Study on Sales Management and Promotional Strategy towards Consumer products

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of

Bachelor of Business Administration (Computer Aided Management) Semester-III

To Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi

Guide: Name of Guide: Submitted by Name of Student:AKSHAY DESHWAL Roll No.:0490301010

Institute of Innovation in Technology & Management, New Delhi 110058 Batch (2010-2013)

Certificate
I, Mr.akshay deshwal , Roll No. 04990301010 certify that the Minor Project Report (Paper Code=213) entitledStudy on Sales Management and Promotional Strategy towards Consumer products is completed by me by collecting the material from the referenced sources. The matter embodied in this has not been submitted earlier for the award of any degree or diploma to the best of my knowledge and belief.

Signature of the Student: Date:

Certified that the Minor Project Report entitled Study on Sales Management and Promotional Strategy towards Consumer products done by Mr.Amandeep Sabharwal, Roll No.04390301010, is completed under my guidance.

Signature of the Guide Name of the Guide: Designation: Date:

Countersigned Director/Project Coordinator

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am extremely grateful and remain indebted to our guide

for

being a source of inspiration and for his constant support in the Design, Implementation and Evaluation of the project. I am thankful to his for the constant constructive criticism and invaluable suggestions, which benefited me a lot while developing the project on study on sales management and promotional strategy towards consumer products . He has been a constant source of inspiration and motivation for hard work. He has been very co-operative throughout this project work. Through this column, it would be my utmost pleasure to express my warm thanks to his for the encouragement, co-operation and consent without which I mightnt be able to accomplish this project.

Name: Akshay deshwal Enroll. No: 04990301010

INDEX
S.NO.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

LIST OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVE OF STUDY REASEARCH METHODOLOGY ANALYSIS OF STUDY INTERPRETATION OF RESULT RECOMMENDATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY QUESTIONNAIRE

PAGE NO.

INTRODUCTION

Sales management is attainment of an organization's sales goals in an effective & efficient manner through planning, staffing, training, leading & controlling organizational resources. Revenue, sales, and sources of funds fuel organizations and the management of that process is the most important function.

Promotion can be defined as any method that communicates to the target market about the right product to be sold in the right place at the right price. Promotion is the activities people use to communicate with others about their product or service and to convince them to use it. Everythingyou do communicates something about your business. In tourism, this includes a wide variety of activities including brochures, billboards, and newspaper ads. Promotion involves careful planning. When you see or hear effective promotion it is merely the "tip of the iceberg." A great deal of work went into planning the final product. But before talking about the planning process, we need to review the tools of promotion. Promotion is a form of corporate communication that uses various methods to reach a targeted audience with a certain message in order to achieve specific organizational objectives. Nearly all organizations, whether for profit or not-for-profit, in all types of industries, must engage in some form of promotion. Such efforts may range from multinational firms spending large sums on securing high-profile celebrities to serve as corporate spokespersons to the owner of a onepersonenterprise passing out business cards at a local businesspersons meeting. Like most marketing decisions, an effective promotional strategy requires the marketer understandhow promotion fits with other pieces of the marketing puzzle (e.g., product, distribution, pricing, target markets). Consequently, promotion decisions should be made with an appreciation for how itaffects other areas of the company. For instance, running a major advertising campaign for a newproduct without first assuring there will be enough inventory to meet potential demand generated bythe advertising would certainly not go over well with the companys production department (not tomention other key company executives). Thus,

marketers should not work in a vacuum when making promotion decisions. Rather, the overall success of a promotional strategy requires input from others in impacted functional areas. Promotion includes personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, and public relations. There arealso different forms of each of these types of promotion such as broadcast, print, direct mail andelectronic advertising that offer different advantages, disadvantages, costs and paybacks. The samemessage may be interpreted differently, based on the source of the message in terms of Trustworthiness and credibility. In addition to coordinating general promotion decisions with other business areas, individual promotions must also work together. Under the concept of Integrated Marketing Communication marketers attempt to develop a unified promotional strategy involving the coordination of many different types of promotional techniques. The key idea for the marketer who employs several promotional options to reach objectives for the product is to employ a consistent message across all options. For instance, salespeople will discuss the same benefits of a product as mentioned in television advertisements. In this way no matter how customers are exposed to a marketers promotional efforts they all receive the same information.

Another one of the 4P's is 'promotion'. This includes all of the tools available to the marketer for 'marketing communication'. As with Neil H.Borden's marketing mix, marketing communications has its own 'promotions mix.' Think of it like a cake mix, the basic ingredients are always the same. However if you vary the amounts of one of the ingredients, the final outcome is different. It is the same with promotions. You can 'integrate' different aspects of the promotions mix to deliver a unique campaign.

The tools in the promotional mix include: 1. Advertising - Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by any identified sponsor. 2. Direct Marketing - The use of mail, telephone or other non-personal contact tools to communicate with, or solicit a response from, specific customers and prospects.

3. Trials and Service Promotion Short term incentives to encourage trial or purchase of a product or service, such as discounted rates for services over a limited time period. 4. Public Relations and Publicity - Programmes designed to promote and/or protect a companys image, or those of its products, including product literature, exhibitions and articles in professional or in-house newsletters. 5. Personal Selling - Face to face interactions with one or more prospective users, to generate increased activity. In a library context this will include academic detailing one-to-one meetings with new or existing staff to brief them about a specific project or service. 6. Sponsorship - Financial or external support of an event or person by an unrelated organization or donor, commonly used in the arts, sports and charities.

The specific mix depends on a number of factors, including: . The promotion budget available . Stage of product in its life cycle . Nature of the competitive situation . The target audience . The nature of the product.

