Promotion and Branding

Promotion and Branding Key Notes:

1. Understand Promotion: Promotion involves the communication between the seller and potential buyer, influencing the buyer’s knowledge about products thus impacting their buying decisions.

2. Purpose of Promotion: It serves to attract new consumers, retain existing ones, move customers towards a particular product or service, and create or maintain the company’s image.

3. Promotion Mix: It includes personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing. The way a business uses these depends on its promotional strategy.

4. Advertising: It’s a paid form of non-personal communication to promote goods and services. It reaches a wide audience, enhances brand image and increases demand.

5. Personal Selling: It is the most effective marketing tool, particularly for high-value products.

6. Sales Promotion: This technique aims to provide a short-term boost to sales, through discounts, vouchers, and other incentives.

7. Public Relations: It focuses on maintaining a positive public image and managing effective relations with the target audience.

8. Branding: The brand works as the identity of a company or product and distinguishes it from competitors.

9. Benefits of Branding: A strong brand offers competitive advantage, customer loyalty, customer recognition, and additional value to a product.

10. Brand Value: It is determined by the consumer’s perception of the brand’s quality, its relevance, and its reputation.

11. Brand Recognition: This refers to a consumer’s ability to identify a brand by its attributes or logo.

12. Differentiation: It is a unique aspect of a product or brand, distinguishing it from its competitors.

13. Unique Selling Proposition (USP): It is the unique feature that differentiates a product from its competitors.

14. Corporate Image: It is the perception of a business held by its stakeholders. A positive image is crucial for a business’s success. It can be developed through good customer service, high-quality products, corporate social responsibility, etc.

15. Rebranding: Involved changing, refreshing, or modernising the brand. This can be risky as it might alienate existing customers but can also attract new ones.

16. Brand Extension: It involves extending an established brand name to new products or ranges.

Remember, an effective promotional strategy requires a clear identification of the target audience, thorough understanding of the product’s benefits, and a suitable messaging platform.