Product Promotion: Product Is An Item or Service Offered To The Consumers at A Price
Product Promotion: Product Is An Item or Service Offered To The Consumers at A Price
Product Promotion: Product Is An Item or Service Offered To The Consumers at A Price
Therefore, product promotion is the communication or any activity undertaken to inform the
consumers, persuade and remind them to buy the product from the market.
• It informs the customer of the availability, price, and where to obtain the product to satisfy their
wants.
• It persuade the buyer to buy their products a head of their competitors products in the market.
• It reminds the customers of the continued existence of a given product in the market
• It educate the consumers of the usage of the product to satisfy their needs fully
• It informs them on any improvement that has been made on the product
I. Personal selling
II. Advertising
IV. Publicity
i. Personal selling
This is a method of promotion where there is an oral presentation in the conversation with the
prospective customer.
It is done by with the use of salesmen who informs the prospective buyer of all the aspects of the
product.
A case where the sales person approaches the prospective customers after drawing their attention,
explaining details of the product and even demonstrating how the product works in order to persuade
the customer to buy.
ii. Preparing the presentation by gathering all the possible information about the product , as well as
designing an appropriate methods that he
will be used to present to the customer.
iii. Establishing the customers contact, as well as choosing an appropriate time to meet the customer to
be.
iv. Arousing the consumers interest in the product by attracting his/her attention through approach and
languages, as well as making the
prospective customer develop interest in the product.
v. Dealing with the objections on the product which may have been brought about by the customer to
be.
vi. Closing the sale by inquiring whether the prospective customer will be interested in the product or
not.
vii. Offering after sale service to the customer on the product that has been sold.
This is where the manufacturer of a given product gets a chance to display publicly to the prospective
customer to inform them about the product.
The prospective customers’ attention is then drawn to the product and more information is given to him
about the product at the point where it is displayed.
• It gives the sales person an opportunity to explain in fine details the features of the product to the
prospective customers.
• The manufacturers of the product gets a chance to receive immediate feed back from their customers
through interactions during the shows.
• The number of people visiting their stall to asses their products will help them determine their
potential market size for the product.
• The sales person may have to explain over and over again for the prospective customers as they may
not enter into the stall at the same time.
• The trade fairs are not frequently organized, therefore an organization rely on it as the only means of
product promotion may not succeed.
Showrooms
These are large rooms where goods are displayed, especially bulky and durable goods like cars,
furniture’s, etc for the customer to see and be
informed about them to stimulate their interest in them.
The room allows the customer to get more information about the product from the sales person in the
showroom.
Advantages of showrooms
• They enables the seller to get immediate feed back on the product.
• They enable the customers to get clarification on the product they need to purchase.
• It is
a cheap method of production.
• The information the prospective customer get from the show room is more reliable.
Disadvantages of showrooms
• They are usually located away from the town centers, making them not be accessible by many.
• They require security to protect the goods inside them which may be very expensive.
• Some prospective customers may tamper with goods in the room while trying to operate them.
Free Gifts
A gift is an item given to the customer free of charge after buying a product.
The gift may not necessarily be the same as the product bought, but they are meant to encourage the
customer to buy more or give the customer opportunity to explore the product given as a gift.
• It enable the customer to enjoy the product given as a gift without paying for it
• It persuades the customer to buy more of the product in order to get the gift
• It makes the customer buy including products they didn’t require in order to the said gift
• Some middlemen may remove the gift and keep or even sell to the customer to maximize profit.
Free Sample
This is a product on trial given to the customers freely to influence their demand towards the product.
• It enables the customer try the product before making a decision to buy it
• The customer is able to enjoy the product that otherwise he may have not enjoyed
• The organization is able to get immediate feedback from the customer about their new product
• Some of those receiving the sample may not come back to buy
• It may be an expensive method of promotion especially where many.samples are to be given
• Goods given for free may reduce the value of goods that may have been sold to earn profit.
i. When launching a new product in the market which requires a lot of awareness to the prospective
customers to enable them make a choice
ii. When a product is tailored to meet the customer’s needs, as different consumers have different
needs, taste and preferences to be addressed.
iii. When demonstration is required on how the product works, especially the technical products.
iv. When the organization has the capacity to finance the sales force carrying out the personal selling.
v. Where the market is concentrated within a given region that can easily be accessible by the task force.
• It is more flexible than any other method for the marketer is able to meet the needs of different
people.
• It enable the prospective customer to know more details about the product before making a decision.
• The sales person is able to demonstrate the use of the product
• The seller is able to obtain the personal contact of the prospective buyer
The seller is able to persuade the prospective buyer to buy the product.
Disadvantages of personal
• It is labour intensive and therefore very expensive when the area to be covered is wide method.