Promotional Strategies
In the sales profession, two effective ways to get business are to go out after it, or have it com you. The first you do by prospecting; the second through promotional strategies. Most salespeople agree it's much more pleasant and less time consuming when prospects come to them. The beauty promotionalstrategies is: they plant a seed in your prospect's mind. In effect, you've made a "reservation" to be considered for future business. If your prospect has had positive exposure to in advance, you will more easily establish the relationship, make the appointment and complete sale. Promotion can give you the name recognition you need. Most of us are familiar with market research as suppliers (or information providers) try to obtain information from us (or library users) on what we require. Promotion is the reverse side of this. Organizations use promotion to communicate with customers about products they offer. Promotion is thus one half of the communication process with customers. Ideally it will work cooperatively with market research (in an iterative feedback loop) so that the constantly changing requirement users are met by promotional activities that target (or even anticipate) these expressed needs. Such activities need to be managed. They require the allocation and expenditure of resources, whether physical (promotional products) or intangible (staff time or use of existing facilities). such they cannot simply be allowed to grow organically they require shaping and direction v promotional strategy. A successful promotional strategy multiplies the salesperson's presence and increases his effectiveness. A properly executed promotional program can accomplish these objectives: 1. Introduce your product or service to new prospects 2. Smooth the way for setting appointments 3. Encourage more purchases by current clients 4. Stimulate off-season purchases

5. Compete with competitor's promotional efforts 6. Keep present, former and future customers informed of your services 7. Enlarge your market by increasing activity in a wider geographic area All promotional efforts aim to increase sales. While advertising and sales promotion do this direct publicity and public relations influence sales indirectly, by encouraging the buyer to think highly you, your company, and your products. Most people would rather buy from a person or comp they "like" even if they don't know them personally. If your company handles most of its own promotion, you should still think of yourself as a compwithin a company. On a smaller scale, promotion is as important to the smaller company, as itthe larger corporation.

Types of Promotional Strategies

Promotional Strategies can be categorized as follows: 1. Personal Selling 2. Sales Promotion 3. Public Relations 4. Direct Mail 5. Trade Fairs and Exhibitions 6. Advertising 7. Sponsorship

1. Personal Selling
Personal Selling involves direct face-to-face relationships between sellers and potential customers. Personal Selling is an effective way to manage personal customer relationships. The sales person acts on behalf of the organization. They tend to be well trained in the approaches and techniques of personal selling. However sales people are very expensive and should only be used where there is a genuine return on investment. For example salesmen are often used to sell cars or home improvements where the margin is high.

 Personal Selling Skills First Impressions: Whilst you are assessing your client they are doing the same to you, and will make similar assumptions based on hairstyle, hair color, general neatness, clothing, make-up, accessories and how closely you follow trends. These factors will contribute to your client's ultimate decision to purchase based on your advice, or even to return or not. First and lasting impressions are often made in the first 10 seconds of meeting a new person: quite a daunting thought.

Relationship Building: In order to establish a successful client/stylist relationship, the client must feel comfortable and able to trust their stylist. Speaking with warmth and friendliness, empathizing and showing genuine interest with any arising problems, can develop this sense of trust. You should appear interested and animated during conversations and this relationship must be sincere. Aim to radiate professional warmth. It is important not to be overbearing with timid clients or too vague with dominant clients, hence correctly identifying client type is a skill that should be learnt as soon as possible. Look out for body language in order to provide a clue; and use active questions in order to confirm your ideas and also to ensure you understand your client's needs.

Greetings: Clients will feel more valued if they are made to feel important and welcome. As they arrive greet them by name, or if unknown introduce yourself. Do not leave a client unsure of where they should be or what they should be doing. Encourage conversation by checking that the style, color or form from their last appointment has been a success; be prepared for a negative response and able to give an honest appraisal. Similarly, check that your client is happy with using their finish products at home. If not, offer alternative solutions and be prepared to explain why. These enquiries will help to make your clients feel special, providing reassurance and building confidence and trust.

Client Satisfaction: The essential ingredient for happy, satisfied customers is great-looking hair that suits their lifestyle and can be successfully replicated in the home. The benefits of this are many, including an increased sense of trust between client and stylist. With this firmly established it is likely that a client will have more confidence in your recommendations. This is particularly helpful when encouraging them to buy OTC products, as they will assume that your talent for creating great hairstyles will be mirrored by your knowledge of products, so make sure it is

Timing: The perfect time to recommend finishing products to your client is during the final stages of hairstyling when they can see the effect of a product on their hair. Discuss the endstyling process and describe the products you are applying, what you hope to achieve and any additional benefits. If more than one product is needed, and the client is reluctant to make an expensive purchase, priorities the most essential product. Make a note of what they bought and remind them to add extra products to their collection on future visits. Clients may visit the salon between appointments to purchase products: use their record card as a reminder of previous purchases and styling needs.

Demonstration: When selling a product it is essential to show the application benefits. First demonstrate on their hair and explain, where relevant, different methods of application, how much product to dispense and how to achieve the best results. The next step is to allow your client time to experiment, to ensure that they are able to achieve the same effect before they go home. The feel, look, smell and packaging are all vital in encouraging a client to buy finish products. Describe these elements and use this time to explain fully all benefits, such as protection from the environment, added gloss or long-lasting hold.

Problems and Concerns: Show interest in any concerns your client may have regarding the use and purchase of finish products. Once you are in possession of all the facts you will be better placed to offer an appropriate solution. Use this opportunity to perform a full consultation and diagnosis, you will then be able to target specifically and offer advice on problems. Use active listening and open questions to ensure a successful diagnosis, for example

Body Language: It is essential to be aware of your body language at all times when interacting with clients. This is never more important than when you are encouraging them to buy products. The key skills involve making eye contact, using the appropriate gestures and being aware of any unconscious negative body language. Maintain openness with your client: sit facing them, use open gestures and look interested.

2. Sales Promotions
Sales promotion consists of a diverse collection of incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate quicker and/or greater purchase of particular products/services by consumers or the trade. Advertising offers a reason to buy. Sales promotion offers an incentive to buy. Sales promotion tools for consumer promotion include cash refund offers, prices off, prizes, patronage rewards etc .Sales promotion tools for trade promotion include prices off, advertising and display allowances and free goods based on sales. Sales promotion tools aimed at salesmen of the company are contests, incentives for sales in fixed periods, trips to tourist locations etc. Rapid Growth of Sales Promotion: In comparison to growth in advertising sales promotion has grown more rapidly and in many consumer packaged goods company it now accounts for 65% to 75% of the total budget (Kotler, 1997). Purposes of Sales Promotion: Incentive type promotions are used to attract new buyers or triers, to reward loyal customers, and to increase the repurchase rates of occasional users. Major Decisions in Sales Promotions: 1. Setting the objectives 2. Selecting the tools 3. Developing the sales promotion program 4. Pretesting the program 5. Implementing and controlling the program 6. Evaluating the Results of the program Sales promotion tends to be thought of as being all promotions apart from advertising, personal selling, and public relations. For example the BOGOF promotion, or Buy One Get One Free.

