Advertising

It is a paid form of a non personal presentation of an idea, goods or services by an identified sponsor to reach out maximum no .of audiences.

The mass media would include print media, direct mail, audio visual media, boards, hoardings etc.

Advertising is used when sponsors want to communicate with a no. of people who cannot be reached economically and effectively through personal selling.

Benefits of Advertising

• Creates Awareness• Creates Interest• Reinforcement because the message is repeated.• Increases sales• Helps in creating the demand• The company can protect its market share or position by

responding to the competitor’s strategy.• Coke’s punchline in 1996 was “ The official softdrink of the

world cup”• Pepsi said “ Nothing Official About it.”

Benefits of Advertising• Can reach many customers simultaneously. i.e. it has a mass

appeal.• Excellent for creating brand image.• High degree of flexibility and variety of media to choose

from.• Can accomplish different types of promotion objectives.

• Demerits• Many consumers reached are not potential buyers• Advertising is often quickly and easily screened out by

consumers.• Adds can be expensive and dramatize the concept.

Developing the Advertising Message

• A successful advertising message should have the following:

• Meaning: Message should be relevant, it should be meaningful.

• Distinctive: Unique• Believable: Convince the customers about the

product.

Developing an advertising Programme

• Identify Target Audience• Target could be mass markets. Ex Soaps• Advertisements of high priced products ex

cars should be directed towards status consious, high income group customers.

• Objectives Of Advertising Campaign• The objective of advertising campaign is to

achieve a specific communication task for a specific target audience during a specific period of time.

• Inform:• Its existing and potential customers• Communicate benefits of products• Inform about services offered• Inform of Price Change• Correct the false impression about the product/company.• Persuade• Special offers• Discounts• Personal visits• Encourage switch overs

• Remind• Remind for future• Remind Buyers from where to buy• Retain Product in customers perception.• Creating Emotions• Advertisements try to create an emotional bond.• Generate effective response from the brand using

emotions, moods, feelings, love and compassion.• Ex Cadbury • Humour Appeal- Cherry Blossom, Charlie Chaplin • Fear Appeal-Saffola , LIC ads• Satire and Cartoons: Kit Kat, Amul

• Sales promotion means any steps that are taken for the purpose of obtaining or increasing sales.

• These are incentives that are offered by a firm to the buyers.

• Each of these incentives is designed to achieve a specific action such as purchase, or a store visit or an inquiry about a product or service.

• To add value, to add visibility to normal selling, to add motivation to the routine selling we conduct sales promotion activities.

• To increase the impact and visibility of advertising, we add certain incentives to it and so we say that sales promotion co-ordinates with advertisements.

Print Advertisements• It comprises of the headline, the body copy and the Illustrations.• Readers first see the illustration, then read the

headline and then the body copy. An advertisement should follow the same sequence.

• The headline might promise a benefit, deliver news, offer a service or identify a problem.

• The headline or illustration should contain the brand name.

• The advertiser should get the message across by means of a strong headline.

• The message should be in customer’s language.

• The illustration can tell a story to the reader. Use characters that the customers can identify, emphasize on the product, its packaging, showing the results of the product usage.

• Long paragraphs and long sentences should be avoided.

TV Commercials

• TV Commercials are of short durations.• TV Commercials use a benefit approach where advertising

would suggest a reason for the customer to buy.• The second approach is subtle – the intension is to involve

the viewer by telling a story.• Third is salience advertising- with the assumption that

advertising which stands out as being different will cause brand to stand out.

• There are Humorous Advertisements.• Advertisements show product demonstrations.• Advertisements that compare the advertised product with

those of competitors are less believable and more confusing. A single branded advertisement is preferred.

• Advertisements show the product providing solutions to a common problem.

• If the company employs some novel process to make the product, the customers get influenced.

• Advertisements which contain news are above average in changing customer’s brand preferences.

• Advertisements with emotions and sentiments are effective particularly when there is nothing very unique to say about the product.

• Cartoons sell products to children.

Making Television Advertising more effective• Brand Name: The name of the brand should be

advertised in the advertisement. The name should appear within first ten seconds and should be repeated as often as possible.

