MARKETING ESSENTIAL-5: HOW TO REACH OUR TARGET CUSTOMER?

Choosing the Right Promotion Tools

We need to communicate the features, benefits, advantages of our products or services to our target audience. This process of marketing communication is called promotion. To communicate about the product or service, different types of marketing promotion options are available. Advertising (Print, TV/Radio, Online, Outdoor) is one such promotion method. Exhibitions and Events, Emails, Direct Mails, SMS, Telemarketing etc. are some other communication options for marketing promotion. A company may choose one or more options in its promotion mix.

In the cluttered market of today, there are multiple options available within every communication medium that we may choose. Multiplicity of available communication channels has heavily fragmented the marketing communication process. Earlier, marketing communication was possible through traditional mass media like newspapers, magazines, radio, television etc. Now, there are multiple alternatives available for each of these media. There is no single media option which reaches all the customers in a target segment. If we publish advertisement in one newspaper or on one TV channel, we may not reach the entire target customer group. So, we have to consider publishing it in more than one newspapers or on multiple TV channels. This increases the cost. Hence, the selection of marketing communication medium is very important. If we don’t pay proper attention to the selection of this tool, we may waste a lot of marketing money without any return.

• The choice of marketing communication tool depends upon our target customer segment. This is a very important choice. If the communication medium is not chosen carefully, our marketing will lack effectiveness.

• For products or services which can be bought by a large customer segment of various age groups (like cold drinks, soaps, films, mutual fund schemes etc.), advertising through mass media like TV, Radio, Newspapers, Outdoor can be used, because these mediums reach a large number of people of various age groups.

• For a product targeted to a specific customer group, the media reaching that group should be chosen. E.g.
  • Choose women’s magazines for beauty products or for products specifically made for women.
  • Hoardings near railway/bus stations or airports can be used for selling hotels or taxi services.
  • For upcoming TV programs or films, entertainment pages of newspapers and outdoor billboards or hoardings are appropriate options.
  • Credit cards / club memberships are sold through telemarketing or personal selling after carefully selecting the database of prospective customers.
  • B2B companies (where the other businesses are the customers) generally include exhibitions in their promotion mix.
  • High end / luxury products are advertised or displayed only in areas where their prospective customers are reachable i.e. five star hotels, airports, in-flight magazines etc.

• The choice of the communication tool should be made also considering the budget available.
• The communication tool should be such that it provides enough number of repetitions and maximum coverage of the target audience within the budget.
• Mass media advertising (Newspaper, TV, Radio etc.) is fast and very impactful, but it is very expensive. Before choosing such media, other cost-effective alternatives must be considered.
• If more than one communication options are used, consistency and integrity must be maintained across all the tools. All communication happening through different media must appear similar to the target audience. This is called integrated marketing communication.

• • E.g. films advertisements in newspapers, on hoardings and on online media must have common visuals, color schemes and communication to ensure maximum impact and reinforcement in a short time period.
• Generally, a company tries a set of promotional communication tools (e.g. advertisements, exhibitions, telemarketing etc.) depending upon its customer base, timing, budget and other considerations. If any tool is not rewarding desired outcome, it must be reconsidered.
• Finally, the most effective communication tools must be consistently used for better effectiveness.

(Expert advice to GROW your business wherever you are, whenever you want.

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