Others include couponing, money-off promotions, competitions, free accessories (such as free blades with a new razor), introductory offers (such as buy digital TV and get free installation), and so on. Each sales promotion should be carefully coasted and compared with the next best alternative. Sales Promotion refers to specific activities (such as point-of-purchase displays, brochures, coupons) which can generate a specific purchase behavior. Sales promotions differ from overall promotion in that they are onetime activities. They involve special sales, demonstrations, and other business stimulators that are temporary. Some common promotions are: demonstrations, novelties/gifts, special events, coupons, exhibit booths, incentives, celebrity appearances, discounts, promotional offers, holiday cards, open houses, and sales. As an individual salesperson, think up new ways to promote sales, especially when your company does not. Keeping an eye on the calendar and knowing when a product needs to be sold most heavily will help you plan ahead. Begin your sales promotion early so that awareness has been established when the season arrives. If your company is involved in sales promotions, take advantage of them. If your company has a booth at a trade show, volunteer to work it. At the show, exchange business cards with everyone you meet. Try to set appointments while you're at the show rather than calling everyone later. If your company gives out calendars, stamp your name on them. Whether you're independent or represent a large company, you can generate many promotional ideas. They create an immediate sales impact. Many promotional items have a long life and can remind your clients and prospects about you and your product throughout the year, like wall calendars.

3. Public Relations
Public Relations is defined as 'the deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics' (Institute of Public Relations). It is relatively cheap, but certainly not cheap. Successful strategies tend to be longterm and plan for all eventualities.

 Public Relations or Publicity is any free form of "mass selling." All of these methods try to inform, persuade and remind the target audience about your product or service. They are complementary to each other and should be integrated to maximize your results. Public Relations means relating to the public in a way that wins its appreciation. It involves goodwill and community awareness. Its affect on sales is indirect and more difficult to analyze. Sales do improve, however, because people like to do business with salespeople that take an interest in the community. In determining your best public relations strategies, you should consider:

a) Who are your "publics?" They are groups of people who perceive you as a businessperson. Some publics act on their perceptions and increase your sales; others just appreciate you. It is important to identify each of your publics and develop strategies for improving your image with them. For example, if you sell real estate, your publics could be bankers, mortgage companies, customers, the community at large, other brokers, property managers, etc.

b) How can you reach these publics? Many methods exist. Your choices might include: Contributions of time or money to particular groups and activities, such as sponsoring Little League, bowling teams, sporting events, cultural activities, charities, community development programs, and others. Public speeches - You can offer your services to a group who would like to hear you speak on your area of expertise. Staged events - Your targeted publics may sponsor picnics, anniversary parties, ball games or other events. Your presence at these occasions gives your public a chance to get to know you in a relaxed, non-business setting. Trade Associations - Belonging to these and special interest groups provides good PR for individuals and companies. Your membership shows that you care about the industry. You can also develop many prospects from your participation.

c) What image do you want to convey Public relations can be more important to an individual salesperson than to a company. Your image is an "intangible" asset that affects sales as much as your "tangible" assets (products). The way people see you on a day-to-day basis is very important. Therefore, public relations should be a way of life as well as a strategy for exposure. Professionalism is the best PR.

4. Direct Mail
Direct mail is very highly focused upon targeting consumers based upon a database. As with all marketing, the potential consumer is 'defined' based upon a series of attributes and similarities. Creative agencies work with marketers to design a highly focused communication in the form of amailing. The mail is sent out to the potential consumers and responses are carefully monitored. For example, if you are marketing medical text books, you would use a database of doctors' surgeries as the basis of your mail shot.

5. Trade Fairs and Exhibitions

Such approaches are very good for making new contacts and renewing old ones. Companies will seldom sell much at such events. The purpose is to increase awareness and to encourage trial. They offer the opportunity for companies to meet with both the trade and the consumer. Expo has recently finish in Germany with the next one planned for Japan in 2005, despite a recent decline in interest in such events.

6. Advertising
Advertising is a 'paid for' communication. It is used to develop attitudes, create awareness, and transmit information in order to gain a response from the target market. There are many advertising 'media' such as newspapers (local, national, free, trade), magazines and journals, television (local, national, terrestrial, satellite) cinema, outdoor advertising (such as posters, bus sides). Advertising means a paid, persuasive presentation promoting you, your company, and/or your product/service. Advertising is any paid form of "mass selling" or communication with large numbers of potential customers at the same time. No matter how subtle or obvious your ad, the desired outcome can be achieved only through: Education - Making prospects aware of yourself or your product and what you can do for them Preference Formation - Getting the prospect to like you and prefer your product to the competition Generating an Inquiry - Advertising doesn't make a customer, you do. But, you must get people to tell you of their interest. The size and nature of your business will determine which advertising means you will use. If you're a sales consultant, it often doesn't pay for you to advertise on TV or in newspapers. Trade journals can be a more effective medium. In determining which sources would best fill your needs, ask yourself some questions: 1. What message do I want to convey? Should more emphasis be put on my product/service or me? 2. What is my target audience? How can advertising expand it? Where will my target prospects most likely see my message? 3. How much can I afford to spend on advertising this year? Can I afford not to advertise? 4. When is the best time to advertise? With answers to these basic questions, you can choose the best resources for advertising. The following list is not all-inclusive: TV, radio, newspapers, direct mail, novelties, handbills/flyers, trade magazines, billboards, shoppers guides, consumer magazines, displays and brochures.

 Patterns have emerged which show that some sources are better for salespeople than others. The most proven promotional methods in sales are, in this order: 1. Person to person contact 2. Telephone contact 3. Personal letter 4. Form letter 5. General promotional mailing

6. Display advertising
One good strategy combines a personal letter of introduction prior topersonal contact. The benefits of personal contact are obvious each contact has a high impact. Both methods can be utilized appropriately and successfully.

