Advantages and Disadvantages of the Promotional Mix
Advantages
and Disadvantages of Each Element of the Promotional Mix
|
Mix Element |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
|
Advertising |
Good
for building awareness
Effective
at reaching a wide audience
Repetition
of main brand and product positioning helps build customer trust
|
Impersonal
- cannot answer all a customer's questions
Not
good at getting customers to make a final purchasing decision
|
|
Personal Selling |
Highly
interactive - lots of communication between the buyer and seller
Excellent
for communicating complex / detailed product information and features
Relationships
can be built up - important if closing the sale make take a long time
|
Costly
- employing a sales force has many hidden costs in addition to wages
Not
suitable if there are thousands of important buyers
|
|
Sales Promotion |
Can
stimulate quick increases in sales by targeting promotional incentives on
particular products
Good
short term tactical tool
|
If
used over the long-term, customers may get used to the effect
Too
much promotion may damage the brand image
|
|
Public Relations |
Often
seen as more "credible" - since the message seems to be coming from
a third party (e.g. magazine, newspaper)
Cheap
way of reaching many customers - if the publicity is achieved through the
right media
|
Risk of losing control - cannot always control what other people write or say about your product |
