Promoting Your Product Promotion is a type of communication and persuasion we find throughout our daily lives. It is also one of the Four P's (product, place, price, and promotion) in your marketing plan. To use promotion effectively, you should understand the basic principles behind it. Getting Customers: AIDA AIDA is a popular communication model used by companies to plan, create, and manage their promotions. The letters in AIDA stand for the following steps in any type of promotion: 1. Attention. The first step when introducing a new product to a market is to grab the attention of potential customers. For example, using a celebrity to introduce a product may cause people to take notice. 2. Interest. After you get people's attention, you want to keep it. To hold consumer interest, you need to focus your message on the product's features and benefits. Clearly communicate to potential customers how these features and benefits specifically relate to them. 3. Desire. What can you do to make your product desirable? One way might be to demonstrate how the product works. Another tactic would be proving in some way that your product is a bargain. 4. Action. Don't forget to ask consumers to take action, to buy. You may also want to give them a reason to act right away. For example, a limited‐time offer might motivate them. Keeping Customers Most experts agree that promotional messages have to be repeated many times to maximize their effectiveness. In other words, for customers to remember what you want them to know and keep them coming back to buy again, promotion must be an ongoing process. One way to retain customers is by rewarding them. Frequent‐buyer programs, special price offers, and thank‐you notes or e‐mails are possibilities. To help keep your customers, stay aware of how your competitors are promoting their products. Also, continue to listen to your customers about what's important to them. When they buy, offer them immediate ways to provide you with feedback. This could include sending a coupon after they fill out a short e‐mail survey. Another example is the questionnaire cards that some restaurants provide at their tables. Choosing a Promotional Mix You should consider many forms of promotion when developing your marketing plan. The combination of promotional elements that a business chooses is called a promotional mix. The elements in a promotional mix are varied but also interconnected. All of them have common goals: to build a favorable awareness about your product and business, and to influence people to buy your product. 1. Advertising. A public, promotional message paid for by an identified sponsor or company. Six of the most common types of advertising are: Print Advertising, Direct Mail, Radio and Television, Product Placement, Internet, and Outdoor Advertising. 2. Visual Merchandising. Using artistic displays to attract customers into a store. It also refers to how products are visually promoted inside a store. How you visually present and physically position your products is an important part of promotion. 3. Public Relations (PR). Activities aimed at creating goodwill toward a product or company. Many companies have a public relations (PR) department to help build and maintain a positive image. 4. Publicity. A form of promotion for which a company does not pay. It is sometimes referred to as "free advertising." Publicity helps to attract attention and create interest. 5. Personal Selling. Direct (one‐to‐one) efforts made by a company's sales representatives to get sales and build customer relationships. 6. Sales Promotion. A short‐term activity or buying incentive, such as conducting product demonstrations or providing coupons or free samples. Think of sales promotions as temporary "specials" used to motivate potential customers. Developing a Promotional Plan for a Startup A promotional plan for a new business must take into consideration three stages of a business startup: 1. What promotions are needed before the business is opened? 2. What promotional adjustments will need to be made when the new business is launched? 3. What ongoing promotional strategies are needed? Questions for Discussion 1. Summarize the basic steps of the AIDA promotional model. 2. List the six elements of a promotional mix. 3. Name the six most common types of advertising. 4. Define visual merchandising. 5. What are the three stages that you must take into consideration in the promotional plan for a new business? .