7. Sponsorship
Sponsorship is where an organization pays to be associated with a particular event, cause or image. Companies will sponsor sports events such as the Olympics or Formula One. The attributes of the event are then associated with the sponsoring organization. These elements of the promotional mix are then integrated to form a unique, but coherent campaign.

8. Publicity
Publicity means getting exposure through the news media, utilizing announcements prepared by companies or the media of newsworthy stories or events. Publicity also can mean feature articles in magazines. This coverage or "free advertising" can have spectacular results. Publicity often succeeds where advertising fails: Credibility - When people read an article in the paper or hear a story on the news, they automatically assume it is authentic and originated by the media. Subtlety - Your message reaches many prospects who would otherwise resist contact. Prospects "ingest" your message as news rather than as "advertising."

Dramatization - Publicity can convey, "we are your neighbors, struggling with you and doing our part to improve life around us." Publicity, especially on a local level, helps create a feeling of community. Publicity takes many forms. Your company or a public relations firm prepares press releases. These brief, newsworthy stories highlight you or the company in a way that interests the public. The difficulty is getting the media to use the story. To have your press releases published regularly, you must have expertise in publicity as well as good connections with the news media. Feature Articles make excellent publicity. Written by staff or freelance writers for trade magazines, professional journals, and consumer magazines, they cover you or your business in more depth than a press release. If you're unique in some way, you may provide an interesting subject for a feature article that can be linked to your profession. In time your business will increase due to the publicity. Photographs are good publicity vehicles. Newspapers often print unusual, humorous and interesting photographs. If you have a photograph that shows you or your company in an interesting light and is appealing from a journalistic viewpoint, send it to your local newspaper or trade journal. It is rare to find a product or service that "speaks for itself" and doesn't need promotion. As professional salespeople, we must recognize that, and actively promote products as well as our service or ourselves. Promotional strategies will not only get you in the door, they'll bring the business to your door.

Developing a Promotional Strategy

Developing an effective promotional strategy demands more than just being aware of the tools of promotion. Promotion is an ongoing process that requires much planning. A strategy is simply a careful plan. The effectiveness of your strategy depends on more than how much money you put into it. Effectiveness results from the thoroughness of your planning and the consistency with which you carry it out. The following nine steps outline an easy to follow procedure for developing an effective promotional strategy.

Step 1-Figuring out who you are

* Establishing your Identity. When people talk about developing a promotional image, they often forget about first developing their identity. Identity and image are not synonymous. Identity is what you really are. Image is how others see you. *This is an important distinction because how you see yourself may not be how you are seen by the public. To manage how others see you, first clarify your identity. You can then project it in such a strong way that identity and image are the same. *To accomplish this step, make a list of all your characteristics including such things as facilities, location, price, and attractions.

Step 2 - Deciding on your product

Developing a Them. The list of characteristics that make up your identity will be a long one. You cannot and should not promote all of these characteristics. You need to decide on what part of your identity you want to promote. This will be the theme for your promotional strategy. A theme is the one main idea, or message you want to communicate with your promotional efforts. The theme must be intimately tied to your identity. To determine a theme, ask yourself the following questions. "What is there about my facility that would be appealing to visitors?" 'What can I tell them that would make them want to come and visit us?" "What makes my facility unique?"

Step 3-Deciding who you want to attract

Identifying Your Target Audience. Deciding on your identity and theme is the foundation for your strategy. Build on this foundation by deciding on who you want to reach. You must decide on and contact your target audience, those people you want to reach with your information. Do you want to attract local or non-local visitors? Repeat or first-time visitors? Families or singles?Young or old? Deciding on who you want to attract is important. To reach your target audience, you must identify their needs and how they obtain information about recreation and tourism opportunities. Different groups have different needs. Senior citizens have different needs than do young adults. Handicappers have different needs than do non-handicappers. When you are developing your message you should address some of these needs. Different groups also get information from different sources. Some groups get information through informal sources, such as past visitors or local people. Others go through formal sources such as travel agencies. Some choose personal sources, such as friends or neighbors, while others will go through non-personal sources, such as reading every brochure they see. Identifying these sources of information is important so that you can find your target audience and distribute your information directly to them.

Step 4 - What do you want to accomplish with your strategy

Establishing Your Objectives. Before going any further, decide what you want to accomplish with your promotional strategy. This means establishing objectives that are very specific based on what you want the outcome of your strategy to be. Objectives should have the following characteristics: *They should identify who you are trying to reach. * They should state how much change you want to accomplish through your promotion. * They should state how much time it will take to accomplish your objectives. * They should state what you want people to do because of your promotion.

Step 5 - Actually getting your message across

Developing Your Message Content. An important part of your content is your theme. Do not try to get across two or more ideas in the same message. This does not work, and will hinder your message. All information in your message must center on your theme. Your theme has to bind your message together. Keeping the content centered on your theme will also help limit the amount of information you present. This will help keep your message short and to the point. There are two types of information that you can use: informative and persuasive. Informative messages tell people something without regard to their response. Persuasive information tries to convince people to do something. There are also two types of persuasive information. The first type, rational persuasive information, uses logical arguments based on supportive evidence. The second type, motivational persuasive information, appeals to people's needs and desires.

Step 6 - Deciding how to say it

*Developing Your Message Structure. Putting your message together is called message structure. How it is put together depends on what type of information you are using. For persuasive messages, it will depend on whether you are using rational or motivational information. * A rational message has three parts. The first part is the claim of the message. This is what you want people to believe is true of you. The second part is the evidence, or facts, that you use to support your claim. The third part is the warrant. The warrant is a general hypothetical statement That ties the evidence and the claim together. It is the "glue" that holds the message together and helps it make sense. With rational messages, you need to decide if you want to use a one-sided argument or a two-sided argument. * A one-sided argument only presents the pro side of the argument, while a two-sided argument presents both sides. Which one you use will depend on which one meets your needs and the type of audience. Generally, one-sided arguments are better with audiences already favorable to your message. Two-sided arguments are best with audiences who are opposed to your argument, are better educated or have already been exposed to counter arguments. * For motivational messages, there are two parts: the claim and the appeal. Again, the claim is what you want people to believe is true of you. The appeal is a statement aimed at your audience's particular needs or desires to motivate them to do what you want.

