Promotions Opportunity Analysis
A major task that guides the way in creating an effective Integrated Marketing Communications plan is the promotions opportunity analysis. “A promotions opportunity analysis is the process marketers use to identify target audiences for a company’s goods and services and the communication strategies needed to reach these audiences.” A message sent by a marketer has a greater likelihood of achieving the intended results if the marketer has performed a good analysis and possesses accurate information pertaining to the target audience. There are five steps in developing a promotions opportunity analysis:
Conduct a communication market analysis
- Competitors
- Opportunities
- Target markets
- Customers
- Product positioning
Establish communication objectives
- Develop brand awareness
- Increase category demand
- Change customer belief or attitude
- Enhance purchase actions
- Encourage repeat purchases
- Build customer traffic
- Enhance firm image
- Increase market share
- Increase sales
- Reinforce purchase decisions
Create communications budget Several factors influence the relationship between expenditures on promotions and sales:
- The goal of the promotion
- Threshold effects
- Carryover effects
- Wear-out effects
- Decay effects
- Random events
Prepare promotional strategies
The fourth step of a promotions opportunity analysis program is to prepare a general communication strategy for the company and it products. Strategies are sweeping guidelines concerning the essence of the company's marketing efforts. Strategies provide the long term direction for all marketing activities.
It is critical that the company's communication strategy mesh with the overall message and be carefully linked to the opportunities identified by a communication market analysis. Communications strategies should be directly related to a firm's marketing objectives. Strategies must be achievable using the allocations available in the marketing and communications budgets. Once strategies have been implemented, they are not changed unless major new events occur. Only changes in the marketplace, new competitive forces, or new promotional opportunities should cause companies to alter strategies.
Match tactics with strategies
- Advertisements based on the major theme or a subtheme
- Personal selling enticements (bonuses and prizes for sales reps)
- Sales promotions (posters, point-of-purchase displays, end-of-aisle displays, freestanding displays)
- Special product packaging and labeling
- Price changes
Other enticements companies may include in their tactical efforts includes: Coupons, gift certificates, bonus packs (a second product attached to a first), special containers (e.g., holiday decanters or soft-drink glasses), contests and prizes, rebates and volume discounts (large-size packages, "buy two, get one free" promotions, etc.)
Throughout these steps, marketers should consistently review and analyze the actions and tools that major competitors are utilizing.
Read more about this topic: Integrated Marketing Communications
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