Page 475 - Foundations of Marketing

442 Part 6 | Promotion Decisions

Geographic distribution of a firm’s customers also affects the choice of promotional meth-
ods. Personal selling is more feasible if a company’s customers are concentrated in a small
area than if they are dispersed across a vast region. When the company’s customers are numer-
ous and dispersed, regional or national advertising may be more practical.
Distribution of a target market’s demographic characteristics, such as age, income,
or education, may affect the types of promotional techniques a marketer selects, as well
as the messages and images employed. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, so-called
traditional families—those composed of married couples with children—account for
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fewer than one-quarter of all U.S. households. To reach the more than three-quarters of
households consisting of single parents, unmarried couples, singles, and “empty nesters”
(whose children have left home), more companies are modifying the images used in their
promotions.

Characteristics of the Product

Generally, promotion mixes for business products concentrate on personal selling, whereas adver-
tising plays a major role in promoting consumer goods. This generalization should be treated
cautiously, however. Marketers of business products use some advertising to promote products.
Advertisements for computers, road-building equipment, and aircrafts are fairly common, and
some sales promotion is also used occasionally to promote business products. Personal selling
is used extensively for consumer durables, such as home appliances, automobiles, and houses,
whereas consumer convenience items are promoted mainly through advertising and sales pro-
motion. Public relations appears in promotion mixes for both business and consumer products.
Marketers of highly seasonal products often emphasize
advertising—and sometimes sales promotion as well—
because off-season sales generally will not support an
extensive year-round sales force. Although most toy produc-
ers have sales forces to sell to resellers, many of these com-
panies depend chiefly on advertising and strong distribution
channels to promote their products.
A product’s price also influences the composition of
the promotion mix. High-priced products call for personal
selling, because consumers associate greater risk with the
purchase of such products and usually want information
from a salesperson. For low-priced convenience items,
marketers use advertising rather than personal selling.
Research suggests that consumers visiting a store specifi-
cally to purchase a product on sale are more likely to have
read flyers and purchased other sale-priced products than
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consumers visiting the same store for other reasons. When
products are marketed through intensive distribution, firms
depend strongly on advertising and sales promotion. Many
convenience products like lotions, cereals, and coffee are
promoted through samples, coupons, and refunds. When
marketers choose selective distribution, promotion mixes
Courtesy of Bank of America bution—such as expensive watches, furs, and high-quality
vary considerably. Items handled through exclusive distri-
furniture— typically require a significant amount of per-
sonal selling.
A product’s use also affects the combination of promo-
tional methods. Manufacturers of highly personal products,
such as laxatives, nonprescription contraceptives, and femi-
Service products, such as Bank of America’s trade financing nine hygiene products, depend on advertising because many
offerings, are often portrayed using tangible goods that tell a story customers do not want to talk with salespeople about these
about the service. products. Service businesses often use tangible products

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