* When using rational or motivational messages, make sure the promotional tool you are using is credible with your audience. This is especially true if you are using a spokesperson. Your spokesperson must be competent and trustworthy in the eyes of your audience. He/she should be likeable and appear to fit in with your message. * Informational messages are different from persuasive messages. For them, organization is the key. Since this is an informative message, all your information needs to be presented in a logical and orderly manner. * Finally, whether using informative or persuasive messages, there is one problem that always ariseswhere to place your punch line, the key to your message. This will depend on the type of audience you have. If you have a captive audience and a lot of time, place it at the end of your message as a climax. If your audience is non-captive, place the punch line at the beginning of your message to get and keep their attention.

Step 7-Deciding how to present it

*Developing Your Message Format. Formatting your message is the next step. Format refers to how your message will appear to people when you distribute it. The media or the method used to convey your message will determine your format. *The number of types and combinations of media available to use is almost endless. You are only limited by your imagination. Examples include television, radio, employees, community calendars, and newspaper feature or human interest stories. A good way to decide what you want to use is to look at what others are already using. * Take any ideas that you like and adapt them to your format, but do not directly copy them and make sure that you are adapting the ideas to your needs. * Second, learn the good and bad points of various media, including their limitations. Find out what best suits your needs and what will allow you to meet your audience's needs. Finally check to see what will be most cost-effective. Once you select the media you want to use, the actual message must be put together. Pay close attention to the nonverbal aspects of the message. Things such as graphics, color selection, type style and size will have a big effect on how people perceive your message. It is important that these things relate to your theme, message, and audience for the maximum effect. Finally, your message must be united. Each part of your message must relate directly to your theme.

Step 8-Taking your message to your audience

* Choosing your Delivery System. Most businesspeople in the tourism industry would agree than coming up with a good promotional message is only half the battle. The other half is getting your message to your target audience. Thus, the delivery system you choose is very important A delivery system is how you distribute your message and your media. There are two types of delivery systems. The first type is the formal delivery system, one that you plan to use or in which you have control over the content of the message, such as television, radio, newspapers newsletters, and catalogs.

* The second type is the informal delivery system. An informal delivery system is one that you do not have control over, such as word-of-mouth, friends, family members, and repeat visitors Whether formal or informal, each system is composed of a message and the media that is used to present it. Many times your choice of media goes with your delivery system (promotional ads in newspapers, for instance). With some forms of media, such as brochures and exhibits this is not always the case.

* Many times people overlook how they intend to distribute their brochure or display their exhibit. Know in advance how you will use these items. Overlooking how you intend to distribute any kind of media can cause it to become ineffective. Finally, different audiences obtain information from different media. A thorough understanding of what media your target audience uses is essential to distribute your message effectively.

Step 9-How is it going?

Evaluation. Creating and implementing a promotional strategy can drain your resources if you do not regularly evaluate the strategy to see how effectively it is working. This is where your objectives come in handy. To evaluate your strategy you need only to determine whether you have made progress in meeting your established objectives. Generally, it is good to wait one year after implementing your strategy to see if it works because promotional effects can be cumulative. Always be ready to make changes. First, remember that promotion is a process. The nine steps outlined here are guides to develop an effective promotional strategy.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Targets of Promotional Strategies

The audience for an organizations marketing communication efforts is not limited to just the marketers target market. While the bulk of a marketers promotional budget may be directed at the target market, there are many other groups that could also serve as useful target of a marketing message. Targets of a marketing message generally fall into one of the following categories: Members of the Organizations Target Market This category would include current customers, previous customers and potential customers, and as noted, may receive the most promotional attention. Influencers of the Organizations Target Market There exists a large group of people and organizations that can affect how a companys target market is exposed to and perceives a companys products. These influencing groups have their own communication mechanisms that reach the target market and the marketer may be able utilize these influencers to its benefit. Influencers include the news media (e.g., offer company stories), special interest groups, opinion leaders (e.g., doctors directing patients), and industry trade associations. Participants in the Distribution Process The distribution channel provides services to help gain access to final customers and are also target markets since they must recognize a products benefits and agree to handle the product in the same way as final customers who must agree to purchase products. Aiming promotions at distribution partners (e.g., retailers, wholesalers, distributors) and other channel members is extremely important and, in some industries, represents a higher portion of a marketers promotional budget than promotional spending directed at the final customer. Other Companies The most likely scenario in which a company will communicate with another company occurs when the marketer is probing to see if the company would have an interest in a joint venture, such as a co-marketing arrangement where two firms share marketing costs. Reaching out to other companies, including companies who may be competitors for other products, could help create interest in discussing such a relationship. Other Organizational Stakeholders Marketers may also be involved with communication

activities directed at other stakeholders. This group consists of those who provide services, support or, in other ways, impact the company. For example, an industry group that sets industry standards can affect company products through the issuance of recommended compliance standards for product development or other marketing activities. Communicating with this group is important to insure the marketers views of any changes in standards are known.

AFFECTING BUYER BEHAVIOUR

Promotional tools are designed to communicate effectively, by providing information to potential customers. In addition, they attempt to affect buyer behavior by, Creating and raising awareness creating, enhancing and/or changing the products image. In both cases, the focus is on perception. The promotional strategy aims to shape customers perceptions of a business and its products. In other words, promotional tools are being used to influence the purchasing decisions of consumers by creating a favorable view of a business and its products. Making purchasing decisions is a complex process. Figure above illustrates the three main influences on buyer behavior. It indicates that the decision to purchase a product can be a very complex one, especially if the product is expensive (such as a house) or of significant interest to a consumer (such as buying clothes to wear at a party). Promotional tools, such as advertising and sales promotion, need to focus on some of the influences listed in Figure above if buyer behavior is to be altered. The choice of influence depends on the product being promoted and the audience being targeted. Sometimes promotional tools will be used in emotive ways, by acting on our feelings and targeting emotions such as fear and happiness. At other times, promotional tools will be used to inform rather than persuade, to provide rational facts and figures rather than appeal to our emotional identity. A fashion clothing business+-, launching a new range of clothes would possibly focus on these aspects of buyer behavior: Social focus on the attitudes of friends and use advertising showing groups of people with apparently similar age and background characteristics Psychological communicate the values represented by the range of clothing and to which the buyer might aspire, such as independent, edgy or casual Personal promote key aspects or benefits of the product likely to appeal to the target age group, such as price ranges or the style of the clothing. When promoting a new range of fashion clothing, its likely that the social and psychological factors will be most important; with psychological factors are likely to be most dominant, because fashion is often based an abstract ideas style or cool rather than a functional product.