• Package: Advertisements which end by showing the package are more effective in changing brand preference.

• Appetizing Food: In advertisement of foods, the more appetizing the product looks the more it sells.

• Close ups: The closer the look of the product the better it is.

Making Television Advertising more effective• Emphatic opening: If the advertisement grabs

attention in the first frame, it has a better chance of holding the viewer.

• Customers see many advertisements but remember only the once with unique visual impact.

• Product in use: It is useful to show the product being used and if possible the end result of using it.

• The advertisement should state its message very clearly.

Celebrity Endorsements• Celebrity endorsements should be planned.

• Celebrity values and personality must match those of the brand.

• People look up and watch the advertisements even of an unknown brand when a familiar face of a celebrity pops on the television screen.

• A celebrity has immense potential to shape the brand identity because of people’s inclination to believe them.

• The celebrity has to be attached with the brand for a long time since the persona of the celebrity has to be transferred to the brand.

Celebrity Endorsements• It is important that celebrity is not associated with other

brands that are projecting values and personalities that are in conflict with the brand in question. If it happens customers get confused about personalities and values of both the brands.

• Instant Brand Awareness and Recall.

• Brands acquire images from the type of people who are seen using them.

• Images of prestige or success are imbibed when brands are associated with glamorous personalities.

Celebrity Endorsements• Celebrities alone do not guarantee success. People

realize that celebrities are being paid a lot of money for endorsements and this knowledge makes them cynical about celebrity endorsements.

• Ensures attention: Ensures the attention of the targeted group by making the ad and the brand more noticible.

• Mitigating a tarnished image: • Cadbury India wanted to restore the consumer's

confidence in its chocolate brands following the high-pitch worms controversy; so the company appointed Amitabh Bachchan for the job.

• when the even more controversial pesticide issue shook up Coca-Cola and PepsiCo and resulted in much negative press, both soft drink majors put out high-profile damage control ad films featuring their best and most expensive celebrities.

• The celebrities ensured the safety of the product to the consumers.

• Psychographic Connect: Celebrities are loved and adored by their fans and advertisers capitalize on their feelings.

• Demographic Connect: Different stars appeal differently to various demographic segments (age, gender, class).

• Rejuvenating a stagnant brand: With the objective of infusing fresh life into the stagnant chyawanprash category and facing competition from various brands, Dabur India roped in Bachchan.

Disadvantages of a celebrity endorsing a brand:

• Sometimes the celebrity might overshadow the brand.• The audience will remember the celebrity and not the

brand.• Celebrities endorsing one brand and using another.• Mismatch between the celebrity and the image of the

brand

• Celebrity’s fit with the brand image. • Celebrity—Target audience match • Celebrity associated values. • Costs of acquiring the celebrity. • Celebrity—Product match. • Celebrity controversy risk. • Celebrity popularity. • Celebrity availability.• Celebrity prior endorsements. • Whether celebrity is a brand user. • Celebrity profession.

Sales Promotion• According to American Marketing Association:- • In specific sense, sales promotion includes those

sales activities that supplement both personal selling and advertising and co-ordinate them and make them effective such as displays, shows, demonstrations and other non-current selling efforts not in the ordinary routine.

• Objectives and Functions of Sales Promotion:• Encourage customers to try new products.• Example : Free Sampling• Encourage customers to use products and make

them brand loyal.

Objectives and Functions of Sales Promotion

• To influence the customers to purchase the product or service instantly because sales promotion time is very limited and if the customers do not respond to it quickly, they may lose the offer.

• To encourage the middlemen to buy and store more units of the products by offering them incentives for bulk purchases.

• To motivate the salesman to participate in the work.• To encourage off season purchases.• Unloading Accumulated inventory.

Types of Sales Promotions

• Consumer/ Customer Sales Promotion• Targeted at the end customers.• Such promotion might involve developing materials to be

displayed in retailer’s store- including Banners, danglers, posters, calenders at various point of purchase materials.

• Buy 1 get 1 • Write a slogan and win exiting prices.• 25% extra with this pack of surf excel.• Get Rs.10 off.

• Trade Sales Promotion• Here the target is the middlemen. They are offered the

incentives with the hope that they will stock more and push the product to the consumers.

