Marketing communications

Marketing communications breaks down the strategies involved with marketing messages into categories based on the goals of each message. There are distinct stages in converting strangers to customers that govern the communication medium that should be used.

Advertising :

* Paid form of public presentation and expressive promotion of ideas
* Aimed at masses
* Manufacturer may determine what goes into advertisement
* Pervasive and impersonal medium

Functions and advantages of successful advertising :

* Task of the salesman made easier
* Forces manufacturer to live up to conveyed image
* Protects and warns customers against false claims and inferior products
* Enables manufacturer to mass-produce product
* Continuous reminder
* Uninterrupted production a possibility
* Increases goodwill
* Raises standards of living (or perceptions thereof)
* Prices decrease with increased popularity
* Educates manufacturer and wholesaler about competitors' offerings as well as shortcomings in their own.

Objectives :

* Maintain demand for well-known goods
* Introduce new and unknown goods
* Increase demand for well-known goods/products/services

Requirements of a good advertisement :

* Attract attention (awareness)
* Stimulate interest
* Create a desire
* Bring about action

Eight steps in an advertising campaign :

* Market research
* Setting out aims
* Budgeting
* Choice of media (television, newspaper, radio)
* Choice of actors (New Trend)
* Design and wording
* Co-ordination
* Test results

Personal sales :

Oral presentation given by a salesman who approaches individuals or a group of potential customers:

* Live, interactive relationship
* Personal interest
* Attention and response
* Interesting presentation

Sales promotion :

Short-term incentives to encourage buying of products:

* Instant appeal
* Anxiety to sell

An example of this is coupons or a sale. People are given an incentive to buy, but it does not build customer loyalty, nor encourage repeat buys in the future. A major drawback of sales promotion is that it is easily copied by competition. It cannot be used as a sustainable source of differentiation.

Marketing Public Relations (MPR) :

* Stimulation of demand through press release giving a favourable report to a product
* Higher degree of credibility
* Effectively news
* Boosts enterprise's image