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

Objectives of Promotional strategies: Any promotion strategy has one or more objectives. Typical objectives include: * Improving customer awareness and knowledge of a product * Improving the image of a business * Generating or increasing sales * Improving customer loyalty to a product or a business * Altering customer perceptions of a product. To achieve any of these objectives, customer attitudes towards a business and/or its products have to be altered. It is unlikely that any single promotional activity will achieve a campaign objective a promotional mix is required. When outlining a promotional mix, it is sensible to consider a variety of promotional activities that might be available to the business within the budget. The final selection and sequencing of promotional activities will depend on the budget and customer attitudes. However, initially, it is sensible to think in general terms and outline a number of different promotional mixes. These mixes will differ because they use different promotional activities, and/or they present the promotional activities in a different sequence. For example, a campaign, whose objective is to raise awareness about a new product, might use an exhibition and a PR event. However, which should come first? Should the activities take place simultaneously? Should the PR event act as an initial message, to gain interest in the product, with the exhibition providing detailed product information to interested potential customers? The most obvious objective marketers have for promotional activities is to convince customers to make a decision that benefits the marketer (of course the marketer believes the decision will also benefit the customer). For most for-profit marketers this means getting customers to buy an organizations product and, in most cases, to remain a loyal long-term customer. For other marketers, such as not-for-profits, it means getting customers to increase donations, utilize more services, change attitudes, or change behavior (e.g., stop smoking campaigns).

 However, marketers must understand that getting customers to commit to a decision, such as a purchase decision, is only achievable when a customer is ready to make the decision. Customers often move through several stages before a purchase decision is made. Additionally before turning into a repeat customer, purchasers analyze their initial purchase to see whether they received a good value, and then often repeat the purchase process again before deciding to make the same choice. Promotion involves making sure that customers are aware of the products that the organization makes available to them. More specifically, your promotional strategy will include one or more of the following objectives: *To provide information * To increase demand * To differentiate the product *To accentuate the value of the product * To stabilize existing activity levels Such objectives must be accompanied by an appropriate promotional mix (Rowley, 1998). The promotional mix combines different channels or routes to communicate a promotional message. From a range of possible tools in your toolkit you will select an appropriate promotional mix. The type of customer the marketer is attempting to attract and which stage of the purchase process a customer is in will affect the objectives of a particular marketing communication effort. And since a marketer often has multiple simultaneous promotional campaigns, the objective of each could be different. Types of Promotion Objectives The possible types of objectives for promotional strategies may include the following: Build Awareness New products and new companies are often unknown to a market, which means initial promotional efforts must focus on establishing an identity. In this situation the marketer must focus promotion to: 1) effectively reach customers, and 2) tell the market who they are and what they have to offer.

Create Interest Moving a customer from awareness of a product to making a purchase can present a significant challenge. As we saw with our discussion of consumer and business buying behavior, customers must first recognize they have a need before they actively start to consider a purchase. The focus on creating messages that convince customers that a need exists has been the hallmark of marketing for a long time with promotional appeals targeted at basic human characteristics such as emotions, fears, sex, and humor. Provide Information Some promotion is designed to assist customers in the search stage of the purchasing process. In some cases, such as when a product is so novel it creates a new category of product and has few competitors, the information is simply intended to explain what the product is and may not mention any competitors. In other situations, where the product competes in an existing market, informational promotion may be used to help with a product positioning strategy. Stimulate Demand The right promotion can drive customers to make a purchase. In the case of products that a customer has not previously purchased or has not purchased in a long time, the promotional efforts may be directed at getting the customer to try the product. This is often seen on the Internet where software companies allow for free demonstrations or even free downloadable trials of their products. For products with an established customer-base, promotion can encourage customers to increase their purchasing by providing a reason to purchase products sooner or purchase in greater quantities than they normally do. For example, a pre-holiday newspaper advertisement may remind customers to stock up for the holiday by purchasing more than they typically purchase during non-holiday periods. Reinforce the Brand Once a purchase is made, a marketer can use promotion to help build a strong relationship that can lead to the purchaser becoming a loyal customer. For instance, many retail stores now ask for a customers email address so that follow-up emails containing additional product information or even an incentive to purchase other products from the retailer can be sent in order to strengthen the customer-marketer relationship.

Research Methodology

In developing a promotion campaign, market research should be carried out to provide information on customer attitudes towards promotional activities and media. This could involve both primary and secondary market research. Secondary market research should be considered first as, given reliable sources, this information will be immediately available, and key trends will have been identified by researchers and analysts. However, secondary sources have potential drawbacks: A business might have a unique target audience which secondary sources fail to profile the only secondary information available may be out of date and the business feels that it needs up-to-date information the price of the secondary information is high inrelation to the businesss financial resources. If any of these circumstances apply, then primary research should be considered. Some businesses will, in any case, be forced down the primary research route because the information required is very specific and will not be available from secondary sources. Primary research should be considered if a business wishes to verify the validity of secondary research in relation to its target customers attitudes. It is also a good option if the business has a source of internal customer data, such as customer sales records, which could be analysed to provide useful information. If primary research is required, the business should consider how the data will be collected. In the context of promotional activities, these methods are particularly important: Customer Questionnaires using, for example, closed questions to rank the relevance of particular sales promotion techniques Consumer Panels for example, organizing several panels, each with particular socioeconomic and age groupings, to discuss the impact of a planned advertisement Personal Interviews using, for example, openended questions to reveal attitudes towards the use of particular imagery and cultural references within a moving image advertisement.

