LoginPage 5: Promotion
Promotion represents the ways a business informs customers of products and persuades them to buy. Promotional activity needs clear aims and objectives. For example, the business needs to understand who it is promoting to, what the messages are, what return on investment it expects to get and when the returns will be seen. Using market research establishes the best market segments at which to aim a campaign.
Before a new campaign, Parcelforce Worldwide looks back at the outcomes of previous promotions. This helps decide which type of campaigns give the best return on investment. Parcelforce Worldwide”s approach to and style of promotion has changed as market competitiveness has increased. This helps to maintain its market position.
Promotion can be classified as either:
- Above-the-line this includes directly paid-for advertising through media such as television, radio, internet and newspapers. It also includes exhibitions and sponsorship. It is mainly used to reach consumers, but can also be used in B2B markets. For example, Parcelforce Worldwide runs online banner advertisements to promote the availability of its services on the website.
- Below-the-line this includes other forms of promotion where the business has more control, such as direct mail, e-mail marketing, public relations and sales promotions.
For example, Parcelforce Worldwide is using direct mail to tell thousands of UK businesses about the new services, which will generate responses from potential interested new customers for the sales teams to follow up. It is also using email to tell all existing customers about the new international services.
