Choosing the proper channels, strategies, and marketing and promotional approaches is key to successfully selling any company’s products or services. This choice depends on many internal and external factors and circumstances that the company needs to consider to get a return on its investment and gain audience interest. These factors are budget availability, product life cycle stage, product type and purchase decision, audience preferences and readiness to buy, regulation, and media availability.
The first factor influencing the decision in favor of traditional or digital media is the size of the budget. For example, advertising on central TV channels costs several times more than targeted advertising on social media (Doty, 2019). Consequently, companies with small budgets are likely to prefer digital media. However, this choice also depends on the characteristics and preferences of the audience, as well as their readiness to buy. For example, advertising for a tattoo or piercing salon will be more effective on social media as it is aimed at a younger audience who watches less TV and is more willing to experiment with their appearance. At the same time, Ieva et al. (2017) find that print and online flyers can be complementary as long as they target different audiences. In other words, if a company promotes a product that is suitable for people of all ages, the budget can be split equally between traditional and digital channels.
The type of product and the purchase decision also matters in the choice of approach and marketing channels. More expensive and complex purchases, for example, technics, require direct professional sales since a buyer wants to know more about the product’s features (Unnamed Author, 2010). At the same time, cheaper products, such as snacks, can be promoted through media or external advertising because a buyer will decide without consultation and significant risk. However, if the product is at an early stage of the life cycle, it requires more effort and cost for promotion, which increases the importance of choosing the right communication channel (Unnamed Author, 2010). Another factor influencing the choice of approach and budget allocation is regulations, as they may prohibit advertising of certain products through channels such as TV or billboards.
Moreover, the accessibility of various media to the audience is also key and must be matched with the type of product and the characteristics of customers. If the audience cannot see or hear the ad, its costs and efforts are useless. Thus, the analysis and combination of all these factors are necessary for the correct allocation of the budget for traditional and digital media since individual aspects cannot fully reflect the likelihood of success of marketing efforts.
Advertising and sales promotion also depends on these factors because they have several approaches and tools for delivering information to the audience, which has different effects in various conditions. Advertising is a type of promotion that reaches many people at once and is repeated many times, while direct sales promotions are designed for more personalized communication with a specific set of users (Unnamed Author, 2010). For this reason, the most significant factor in choosing between advertising and sales promotion is the type of product and the purchase decision. It is more profitable for companies to use advertising to promote food, clothing, entertainment, and other relatively cheap and widely consumed products since they are designed for a wide audience. However, financial services, high-value products, and specialized goods or services are best sold using sales promotion. Other factors can also influence the choice of specific promotional tools and channels, such as TV or social networks and emails or calls. However, product type and audience are the most important in allocating a budget between advertising and sales promotion.
References
Doty, D. (2019). It’s all about pricing: Digital is winning simply because it’s a cheaper way for advertisers to reach consumers: A 101 Course. Forbes. Web.
Ieva, M., Ziliani, C., Gázquez-Abad, J. C., & D’Attoma, I. (2017). Online versus offline promotional communication. Journal of Advertising Research, 58(3), 338–348. Web.
Unnamed Author. (2010). Principles of marketing. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing.