Marketing Fundamentals: Promotion, Buyer Behaviour & Selling

Introduction to Promotion

Promotion is defined as "communicating with the public in an attempt to influence them toward buying your product" (Ward, 2012). It is a broad concept, encompassing advertising, public relations management, and events such as trade show appearances, demonstrations, contests, and sponsorships.

A promotional activity can have a number of different objectives. Some of the more common objectives are to establish the corporate image in the community, to build brand awareness, to build customer loyalty, to capitalize on new market opportunities, to dispel negative press, and to announce changes (Moore, 2012). Essentially, promotion is a way of getting a message across — whether that message is a simple call for attention or something more sophisticated, such as reinforcing the reputation of a company.

Buyer Behaviour and the Decision-Making Process

Buyers go through a five-stage decision-making process. The first stage is needs recognition and problem awareness — this is where the buyer determines that he or she needs something. The second stage is information search, during which the buyer seeks out relevant options.

The third step is evaluation of alternatives, the fourth step is purchase, and the fifth step is post-purchase evaluation (No author, 2012). Sales staff need to guide the buyer through each of these stages, directing them toward the company's product throughout. It is particularly important to consider the post-purchase evaluation stage, because during the selling process the goal is to convince the buyer so thoroughly of the rightness of their decision that they are disinclined to revisit it at any point in the future.

While sales staff are expected to influence the decision-making process, a number of other factors also come into play. The first is competition — there are many companies trying to achieve the same goal, and each will influence the buyer. Another influence is that of substitute products, which effectively expands the competitive landscape. For example, when a consumer considers going to a film, the real decision may involve any number of entertainment alternatives: watching television, browsing the internet, or visiting a local pub.

Influences on Buyer Behaviour

Friends and family represent another important influence over buyer decisions. Any voice that can affect a buyer's choice must be taken into consideration, as people frequently turn to their peers both when making decisions and afterwards, to reinforce those decisions. A whole range of demographic factors are also used in target marketing, each of which affects the peer group dynamic. Where a person is from, their culture, their level and type of education, and their age are all contributors to the buyer's decision-making process. Sales people, of course, also play an important role in the buying decision.

Personal selling is one component of the broader promotional mix. It is defined as "oral communication with potential buyers of a product with the intention of making a sale." A company can employ either a push strategy or a pull strategy, but in either case the goal is to entice the customer to buy. There are six recognized roles of a sales force: prospecting, communicating, selling, servicing, information gathering, and allocating (No author, 2012, 2).

Personal Selling and the Promotional Mix

Personal selling is valuable for several reasons. Customers receive a high level of individual attention from sales staff, which allows them to gather more information and build trust. A salesperson can convey far more information than any indirect medium, making the technique especially effective for selling complex products. Sales staff can also respond directly to a customer's verbal and non-verbal feedback, constantly steering the customer toward the sale. Additionally, the salesperson's direct presence limits the effectiveness of outside influencers on the buying decision (No author, 2012, 2).

The product to be marketed through personal selling is a new automated widget. There are several reasons for adopting personal selling for this product beyond poor sales performance alone. First, it is a highly technical product, and customer feedback indicates that buyers simply do not understand it. Second, the automated widget is expensive — research indicates that customers exercise particular caution with purchases exceeding £500, and the automated widget is priced at £829.

Applying Personal Selling to the Automated Widget

The automated widget is also viewed as a product that can open new accounts. By design, it integrates with a full lineup of other products, making it a strategic entry point for gaining new customers. This not only increases the importance of selling the widget itself, but also underscores the value of building long-term customer relationships. Finally, the automated widget competes directly with products that are already sold through personal selling channels, meaning a high level of personal service is necessary to remain competitive.

Personal selling is the most expensive promotional option available, and it would not be used unless it were considered the best possible approach for this product. It allows the company to properly explain both the product and its pricing strategy to customers who currently do not recognize its value. Trade show appearances and live demonstrations will be used to highlight the utility of the automated widget and generate initial interest, but personal selling is required to move customers beyond that point.

When speaking with customers and potential customers, it becomes clear that they rarely progress past the first or second stage of the buyer decision-making process. They either do not recognize that they have a relevant problem, or their information search leads them elsewhere. The broader promotional efforts will address these first two stages, while personal selling will be required to guide customers through the remaining stages to reach purchase. Personal selling also enables the company to build a lasting relationship with the customer — something that cannot be achieved through other means.