• This kind of promotion is not advertised, it is an internal affair.

• Buy 10 pieces and get the 11th piece free.• Sales Force Promotion• It emphasises to increase and boost the morale of the

salesforce. They are offered commissions, bonus to increase the sales.

Consumers Sales Promotion Method

• Price Promotions• Price Discounting• Offer discount on normal selling price of product.

• Coupons• Coupons is a certificate that offers a price reduction• Coupons can be placed inside a package or a coupon

pasted on a package.• Coupons can be in newspaper or magazines.• Cut out coupons as a part of advertisements.

• Free gifts/samples• Gifts with purchases is a very common promotional tool.• Companies also distribute gifts to customers, dealers and

influential key people.• Gifts normally carry the company name and logo.• Gifts are intended to create company’s goodwill and

intended sales.• Gifts include pen, calender, diaries, table decorations etc.

• Free samples are offered to persuade consumers to try the product. By offering free samples to a large section of a new market, a company is gaining an entry into that market.

• Ex Soaps, detergents, toothpaste, coffee.• This is widely used for • A) Subscription based products (magazines)• B) Consumer Luxuries (Vehicles)

Frequent Use Incentives

• Repeated purchases may be stimulated by providing incentives to frequent users.

• Ex: Frequent flyers in certain airline industry get discount.

• Contests• There are dealer contests meant exclusively for the

dealers of the company and consumer contests that are open for all.

• While dealer contests normally remain a close affair between the company and its dealers, consumers contests are given wide publicity to attract participation.

• Point Of Purchase (POP) displays (point where the product is sold)

• Acts as a silent salesforce• Include window displays, wall display, display racks,

baloons , posters, danglers, stock piling .• Attractive and well positioned POP is an important part of

Sales Promotion.• Trade Shows• Group Of retailers conduct exibitions and trade shows to

make the customers aware of products offered by various firms.

• Ex Industrial Exibitions• Exibitions of home appliances• Consumer goods / Gym equipments

Demonstrations

• Demonstration at retail store:• Demonstrations are organised at the retail stores by the

salesmen for the benefit of the retailers as well as consumers.

• When products happen to be costly consumers are invited to a particular place, say a hotel and demonstrations are arranged.

• There are Door to Door Demonstrations Ex Eureka Forbes

Merits

• A large variety of sales promotion tools to choose from.• It can be easily tied in with other promotional tool.• An approach for short term price reduction for stimulating

demand.

• Effect on consumer behaviour:• As sales promotions are mostly announced for a short

period, customers may feel a sense of urgency and stop comparing the alternatives.  They are persuaded to act now rather than later.

• With every 500g pack of Tang, you get a free Tang glass. Offer valid only till stocks last

• Effect on trade behaviour:• Short-term promotions present an opportunity and

encourage dealers to forward buy. This forward buying ensures that retailers won’t to go out of stocks. 

• Demerits• May have only short term impact.• Over use of price related sales promotion may

hurt brand image and profits. Consumers may hesitate to buy the brand without these attractions

Publicity

• Publicity is news carried in the mass-media about a firm and its products, policies, personnel or actions.

• It is a non paid form of promotion.• Organisations provide the material for publicity in the form

of news releases, photographs and press conferences.

• Conducting a press conference to announce a new product offering.

• Creating a positive image about the company by releasing information about the company involved in any local drive.

• Inviting a celebrity

• Merits• Publicity can be positive and stimulate demand

at no cost.• May be perceived by consumers as more

credible because it is not paid for by the seller.

Demerits• Publicity is not always possible because it is

not in the hands of the seller.• Publicity can be negative and hurt sales as

well as company product and brand images.• Company cannot completely control the

content of publicity messages.

Public Relations• Public Relations is a planned and sustained effort to

establish and maintain good will and mutual understanding between organization and the public.

• The target may be customers, stockholders, a government agency or a special interest group.

• Public Relation activities involve publicity, seminars, publications, charitable donations.

