Assignment: The Role of Promotion in the Marketing Mix and Sales Process
This assignment will assess Competency: Evaluate the critical importance of an effective customer communication process.
Directions
As we know from our studies, a promotional strategy is the plan for using the elements of promotion--advertising, public relations, sales promotion, personal selling, and social media--to meet the firm's overall objectives and sales / marketing goals. Based on these objectives, the elements of the promotional stratey become a coordinated promotion plan. With product, distribution, and price, the promotion plan becomes an integral part of the total marketing strategy for reaching the target market.
Imagine that you are the promotional manager for a new line of cosmetics targeted to preteen girls. It's your job to decide which promotional mix elements--advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling--should be used in promoting it. Your manager mentions that the company is trying to cut costs in every department, so you should aim to use marketing strategies that yield the best returns for the least amount of money for this target market.
Write a 500-600 word promotional plan for this product. Explain your choice of promotional mix elements given the nature of the product, the stage in the product life cycle, target market characteristics, type of buying decision, pull or push strategy, and economic considerations.
Discussion 1: Marketing Communications and the Role of Ethics
Integrated Marketing Solutions is a consumer-products marketing services firm. Currently, the firm is handling the launch of a new book for one of its publishing clients. The campaign includes advance review copies for key book reviewers, "Coming Soon" posters for booksellers, an author book-signing tour, and several television interviews. Everything has been produced and scheduled for release next week.
Today, Jane Kershaw, the account executive, has learned that although the book received numerous favorable reviews, the review quoted on all of the promotional materials is fabricated.
What should Jane do? Review the AMA Statement of Ethics. Which parts of the code apply to this situation?
Discussion 2: Developing and Maintaining Customer Relationships
As we have seen in our studies, developing and maintaining good customer relationships is essential to the future health of an organization. But how does that actually happen? That is, how can a salesperson convert new customers into highly committed customers for life?
Name some techniques a salesperson can use to make committed customers. Then, explain why these relationship-enhancement activities are important.