Promotions
The two most widely methods of promotion are advertising and personal selling. Advertising utilizes the media, such as newspaper, magazine, radio, television, bill board, mail and yellow pages. Personal selling is done on a person to person basis with a customer.
Advertising has several objectives. Among the other things, the more important ones are to increase sales, to introduce a new product, or to sustain an established business. There is no magic formula for successful advertising. However, the proper way of creating an advertising is to evaluate the products, services, competitors and customers. Of course, the last one is the critical factor. Advertisers must be able to identify their customers, their buying habits, the newspapers they read, and their favorite radio and television stations. Advertising is expensive. Most smal business spend on the basis of what they can afford.
In the case of personal selling, this is an area where the small business has an advantage. In fact, people patronize a small business with its personalized customer service. Effective personal selling greatly depends on efficient sales force. Seling skills can be improved by selecting suitable individuals, providing regular and frequent training, and granting attractive and fair compensation plan. In contrast, big business give more emphasis on advertising. It is more expensive if it depends on personal selling.