• It is time consuming as it involves explanation and demonstration.
• The seller has to meet the travelling and other expenses involved which may be very expensive
• Salespersons may misuse the resources allocated for them, making the target not to be achieved the
process may inconvenience the prospective buyer’s program.
It may only cover a given region which may not be wide enough.
ii. Advertising
This is the presentation of information about a product through public media such as newspapers,
radios, billboards, etc
Types of Advertising
Institutional advertising: - this is a form of advertisement meant to improve the image of the
institution or organization and not a particular
product. It is meant to create confidence in the customers about the institution.
Celebrity advertising:
It is meant to convince those who identify themselves with that personality to buy the product.
Informative advertising:
Competitive/persuasive advertising:
Corrective advertising:
Reminder advertising:
ii. It create awareness in the customers about a new product in the market
iii. It informs the customers about the changes that may have been made in the product.
vi. It reaches peoples who may have not been reached by the sales person.
vii. It complements the effort of the sales person to enable them achieve their sales objectives.
viii. It clears the customers misconception and prejudice about the product.
• The advertisement may not disclose the side effect of the product
• The advertising cost may be passed to the consumers through increased price
• Some advertisement may persuade customers to buy what they do not require leading to
impulse buying
• Some customers may buy substandard goods due to misleading advertisement.
Advertising media
These are channels or agents through which an advertisement message is conveyed to the target
group.
a) Newspaper
They includes, Daily nation, Standard, Taifa Leo, citizen, star, etc.
Advantages of newspaper
• The can reach areas that other means may not reach
• Colored print makes the advertisement to be more attractive to the reader who in turn gets the
information
• Many of them are written in English or Kiswahili, making them to only target those who can
read and understand the language
• It discriminate against the illiterate group who cannot read the information
• They have short lifespan as they may be read only on the day it is circulated
• It cannot be used to focus on a specific target as they are read by almost everybody
• Some of the prospective customers are always in a hurry to read the newspaper and may not
pay attention to the advertisement
These are periodic publications meant to target a particular class or group of people.
• They can be read and re-read before the next publication may the information to last longer and
plead with the prospective customer.
• Their publication is of high quality and colourful, making them to draw the attention of their
targeted group easier and passing the information to them.
• The quality material they are made of makes them to last longer and can be accessed even by
those who may have not been around during their
publication.
• If the time gap between the publication time and circulation time is wide, the advertisement
may fail.
• They are a bit expensive which makes some of the potential customers not to afford them.
• The publications may not be available in the vernacular language to reach those who are not
able to read either English or Kiswahili.
A form of advertising that may contain the information about the product either in words,
pictures or both for the customer to see and read.
• They are able to convey the information to the large audience, as they are placed in strategic
position.
• The use of different colors makes them to be more attractive and appealing to more audience.
• Incase destroyed by the passersby, the information may not meet the targeted group.
• Bill boards are expensive to make and maintain.
d) Transit/transport advertising
A form of advertisement whereby vehicles such as trailers, matatus, buses, etc are used to carry
and convey the advertisement message.
• They message last long as the paints always last on the vehicle.
• Transit vehicles may carry the message a long way to their final destination.
• It is captivating to the members of the public especially the promotion convoy, hence can easily
reach the target.
• During the rush hour, the crowd may hinder some from getting the information.
• The noise produced by the promotion convoy may be a nuisance to some members of the
public.
f) Radio
This is a channel that allows for the advertised messages to be conveyed through sound to the
listeners, with some background music accompanying the message.
Advantages of Radio
• It is accessible even to the remote areas that is not covered by other media.
• One can choose the time to advertise to reach the targeted group.
• The advertisement can be repeated over and over again according to the advertisers needs.
• The music accompaniment may attract many people to listen to the information.
Disadvantages of Radio
Television is a form of media advertisement where the written words are combined with motion
pictures and sound to pass the information.
Cinema is where the advertised messaged is conveyed during film shows in the cinema halls. It
may be before or after the movie.
They are usually common in the banks, airlines, jewel shops, etc.
• The use of different colours makes them very attractive and catch attention of different people
• They can be put strategically making them to be visible to many people
• Can be used both at night and day
• They direct the customer on where the goods are to be found
Disadvantages of Neon Signs
Advertising Agencies
These are businesses that specialize in advertising work and are hired to carry out the functions
for other businesses.
iii. They help the organizations in designing their trademarks, logos and advertising materials.
iv. They book space and airtime for their clients in various media.
vii. They choose on behalf of their clients the appropriate media to be used.
iii. Publicity
This is the mentioning of the product or the organization in the mass media to make it be known
to many people.
Disadvantages of Publicity
• Unfavourable information about the organization may reach the public especially in free
publicity
• It is irregular and short lived
• Might require special occasion or event in order to attract the mass media
• The firm does not have control on how the information will
appear in the media and the extend of the coverage.