 Once the primary data has been collected, it should be analysed to identify key trends and patterns the grouping of data by customer characteristics is particularly important. Without this level of analysis, primary research into customers attitudes will be of little value, as a business would not be able to relate any findings to specific customer groups that may be the target audience for individual campaigns . Getting the right mix The promotion campaign surrounding Finding Nemo is a good illustration of the way in which a business can use a variety of promotional activities to communicate with its target customers. By using several promotional activities, it was possible to target different segments of the market for the film. The specific combination of promotional activities within a single campaign is known as the campaigns promotional mix. Sophisticated marketing campaigns will use many different promotional activities within the mix. However, any campaigns promotional mix can draw from a range of promotional activities, including: *Sales promotion * Merchandising * Personal selling * Exhibitions * Advertising * Public relations. The challenge is to get the mix of promotional activities right. This is a crucial element of a successful promotion campaign. The exact make-up of a campaigns promotional mix requires careful consideration: rely too much on one type of promotional activity and the message might only reach a relatively limited range of customers; use too many promotional activities and the message might be confusing and difficult to decode. Several factors help to determine the nature of any campaigns promotional mix. These include: The objectives of the campaign The campaigns budget The target customers attitudes towards different promotional activities.

 An effective promotional mix will balance the demands of these factors. The objectives of the campaign are paramount, but the choice of promotional activities will be heavily influenced by the size of the campaign budget. The attitudes of particular customer segments will also influence the choice of promotional activities and the media used to deliver them. The choice of the most appropriate promotional mix should be made after considering these competing factors. Careful analysis and evaluation, based on valid research of promotional activities and customer behavior, is required if the promotional mix is to support the campaigns objectives. In this topic, we consider the importance of the campaigns objectives and its budget. In Topic 8, we investigate the significance of the target customers attitudes towards different promotional activities.

ANALYSIS OF STUDY

Q1. Which brand of Soap / Detergent do you use?

Bathing soaps Lux Hamm Lifebuoy Nima Others Respondents 41 3 14 8 34

Bathing soaps
50 40 30 20 10 0 Respondents

Lux 41

Hamam 3

Lifebuoy 14

Nima 8

Others 34

Interpretation:
The above question has been formed to know the soaps and detergents at the top of the mind of the customers. It shows those consumers purchase and use of that particular brand. It will help to the company to know the market scenario and the major brands in the market. Form the above result it is clear that out of 100 customers more than 40 are consumers are having the same brand as the image in their mind, whereas others category is also showing the higher graph than these 3 major players(Hamam, Lifebuoy, Nima).

Q2. Do you always buy the same brand of Soap / Detergent?

Particulars Yes No

Respondents 56 44

Brand loyal
60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Respondents Yes 56 No 44

Interpretation:

The objective behind the formation of this question is to know the level of brand loyalty of the consumers towards the brands of soaps available in the market. The above figure shows that on 56% of the respondents are loyal to their brands of detergent/soap. CONSUMER GOODS are such a market where the level of loyalty remains low and this is because of many reasons.

Q3. Which factors do you normally consider while purchasing a particular brand of Soap / Detergents?

Factors Fragrance Quality Company image Price Packaging Others

Bathing soap 19 33 16 23 6 3

Det.powder 18 36 13 19 11 3

Factors affecting purchase behavior

40 30 20 10 0 Fragrance Bathing soap Det.powder 19 18 Quality 33 36 Company image 16 13

Price 23 19

Packaging 6 11

Others 3 3

Interpretation:
The objective behind this question is to know the effect of influencing factors in the purchase decision of the soaps and detergent powders. It mainly contains the factors like, quality which players an important role in the purchase decision of the soaps and detergents both.If we look at the graph of the soaps and detergent it shows quality as the most influencing factors in the purchase decision while price is also an important for purchase decision.

Q4. Do you consider promotional schemes while purchasing a particular brand of Soap / Detergent?

Particulars Yes No

Respondents 78 22

H0: Promotional schemes have a significant effect on the purchase of brand. H1: Promotional schemes do not have an effect on the purchase of brand.

Effect of schemes purchase behavior

100 80 60 40 20 0 Respondents Yes 78 No 22

Interpretation:
Answer of this question will give idea about the effect of promotional schemes in the purchase decisions. Such types of schemes always attract more and more consumers towards particular brand. Simultaneously it gives idea about the factors which consumers look most in the product before they make final decision.Here H0 is accepted as the graph shows that 78 out of 100 consumers are looking for such schemes before they make purchase.

Q5. Which of the following promotional schemes you have come across so far?

Promotional schemes Coupons price off Freebies scratch cards lucky draw Bundling extra qty.

Respondents 16 84 24 12 9 31 44

Familiarity of promotional Schemes

100 80 60 40 20 0 Coupons Respondents 16 price off 84 Freebies 24 scratch cards 12

lucky draw 9

Bundling 31

extra qty. 44

Interpretation:

The above stated question clearly states the awareness of promotional schemes offered in the market by the marketers to attract more and more consumers. The results show that price off and extra quantity is the two main offers/schemes which consumers have came across at the time of purchase. It will helpthe manufacturers and marketers too how to launch their new products in the market with which schemes.

Q6. Which medium do you feel is suitable to promote the various promotional schemes?

Source Radio TV Newspaper Hoarding Others

Respondents 11 69 43 15 12

Mediums to promote the promotional schemes

80 60 40 20 0 Respondents

Radio 11

TV 69

News.ppr 43

Hoarding 15

Others 12

Interpretation:
This question gives stress on the media habit of the people and through which the product should be launch or they think it would be better than other Medias. The above result shows TV as the best media to market the product which will cover majority of the viewer ship. On the second place it shows news papers as the media to promote the product in the market.

Q7. Is there any existing scheme on the Soap / Detergent you are currently using?

Particulars Yes No

Respondents 58 42

Existing scheme on the Soap / Detergent

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Respondents Yes 58 No 42

Interpretation:
The answer of the respondents give idea about the awareness of the promotional schemes offered in the market on their existing soaps and detergents. In this situation more than 40% of the people are not aware or having vague idea about the promotional schemes running into the market. It shows that people are not much aware of the schemes which continue in the market it may be because of the present stock of the product at their place.

