Push or Pull Promotion Strategy
A number of communication channels are available to a firm – direct selling, sales promotion, direct marketing, and advertising. A firm's communication strategy is partly defined by its choice of channels. Should the firm push the product through the channels, or pull the product through the channels. These two approaches require very different approaches. Fortunately, for the international business managers, the conditions and product will suggest the best approach to use.
The main decision with regard to a communications strategy is the choice between a push and a pull strategy. A push strategy emphasizes personal selling rather than mass media advertising in the promotional mix. Pull strategy depends more on mass advertising to communicate the marketing message to potential customers. Some firms employ only a push; some, only a pull. Still others use both to maximize advertising effectiveness in the specific situation.
Read the case below and answer the questions that follow.
Your firm is entering a country for the first time, and you and your colleagues are considering the best marketing mix to reach the consumers in this market. You have been asked to develop a promotion strategy.
Your product is a fast-moving consumer good that has been introduced in similar markets in the past few years. Consumers will easily grasp what the product is and how it is used.
You have a reasonable but not huge budget to support the efforts, and you must consider how best to allocate these resources. You will need to make every dollar count. A small sales office is opening, including a number of good sales representatives from the host country and seasoned management from the firm. There will likely be little growth in the sales force until the product takes off and demand is well established.
The distribution channels in the market tend to be complex and lengthy. The available media are adequate – the print and broadcast media are not as sophisticated as in your home market, but they reach large audiences.
Your most basic consideration is whether to recommend, develop, and implement either a push or a pull strategy.
1. Although personal selling is effective as a promotional tool, it requires ___________________________.
intensive use of a sales force and is relatively costly
backup and support from electronic media to realize its potential
that the product can be demonstrated or delivered by a sales force in the targeted market
2. Factors that determine the relative attractiveness of push and pull strategies include product type relative to consumer sophistication, channel length, and ______________________.
media availability
the nature of the competition within the market structure
the image of the brand
3. Firms in consumer goods industries that are trying to sell to a large segment of the market generally favor ____________.
a pull strategy
seeking a marketing partner who can help penetrate the large segments of the market
a push strategy
4. The longer the distribution channel, the more intermediaries there are that must be persuaded ______________________.
to provide exclusive coverage, shutting out competitors
to advertise the product in the appropriate media
to carry the product for it to reach the consumer
5. Advertisers in the US can use print media, broadcasting media, the Internet, cable outlets, and more. While this level of media sophistication is found in many other developed countries, ______________________.
there are almost no such media in developing countries
most of these countries have even more media choices and considerations for promotion
this media availability is not universal