• Role of Public Relations• Identify relevant public• Influence the opinion of public• Reinforcing favorable opinion• Transforming neutral opinion of the public

into the opinion.• Changing or neutralizing hostile opinion

Functions of PR Manager

• Direct Publicity Programs• Observe economic, political and social trends and give

recomendations to enhance the firm’s image.• Prepare internal communication letter.• Newsletter about employee• Public Contract.• Sponsership of Special events• Parties for launching new products.

Functions of Public Relations

• Public relations aim at enhancing and sustaining the image of an organisation towards all its stakeholders.

• Facilitates Company’s overall Operations• It fosters prestige and reputation which can help companies

to sell products, attract and keep employees and promote favourable community and government relations.

• Aids Promotion• Awareness and interest in products and companies can be

generated.

• Helps in tackling social and environmental issues• If the company has good record of fulfilling its social

obligations and safeguarding the environment, its occational breach will be overlooked.

• Ensures that customers are treated well• The need to maintain good public realtions ensures that

customers are presented with useful information, are treated well and have their complaints dealt with fairly and speedily.

Responds Effectively to Negative Publicity

• A company that understands the need to maintain good relationship with its stakeholders will respond quickly, accurately and effectively to negative publicity.

Methods of Communication for Public Relations• Public Relation department has to evaluate each mass media

and decide which one is the best for a particular public relation programme.

• Use of Television and Radio advertisements for mass publicity.

• Direct Mail- used for sending invitations to exibitions, programmes and functions, sending seasons greetings and gifts. The style and tone of these can have a great effect on the company’s image.

• Press Release: Publicity can be through a minister of centre or state paying a visit. This may be to highlight the industry concern.

Methods of Communication for Public Relations

• Literature: For PR includes all the leaflets, pamphlets, folders, booklets and brochures which tell a story or give usefull information. They do not highlight any product but only inform, educate and entertain.

• Exibitions and trade fairs: Displaying products at exibitions and trade fair brings the organisation and public close to each other.

• Word-of-mouth• It has become an increasing potent force. Customer can

talks positive about a product and recommends it to others.• There can be negative Word-of-mouth promotion also.

• Seminars and conferences: If adequate newspaper, radio and television coverage is arranged for them, they help to buid the image of the organisation.

Personal Selling• Personal Selling consists of winning the buyers confidence

for the goods and services offered by the seller.

• It is an attempt to induce the people to buy the goods. According to AMA:• “Personal Selling is an oral presentation in conversational

form with one or more potential customers for the purpose of generating sales.”

• It is an ability to manage the customers. An ability to persuade the people to buy goods or services at a profit level designed by the seller and benefits desired by the customers.

Challenges in Personal Selling

• Personal Selling is used when the price of the product is high, there is high perceived risk of purchase and customers knowledge level is low. The salesforce needs to be trained due to the technical nature of the products.

• Salespersons also need to maintain relationship with clients at a the time of purchase as well as between the purchases

• Sales person needs to know what advantages their products have over similar type of competitive offerings. Salespersons who understand the requirements of their buyers better will exaggerate the benefits that the buyer requires and win an order.

• Sales persons should be well versed with the technologies and systems of the buyer to be able to suggest a solution to his needs.

• When problems are complex and of technical nature the solutions requires inputs from specialists.

It involves not only sales team but also product and financial experts, marketing and service staff to give confidence to the customer that the team is competent enough to handle their problem.

Sales Responsibilities

• To increase Sales . This involves identification of customers, making presentation, demonstration, handling objectives and closing the sale.

• Maintaining Customer records and Information Feedback.

• To get Repeated orders from the customers• To restructure relationship with important people.• To send customer and market information to head office.

Providing Service

• Sales People can help their clients by suggesting equipments, processes and material to be used by them.

• May Provide after sale service to the customers• For some equipments, after sales service like installation,

warranties, maintenance are imp factors in determining the satisfaction of the customers

• Sales engineers may be required to give advice on operation of a newly acquired machine or provide assistance .

• Relationship between the buyer and the seller can develop only when the sales team demonstrates its usefulness to the customer at frequent intervals.

Handling Complaint

• Dealing with complaints quickly and efficiently.• Empathize with the customers and react sympathetically

will help to create goodwill.• Reducing the anxiety of the customers is more important

which can be done by reaching the customer site as soon as possible.