It involves informing the public about the firm’s achievement and how it is contributing to the
community welfare and development, to get more approval of the public.
• May induce the customer to buy the product due to their arrangement
• As the customers get in to the shop, they are likely to buy including the other goods that were
not being displayed
• The customers are able to determine the features of the product with ease
• It is relatively a cheaper method of promotion.
• The method only work well with the potential customers who are near the shop and not far
away
• They may also attract thieves especially if the product displayed is of high value
• In case the arrangement does not appeal so much to the customers, they may not get into the
shop
• It may be expensive setting up the display area.
A form of advertisement which is sent to the potential customers directly in the form of a mail,
for example the pricelist being sent to the potential customers.
• It is able to reach the targeted group as they are sent to the potential customer directly
• The message may be made to suit the requirement of the specific customer to be
• There may be an immediate respond on the message
• The potential customers incurs no cost to acquire the information.
A booklet that gives information about the product that the organization deals in.
It gives the description about the product, the picture as well as the prices of the product.
Advantages of catalogue
Disadvantages of catalogue
An assurance given to the customer that the product will serve as expected if used according to
the instructions given by the manufacturer.
For the guaranteed period the seller will be willing to maintain repair or replace the
product for the customer.
Advantages Guarantee
• The confidence built in the customer by the guarantee to the customers makes them to buy
more products.
• It may create the customers loyalty to the product of the firm
• The fact that the product can be replaced if it gets spoilt within the period is an advantage to
the customer.
Disadvantages of guarantee
ix. Discount
This is a reduction in price of the commodity, allowing the buyer to pay less
than what he would have paid the goods.
Types of discount
• Quantity discount: - Allowed by trader to encourage him/her to buy more quantity of the
product being offer.
• Trade discount: - Allowed to another trader who is buying products for resale to the consumers.
• Cash discount: - Allowed to the customer to enable him pay promptly for the goods bought.
x. Loss leader: - Selling the price below the market price to entice the customer to buy.
xi. Psychological selling: - Playing with the customers psychology in terms of pricing by
quoting odd prices such as 999, 199, 99, etc to convince the customer that the price has been
reduced.
xii. Credit facilities: - where the customer is allowed to take a product for his consumption and
pay for it later.
xiii. After sales service: - these are services offered to the buyer after the goods have been
bought.
They may be in terms of packaging, transportation or installation which may be offered to the
customers free of charge.
Sales promotion
These are activities carried out to increase the sales volume of a business.
They are activities out of the ordinary routine of business that is carried out by the seller to
increase his sales volume.
The methods of carrying out sales promotion includes all the methods of carrying out product
promotion as discussed earlier, that is, shows and trade fair, showrooms, free gifts, free sample,
personal selling, advertisement,
window display, credit facilities, after sales services, etc.
i. The cost of the promotion that is whether the company can afford it or not, for some promotion
methods are very expensive that may not be
easily affordable to the company.
ii. The nature of the product being promoted especially whether it requires demonstration or not.
iii.The targeted group for the advertisement, on whether they can be reached by that method or
not.
iv.The objective that the firm would like to achieve with the promotion, and whether the method
is helping them to achieve
that particular
objective.
v. The method used by the competitor in the market to enable them choose a method that will
enable them compete favourably.
vi.The requirement of the law concerning product promotion, to enable them not use what the
law does not allow.
These are rules and regulations to be followed when carrying out promotion to avoid violating
other people or businesses right.
They include;
Cheating on performance of the product to attract more customers by given them wrong and
enticing information about what the product can
do.
Cheating on the ingredients of the product by telling them that the product contains a suitable
type of ingredient which does not exist just to
lure them to buy the product
Not telling them the side effects of the product which may affect them should they continuously
use the product due to fear of losing customer.
False pricing, especially a case where they overprice their and later on reduce them slightly just
to lure the customer, yet exploit them.
Not caring about the negative effect of the product on the environment,.
which may includes littering of the environment by the posters used for advertisement
Social cultural conflict, especially putting up some forms of advertisement which are considered
a taboo buy the community leaving around, such as hanging a billboard of a female advertising
inner wears next to a church.
The following are some changes that have taken place to improve the product promotion
activities.
Use of website/internet to advertise product worldwide, which has increased the coverage.
Encouraging gender sensitivity and awareness in product promotion to bring about gender
balance.
Development of promotion convoys to move from one place to the other with music and dancers
to attract more prospective customers.
Catering for the rights of the youths when carrying out product promotion and even involving
them in carrying out the promotion.
Catering for the interest of those with special needs when carrying out advertisement.
Advertisement through mobile phones by sending them s.m.s about the product