Q8. If yes, please specify?

Particulars 3+1/Other Free Discount No idea No answer

Respondents

36 22 6 36

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Series1 3+1/Other Free 36 Discount 22 No idea 6 No answer 36

Interpretation:
This question supports the above question. It enlists the answers of those customers who are aware of the present schemes offered in the market and also those schemes which are more demanded in the market. The result shows that 1+1 or 2+1 or other free schemes are more demanded and more aware schemes in the market. So manufacturers may go for the same at the time of launching their product.

Q9. If you get an attractive promotional offer in the product other than of your choice will you switch over?

Particulars Yes No

Respondents 73 27

Switching behavior
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Respondents Yes 73 No 27

Interpretation:
It shows the level of brand loyalty among the consumers. The result clearly shows that out of 100,73 people are ready to switch over to another brand if they find better promotional schemes which suits their budget means more qyt+less cost +quality. Combination of all these schemes will run better in the market.

Q10. Give reason for the same?

Particulars Cost+qty Quality Satisfaction Brand loyal More benefit/budget Season change No answer

Respondents 16 17 2 5 22 2 36

Reason
40 30 20 10 0 Cost+qty Respondents 16 Quality 17 Satisfaction Brand loyal 2 5

More Benefit/bud 22

Season change 2

No answer 36

Interpretation:
Above question it gives specific reasons for switching too other products. It shows that extra quantity with less or same price, more satisfaction, quality and other factors influence consumers to switch over too other brands.

INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS

The study reflects that the use of sales promotion undeniably has increased over the years in India. Future holds lot of promise for such schemes across wider range of product-markets.

Sales Promotion has ceased to be major differentiator at least in the metros, with almost all companies offering similar freebies and gifts. As a result now marketers have to find out some innovative ways of sales promotion to differentiate from competitors. Currently Price off and Bye one get one free offers are very effective to attract the consumers towards the products.

We have noted that these kind of promotional tools are useful for short term increase in sales and to induce first trial. These types of promotional schemes should be consistent and changed from time to time depending upon season and competitors schemes.With the Increasing number of supermarket, the branded packaged goods work as silent sales person. So in such stores, sales promotion plays a more effective role in stimulating consumers demands.

One of the very important facts we came to know from this project is that sale of goods which contain large quantity and having big packaging e.g. detergent are stagnating because consumer prefer to buy small pack goods, the reasons are: small pack goods reduce risk of bad quality, It had low cost or say price, and last but important factor i.e. mentality to purchase just to try first. Sales of small pack goods are quite high, but from the companys point of view small pack goods is less profitable compare to large pack goods.

So here marketer tries to increase sales of large pack goods by using sales promotion tactics like price off and percentage extra.Sales management is also effectively increasing.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The findings of the empirical study indicate that unless the brand to be promoted is in the consideration set of the consumer, sales promotion by itself is unlikely to have any major impact. Clearly this shows that managers need to invest into brand building exercise so that his/her brand appears in the consideration set of the target consumers. Only after this should he spend time, money and energy on sales promotion activities.

Sales promotion should not be used in isolation but need to be integrated with other tools and in line with the overall positioning of the brand. Also the importance of the role of mass media came out clearly in the study. Companies need to create sufficient awareness about sales promotion schemes through mass media in order to create awareness. Consumer products are low involvement products characterized by switching behavior. Also the person going to the shop for the purchase of soap is the final decision maker of the brand. Hence it is essential that companies need to design attractive, striking, visible POPs for scheme announcements. With respect to nature of scheme, the finding suggested that premium (free gift) was popular with companies. While both retailers and consumers preferred price offs. So it is necessary that the perceived value of a free gift has to be appealing and high for the target consumers. Repetitive use of the same premium for a prolonged period may have negative effect on the loyal customers. When the company is giving its own product free as premium, it needs to ensure the quality of the product from it as it is likely to jeopardize the image of both its products.

The findings exhibited that both the retailers and consumers perceived that sales promotion activities carried out by the companies for increasing sales in short term and clearing excess stocks. What it implies is that companies need to use sales promotion

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

C.R.Kothari, Research Methodology methods & techniques,New Age International(p)ltd.publishers,2nd edition. Philip Kotler, Marketing Management, 11th edition, Pearson education Asia Publication.

WEBSITES

http://www.nirma.co.in_files http://www.hul.co.in_files http://www.pg-india_files http://www.godrej_files

QUESTIONNAIRE

I am student of BBA(CAM)studying in INSTITUTE OF INNOVATION IN TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT and carrying out a survey for our academic project toStudy on Sales Management and Promotional Strategy towards Consumer products. So please fill this questionnaire. Your identity would not be revealed and information will only be used for academic purpose.

Q1. Which brand of Soap / Detergent do you use?

Bathing soaps Lux Hamam Lifebuoy Nirma Others

Respondent

Detergent powder Nirma supper Wheel Surf Ariel Others

Respondent

Q2. Do you always buy the same brand of Soap / Detergent? Particulars Yes No Respondent

Q3. Which factors do you normally consider while purchasing a particular brand of Soap / Detergents? Bathing soap

Factors Fragrance Quality Company image Price Packaging Others

Det.powder

Q4. Do you consider promotional schemes while purchasing a particular brand of Soap / Detergent? Particulars Yes No Q5. Which of the following promotional schemes you have come across so far? Promotional schemes Coupons price off Freebies scratch cards lucky draw Bundling extra qty. Respondent

Respondent

Q6. Which medium do you feel is suitable to promote the various promotional schemes?

Source Radio TV Newspaper Hoarding Others

Respondent

Q7. Is there any existing scheme on the Soap / Detergent you are currently using?

Particulars Yes No

Respondent

Particulars 3+1/Other Free Discount No idea

Respondent

Q8. If yes, please specify?

No answer

Q9. If you get an attractive promotional offer in the product other than of your choice will you switch over?

Particulars Yes No

Respondent

Q10. Give reason for the same?

Particulars Cost+qty Quality Satisfaction Brand loyal More benefit/budget Season change No answer

Respondent