CHAPTER 12 - Promoting the Small Business

Promotion

may be defined as activities, including advertising, personal selling, sales promotions, public relations, and direct marketing, used by SBOs to persuade prospective customers to buy the company's products or services.

established demand

This refers to purchases made by people from a certain firm

advertising

is any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, and services by an identified sponsor.

Retail advertising

- is made by various retail stores such as grocery stores and bakeries to attract customers.

Service advertising

- is made by various service establishments such as trans-portation, recreation, and insurance.

Trade advertising

- is made by manufacturers to motivate wholesalers and retailers to carry their products.

Industrial advertising

- is made by manufacturers to motivate other manufacturers to use their products and services.

Institutional advertising

- is designed to create a favorable image for a firm.

Television

is a medium that is expensive but it has a wide area of coverage, mostly nationwide.

Newspapers

may be classified according to area circulation (1) national, (2) regional, and (3)

provincial or local.

outdoor billboard

can be a little discriminating as a form of advertising.

Specialty advertising

is more discriminating and a more direct way of convincing prospective customers to buy.

Advertising messages

installed in public conveyances provide a more permanent and mobile advertising for small business.

yellow pages

provide the small business advertiser with some advertising ex- posure. Its coverage, however, is limited to persons with telephones.

Direct mail

is less expensive and most discriminating.

Local cable TV

which has come of age as an advertising medium has a captive advertising through it may be practical

Moviehouses

provide an alternative form of advertising.

Personal selling

is that method of promotion that is direct, personal, and often a face-to-face interchange between the company's salesperson and the consumer.

Current customer salesperson

- concentrates on current customers and seeks more sales from them.

New-business salesperson

locates prospects and converts them to buyers

Inside order taker

- stays inside the sales office and from there receives orders by mail, telephone, or directly from persons coming in.

Field order taker

- travels to customers and from their places, orders are taken.

Missionary salesperson

- is usually employed by a manufacturer who wants to establish presence in a certain area. He assists the producer's customers in selling to their own customers.

Trade salesperson

- helps the company's customers, especially retail stores, promote the product. His activities consist of restocking shelves, obtaining more shelf space, setting up displays, providing in-store demonstrations, and distributing samples to store customers.

Technical salesperson

- gives technical assistance to the firm's current customers in the form of advice on product characteristics and applications, systems designs, and installation procedures.

Prospecting:

Identifying potential buyers through research.

Qualifying:

Selecting the most likely buyers from the prospect list.

Preapproach:

Developing a mental picture of the qualified prospects needs and wants.

Approach:

Initiating face-to-face communication.

Presentation:

Presenting the product or service, potentially at the prospect's location.

Handling Objections:

Addressing customer doubts and concerns with explanations.

Closing the Sale:

Recognizing buying signals.

Using test questions to gauge interest.

Directly asking for the sale.

Follow-up:

Ensuring customer satisfaction after the sale.

Publicity

is a method of promotion where news is generated about the firm or its products or services and appearing in print, broadcast, or electronic media and not paid for by the firm.