• Relationship Management• Management of relationship with key persons is imp• Providing Exceptional customer service • Develop trust through high frequency of contact, ensuring

that promises are kept and reacting quickly and effectively to problems.

Personal Selling Skills• Ask Questions• Let the customer talk to know the real need of the

customers. The salesperson should first listen and then advocate his product.

• Provide product information, make comparisons and offer evidence to support Claims.

• Sales persons should provide detailed product information and help the customer in making comparison with competitors product.

•Acknowledge viewpoint of customers• It is best to acknowledge the customer’s need and work to find a

solution to his needs.• The salesperson should focus on providing such facts which will

help the customer in forming positive perceptions about the salesperson’s product.

• Support the Customer• The customer should consider the salesperson as someone who

will offer genuine advice . The customer should believe that the salesperson will never sell him a wrong product. It is important that the salesperson demonstrates his genuine concerns for the customer.

Pre approach (Planning the Call)Elements

• Development of Buyer Profile• Name• Address• Type of Business• Best Time to visit• Buyer Preferences• Sales approach to be used• Presentation/ Demonstration technique• Anticipated Objectives• Trial Close• Promotional Plan to Discuss• Post sales Comments

• Customer benefit Plan

• Features/ Benefits /Utilities• Marketing Plan• Develop Business Proposal• Suggested purchase Order

• Reasons for Pre-approach• Building Self Confidence• Develops Goodwill• Creates Professionalism• Increases Brand Equity

(Opening the Presentation) or The opening• Be business like in appearance and behaviour• The sales person should showcase the company, he

represents and his appearance and behaviour reflects the values of his company.

• Showmanship - make yourself presentable• Situational Approach – See the mood of the customer and go

for the presentation.• Identify the needs and problems of the customer – it helps to select the product that best fits the customer’s need.• Need to have a knowledge of competitors products.• Convince customer’s of the product’s differential advantage.• Premium approach- Give demonstration of the product.• It allows the customer to see the product in operation

• Product- Features of the product, Quality features• Customer Benefits- What benefits the product offers to the Customer.• Dealing with Objections- Salespersons should listen to the

objections without interruption and by agreeing to the customer’s viewpoint but also representing an alternative viewpoint.

• Be friendly but not over-familiar• Be attentive to details

SELL APPROACH

• S- Show Features• E- Explain Advantage• L- Lead into benefits• L- Let customer talk

Closing The sale

• Close is a final stage. It is the process of helping the prospect to make a decision that

benefits him.• Effective presentation followed by convincing objective

handling will help in closing the sale.• Buying Signals• The key to closing a sale is to look for buying signal.

These are statements by buyers that indicate that they are interested in buying.

• When the customers gives cues or says that he needs more time to take a decision, the sales person should withdraw by politely asking when he could call next.

• Salespeople must take the buying signals and accordingly ask the customer to pay.

• The salesperson can simply ask for the order.• Summarize and then ask for the order: Salesperson

reminds the buyer of the main points of sales discussion in a manner which implies that the time for decision-making has arrived.

• Concession Close: By keeping back a concession to use in close, a salesperson may convince an indecisive buyer to place an order by offering the concession.

Types of Close• Alternative Choice Close• Assumptive close• Complement Close• Summary of benefit close• Minor Point close

• The Follow up• The salesperson ensures that the order is executed well by

checking that there are no problems with delivery, installation, product use.

• The follow up can show that sales people care about the customer.

• Follow up can be used to provide reassurance that purchasing the salesperson’s product was the right thing to do.

Direct Marketing

• Direct Marketing attempts to acquire and retain customers by contracting them without the use of intermediaries.

• Direct marketing involves the distribution of products, information and promotional benefits to target customers through interactive communication in a manner that allows customer response to be measured.

Direct Marketing Techniques

• Common direct marketing techniques are:• Direct mail• Purchase over Telephone.• Door to Door Leaflets distribution• Mail order Catalogues

• Targeted direct mail to a customer built database is effective.

• A marketing database is a must for initiating direct marketing activity. It is a list of names, addresses and transactional behaviour of customers. This allows future campaigns to be targeted at those peoplenwho are most likely to respond.