| |
 |
|
|
||||
|
|
 |
Modern
marketing calls for more than just developing a good product, pricing
it attractively, and making it available to target customers. Companies
must also communicate with current and prospective customers,
and what they communicate should not be left to chance. All of their
communications efforts must be blended into a consistent and
coordinated communications program. Just as good communication is
important in building and maintaining any kind of relationship, it is a
crucial element in a company's efforts to build customer relationships.
Comments by Dr. Laukamm
Add/Edit Comments |
||
|
|
|
The Marketing Communications MixComments by Dr. Laukamm
Add/Edit Comments |
||
|
|
|
A company's total marketing communications mix—also called its promotion mix—consists
of the specific blend of advertising, sales promotion, public
relations, personal selling, and direct-marketing tools that the
company uses to pursue its advertising and marketing objectives.
Definitions of the five major promotion tools follow:2
Comments by Dr. Laukamm
Add/Edit Comments |
||
|
|
|
Advertising: Any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.
Comments by Dr. Laukamm
Add/Edit Comments |
||
|
|
|
Sales promotion: Short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service.
Comments by Dr. Laukamm
Add/Edit Comments |
||
|
|
|
Public relations:
Building good relations with the company's various publics by obtaining
favorable publicity, building up a good corporate image, and handling
or heading off unfavorable rumors, stories, and events.
Comments by Dr. Laukamm
Add/Edit Comments |
||
|
|
|
Personal selling: Personal presentation by the firm's sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships.
Comments by Dr. Laukamm
Add/Edit Comments |
||
|
|
|
Direct marketing:
Direct connections with carefully targeted individual consumers to both
obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer
relationships—the use of telephone, mail, fax, e-mail, the Internet,
and other tools to communicate directly with specific consumers.
Comments by Dr. Laukamm
Add/Edit Comments |
||
|
|
|
Each
category involves specific tools. For example, advertising includes
print, broadcast, outdoor, and other forms. Sales promotion includes
point-of-purchase displays, premiums, discounts, coupons, specialty
advertising, and demonstrations. Public relations includes press
releases and special events. Personal selling includes sales
presentations, trade shows, and incentive programs. Direct marketing
includes catalogs, telephone marketing, kiosks, the Internet, and more.
Thanks to technological breakthroughs, people can now communicate
through traditional media (newspapers, radio, telephone, television) as
well as through newer media forms (fax, cell phones, and computers).
Comments by Dr. Laukamm
Add/Edit Comments |
||
|
|
|
At
the same time, communication goes beyond these specific promotion
tools. The product's design, its price, the shape and color of its
package, and the stores that sell it—all communicate something
to buyers. Thus, although the promotion mix is the company's primary
communication activity, the entire marketing mix—promotion and product, price, and place—must be coordinated for greatest communication impact.
Comments by Dr. Laukamm
Add/Edit Comments |
||
|
|
|
In
this chapter, we begin by examining the rapidly changing marketing
communications environment, the concept of integrated marketing
communications, and the marketing communication process. Next, we
discuss the factors that marketing communicators must consider in
shaping an overall communication mix. Finally, we summarize the legal,
ethical, and social responsibility issues in marketing communications.
In Chapter 16, we look at mass-communication tools—advertising, sales promotion, and public relations. Chapter 17 examines the sales force and direct marketing as communication and promotion tools.
Comments by Dr. Laukamm
Add/Edit Comments |
||
|
|
