FACTORS IN SETTING THE MARKETING COMMUNICATION MIX

FACTORS IN SETTING THE MARKETING COMMUNICATION MIX

Organization must consider several factors in developing their communication mix; type of product market, consumer readiness to make a purchase and stage in the product life cycle.

i) Type of product market: Communication mix allocation vary between consumer and business markets. Consumer marketers tend to spend comparatively more on sales promotion and advertising; business marketer tends to spend comparatively more on personal selling. In general, personal selling is used more with complex expensive and risky goods and in markets with fewer and larger sellers (hence, business market).

ii) Buyer – Readiness Stage: Communication tools vary in cost effectiveness at different stage of buyer readiness. Advertising and publicity play the most important roles in the awareness building stage. Customer comprehension is primarily affected by advertising and personal selling. Customer conviction is influenced mostly by personal selling. Closing the sale is influence mostly by personal selling and promotion. Reordering is also affected mostly by personal selling and sales promotion and some what by reminder advertising.

iii) Product Life-Cycle Stage: Communication tools also vary in cost effectiveness at different stages of the product life cycle. In the introduction stage, advertising, events and experiences, and publicity have the highest cost-effectiveness, followed by personal selling to gain distribution coverage and sales promotion and direct marketing stage, advertising, event and experience and personal selling also become more important. In the decline stage, sales promotion continues strong, other communication tools are reduced, and sales people give the product only minimal attention.