between a buyer and a company or a company’s products or services. Salespeople not only
inform potential customers about a company’s product or services, they also use their power
of persuasion and remind customers of product characteristics, service agreements, prices,
deals, and much more.

Effective personal selling addresses the buyer’s needs and preferences without making him
or her feel pressured. Good salespeople offer advice, information, and recommendations, and
they can help buyers save money and time during the decision process. The seller should give
honest responses to any questions or objections the buyer has and show that he cares more
about meeting the buyer’s needs than making the sale. Attending to these aspects of personal
selling contributes to a strong, trusting relationship between buyer and seller.

Personal Selling Techniques

1. Sales presentations: in-person or virtual presentations to inform prospective customers

about a product, service, or organization.
2. Conversations: relationship-building dialogue with prospective buyers for the purposes of
influencing or making sales.
3. Demonstrations: demonstrating how a product or service works and the benefits it offers,
highlighting advantageous features and how the offering solves problems the customer
encounters.
4. Addressing objections: identifying and addressing the concerns of prospective customers, to
remove any perceived obstacles to making a purchase.
5. Field selling: sales calls by a sales representative to connect with target customers in person
or via phone.
6. Retail selling: in-store assistance from a sales clerk to help customers find, select, and
purchase products that meet their needs.
7. Door-to-door selling: offering products for sale by going door-to-door in a neighborhood.
8. Consultative selling: consultation with a prospective customer, where a sales representative
(or consultant) learns about the problems the customer wants to solve and recommends
solutions to the customer’s particular problem.
9. Reference selling: using satisfied customers and their positive experiences to convince target
customers to purchase a product or service.

Personal selling minimizes wasted effort, promotes sales, and boosts word-of-mouth marketing.
Also, personal selling measures marketing return on investment (ROI) better than most tools, and
it can give insight into customers’ habits and their responses to a particular marketing campaign
or product offer.
Qualities of a Good Salesman

1. Physical Qualities:
A salesman should be healthy and should possess an attractive
personality. For creating a favorable impression on the customers, good
appearance, posture, sound health, pleasing voice. etc., are required. As
a salesman is required to travel a lot, he should be physically capable of
travelling.  
2. Knowledgeable
A salesman should have complete knowledge of the product and its
features, knowledge about the organization, its philosophy, policies,
motto, customers, competitors, etc.
3. Mental Attributes
A high degree of intelligence and imagination are essential qualities for a
successful salesman. He should be in a position to understand
customers and read their minds quickly. For effective selling, he should
have a creative imagination, keen observation, sharp memory, and good
judgment ability.
4. Vocational Attributes
The salesperson should be highly ambitious and enthusiastic, as
salesmanship is a highly skilled vocation. He should be optimistic and
should have creative ability and an urge for excellence.  
5. Courtesy
In order to win the trust of customers, a salesman should be polite,
sympathetic and courteous. If the language of the salesman is polite,
then he can win the buyer’s confidence.
6. Tactfulness
As a salesman has to deal with humans, who differ in aptitudes,
viewpoints, requirements, etc., he must be tactful. He must have the
ability to adjust to the circumstances and needs of the customers.
7. Self-confidence
Self-confidence is an essential quality to be a successful salesman. He
should have firm determination and take every objection or obstacle as a
challenge.
 8. Enthusiastic
A salesman should be enthusiastic and should work with zeal. He should
focus on achieving the selling objectives by accepting the challenge of
making a positive sale to the customer.
9. Honesty
The policy of honesty should be practiced by the salesman. He should
not try to win customers through false and misleading representations.
10. Persistent
A salesman should be persistent. He should try to convince the
prospects with persistent efforts. He should not give up on the customers
soon. Regular and willing customers for the company can be won by the
persistent efforts of the salesman.
11. Good Communication Skills
The success of the sales depends upon the communication skills of the
salesman, as selling is a two-way communication process. The salesman
should have a controlled voice and demand over the language. He
should clearly communicate what he wants to communicate. Moreover,
he should not be only a good speaker but also a good listener.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public relations is a strategic communication process companies, individuals, and

organisations use to build mutually beneficial relationships with the public.
A public relations specialist drafts a specialised communication plan and uses media
and other direct and indirect mediums to create and maintain a positive brand image
and a strong relationship with the target audience.

Methods/Tools or Techniques of Public Relations

1. Attendance at public events: In order to attract public attention and keep it

engaged with a particular organization, PR specialists take an advantage of
every public event and the opportunity to speak publicly. This enables them to
directly reach the public attending the event and indirectly, a much larger
audience.

2. Press releases: Information that is communicated as a part of the regular TV

or/and radio program, newspapers, magazines and other types of mainstream
media achieves a much bigger impact than advertisements. This is due to the
fact that most people consider such information more trustworthy and meaningful
than paid advertising.

3. Newsletters: Sending newsletters – relevant information about the organization

or/and its products/services - directly to the target audience is also a common
method to create and maintain a strong relationship with the public.
4. Blogging: To reach the online audience, PR specialists use the digital forms of
press releases and newsletters but they also use a variety of other tools such as
blogging and recently, micro-blogging. It allows them to create and maintain a
relationship with the target audience as well as establish a two-way
communication.

5. Social media marketing: Social media networks are utilized by a growing

number of PR specialists to establish a direct communication with the public,
consumers, investors and other target groups.

Examples:

1. Press releases

2. Media alerts

3. Press conferences

4. Backgrounders: Meetings to build relationships, educate

5. Special events: Planned meetings and shows

6. Speeches

7. Photos and videotape: Materials given to media to help tell your story

8. Brochures

9. Newsletters

10. Web site content: Blogs and discussion boards