The concept of a marketing mix promotion was first proposed in 1960 by E. Jerome McCarthy, in which four key elements of marketing were identified and mapped out for success. At the time, these were product, price, place and promotion. When McCarthy first created the concept, the emphasis was around products, as services marketing was a relatively new concept, however, the traditional marketing mix was adapted to include the all-important processes, people and physical evidence.
As a business, the promotional strategy within the marketing mix and its importance to your sales and marketing process is essential – as outlined in a fantastic Forbes article that discusses the evolution of the marketing mix in today’s context.
When people think of marketing – even in today’s digitalised world – they are often thinking about the promotional strategy of a company. This strategy is an important element within the marketing mix, as discussed in more detail below.
What is promotion within the marketing mix?
The promotional strategy is the part of marketing in which you advertise and market your product. However, in order to have people financially commit to your offer or product, the promotional strategy needs to explain what you are selling, what problem it solves for your consumers and why the product has value and the brand is one the consumer aligns with. This is often done all within a 5-second engagement window – sounds easy right?!
Promotion within the marketing mix is executed daily by brand marketing agencies and marketing agencies across Melbourne, Australia and the world every day.
There are several key areas:
Advertising
This includes a variety of paid & unpaid promotions on a range of mediums including but not limited to – radio, television, print, digital, social media, word of mouth & social influencers. With the meteoric rise in Google AdWords and social media marketing, traditional advertising on TV and radio have slumped dramatically – largely due to the reach, frequency, strategic targeting and of course significantly higher ROI on ad spend and significantly lower buy-in costs.
Public Relations (PR)
PR is critical as part of either a localised, regionalised, national or international promotional strategy. It is far greater than simply putting some words in a newspaper. It is working with bloggers, influencers, magazines, press, affiliates, potential partners and of course target market audiences to engage, create brand awareness, push good news stories, and of course sell product.
Although PR often does not have a direct ‘trackable’ correction to sales results, as part of any brand marketing agency strategy, PR must be a significant part – although not always a significant investment.
Personal Selling
The oldest form of promotion. Getting on the road and presenting the products, face to face, person to person is one of the more traditional forms of marketing and promotion. Although thanks to COVID-19 personal selling may have taken a backwards step, through engaging digital tools such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom, businesses and salespeople are to work on appointment setting and making sales.
This approach is always appropriate for the higher sales value products or service, but also very appropriate for all products at events such as tradeshows, networking events as part of a cohesive promotional strategy.
Sales Promotions
Often a misunderstood element of the promotion within the marketing mix promotion. Too many times, we hear people considering a promotion is a discount – wrong! A sales promotion can be a value add, a joint promotion with another product or service, a free shipping weekend, or anything that creates value (real or perceived).
In order to not simply be ‘giving discounts’ which often see buyers getting ‘promotional fatigue’, you need to speak with a premier digital marketing agency to develop a cohesive promotional strategy embracing all of the elements within the marketing mix.
Why will a promotional strategy bring a difference to your business?
Failure to plan is planning to fail, as such any business who wants to move forward, needs a business plan and a subsequent strategic marketing plan that not simply provides a promotional marketing strategy, but also strategic objectives, benchmarks and a roadmap to success.
If you fail to have a destination and a map of how to get there, your business will fail. In terms of the promotional strategy, as part of the marketing mix promotion, you need to ensure the right mix and that all areas mentioned previously are working in cohesion with one another.
This allows for consistency of message, maximising ROI on ad spend, as well as providing you with significant amounts of data that you can base your future actions and strategy on.
When should a business use a marketing mix promotion?
Simple – Always. And it isn’t always easy, which is why having a brand marketing agency working in synergy with your business, your corporate objectives, your budgets and your KPI’s.
The time to act is now, so why not book a meeting with specialist digital Melbourne marketing agency Roemin to get an obligation free marketing strategy and a quote, as well as insights as to how far you can take your business using a marketing mix promotion.
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