7 Main Types of Promotions

Personal selling involves personal contact between company rep and those who make purchase decision. One advantage of personal selling is personal selling is a face-to-face activity; customers therefore obtain a relatively high degree of personal attention. A disadvantage of personal selling is the cost of employing a sales force. Sales people are expensive. In addition to the basic pay package, a business needs to provide incentives to achieve sales.

Sending mail directly to the customer is considered direct marketing. One advantage of direct marketing is that most charities depend on mail for their existence. A disadvantge of direct marketing is that direct mail marketing is a highly unpredictable method of marketing your business. Mailing direct to potential (and existing) customers can be lucrative.

Advertising mostly is paid promotions often using mass media to deliver the message. One advantage of advertising is that advertisements inform the consumer about qualities and price of goods and this makes purchasing easy for the consumers. A disadvantage of advertising is the prices are already advertised, therefore consumers cannot be over charged.

Public relations use third-party sources, and particularly the news media, to offer a favourable mention of the marketer's company or product without direct payment to the publisher of the information. One advantage of public relations is ability to reach specific groups because some products appeal to only small market segments, it is not feasible to engage in advertising or promotions to reach them. A disadvantage of public relations is the major disadvantage of public relations is the potential for not completing the communication process.



Supporting an event, activity or organisation by providnig money or other resources that is of value to the sponsored event. This is usually in return for advertising space at the event or as part of the publicity for the event. One advantage of sponsorships is it creates positive publicity which heightens visibility. A disadvantage of sponsorships is that is can end up being more expensive than what they paid for the advertising.

Sales promotion involves the use of special short-term techniques, often in the form of incentives, to encourage customers to respond or undertake some activity. One advantage of sales promotion is that producers can introduce price discrimination through the use of sales promotions. They can charge different prices to different consumers and trade segments depending on how sensitive each segment is to particular prices. A disadvantage of sales promotion is short term orientation. Sales promotions are generally for a short duration.

Digital communications are made for the web, cell phones or digital devices. An advantage of digital communications is that it is very fast and easy. A disadvantage of digital communications is that it is unreliable as the messages cannot be recognised by signatures.