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segments。
。 Direct e…mail and viral marketing： The la。。er is the process of creating
something so hot that the recipients will pass it on to friends and colleagues；
creating extra demand as it rolls out。 Jokes； games； pictures；
quizzes and surveys are examples。
。 Sales promotions； including point of sales material： Activities carried
out in this area include free samples； try before you buy； discounts；
coupons； incentives and rebates； contests； and special events such as
fairs and exhibitions。
。 PR （public relations）： This is about presenting yourself and your
business in a favourable light to your various ‘publics’ – at li。。le or no
cost。 It is also a more influential method of munication than general
advertising – people believe editorials。 There may also be times when
you have to deal with the press – anything from when you are trying to
get a。。ention for a new product to handling an adverse situation； say if
your product has to be recalled for quality reasons； or worse。
。 Le。。erheads； stationery and business cards are o。。en overlooked in the
ba。。le for customer a。。ention； but are in fact o。。en the first and perhaps
only way in which a business’s image is projected。
。 Blogs； where the opinions and experiences of particular groups of
people are shared using online munities such as MySpace； for
example； are an extension of this idea。 Neilson NetRatings reported in
2008 that over 2 billion munity sites are viewed every month in the
UK alone。
Push or pull
Like above or below the line； push and pull are different advertising strategies
used for achieving different results。 Pull advertising is geared to
drawing visitors into your net if they are actively looking for your type of
product or service。 Search engines； listings in on… and off…line directories；
Yellow Pages and shopping portals are examples here。
Push advertising tries to get the word out to groups of potential customers
in the hope that some of them will be considering making a purchase
at about that time。 Magazines； newspapers； TV； banner ads and direct mail
both on… and off…line are examples here。
As with above and below the line； the distinctions are fast being
blurred； but the message used in your advertising will be different。 With
Marketing 105
pull there is the assumption that people want to buy； and they just need
convincing that they should buy from you。 Push calls for a different
message convincing them of their need and desire in the first place。
Measuring results
A glance at the advertising analysis in Table 3。3 will show how to tackle the
problem。 It shows the advertising results for a small business course run
in London。 At first glance the Sunday paper produced the most enquiries。
Although it cost the most； ￡3；400； the cost per enquiry was only slightly
more than for the other media used。 But the objective of this advertising was
not simply to create interest； it was intended to sell places on the course。 In
fact； only 10 of the 75 enquiries were converted into orders – an advertising
cost of ￡340 per head。 On this basis the Sunday paper was between 2。5 and
3。5 times more expensive than any other medium。
Table 3。3 Measuring advertising effectiveness
Media used Cost per
advert
￡
Number of
enquiries
Cost per
enquiry
￡
Number of
customers
Advertising
cost per
customer ￡
Sunday paper 3；400 75 45 10 340
Daily paper 2；340 55 43 17 138
Posters 1；250 30 42 10 125
Local weekly
paper
400 10 40 4 100
Judy Lever； co…founder of Blooming Marvellous； the upmarket maternitywear
pany； believes strongly not only in evaluating the results of
advertising； but in monitoring a particular media capacity to reach her
customers：
We start off with one…sixteenth of a page ads in the specialist press； then once
the medium has proved itself we progress gradually to half a page； which
experience shows to be our optimum size。 On average there are 700；000
pregnancies a year； but the circulation of specialist magazines is only around
the 300；000 mark。 We have yet to discover a way of reaching all our potential
customers at the right time – in other words； early on in their pregnancies。
Place （distribution and logistics）
Place is the fourth ‘P’ in the marketing mix。 This aspect of marketing strategy
is about how products and services are actually delivered into the
customer’s hands。
106 The Thirty…Day MBA
If you are a retailer； restaurant or hotel chain； for example； then your
customers will e to you。 Here； your physical location will most probably
be the key to success。 For businesses in the manufacturing field it is
more likely that you will go out to ‘find’ customers。 In this case it will be
your channels of distribution that are the vital link。 For many businesses
delivering a service the internet will be both the ordering and fulfilment
vehicle。
The following are the factors to take into account in this area。
Channels of distribution
If your customers don’t e to you； then you have the following options
in ge。。ing your product or service to them：
。 Retail stores： This general name covers the great range of outlets from
the corner shop to Harrods。 Some offer speciality goods such as hi…fi
equipment； where the customer expects professional help from the staff。
Others； such as Marks & Spencer and Tesco； are mostly self…service；
with customers making up their own mind on choice of product。
。 Wholesalers and distributors： The pa。。ern of wholesale distribution
has changed out of all recognition over the past two decades。 It is still
an extremely important channel where physical distribution； stock
holding； finance and breaking bulk are still profitable functions。
。 Cash and carry： This slightly confusing route has replaced the traditional
wholesaler as a source of supply for smaller retailers。 In return for
your paying cash and picking up the goods yourself； the ‘wholesaler’
shares part of his or her profit margin with you。 The a。。raction for the
wholesaler is improved cash flow and for the retailer a bigger margin
and a wide product range。 Hypermarkets and discount stores also fit
somewhere between the manufacturer and the marketplace。
。 Mail order： This specialized technique provides a direct channel
to the customer； and is an increasingly popular route for new small
businesses。
。 Internet： Revenue generation via the internet is big business and ge。。ing
bigger。 For some sectors； such as advertising； books； music and video；
it has bee the dominant route to market。 There is no longer any
serious argument about whether ‘bricks’ or ‘clicks’ is the way forward；
or if service businesses work be。。er on the web than physical products。
Almost every sector has a major part to play and it is increasingly
unlikely that any serious ‘bricks’ business will not either have or being
building an internet trading platform too。 Dixon’s； a major electrical
retailer； has shi。。ed emphasis from the high street to the web and Tesco
has built a ￡ billion…plus home delivery business on the back of its store
structure。 Amazon； the sector’s pioneer； now has in effect the first online
department store； with a neat sideline in selling on second…hand items
once the customer has finished with the product。
Marketing 107
。 Door…to…door selling： Traditionally used by vacuum cleaner distributors
and encyclopaedia panies； this is now used by insurance panies；
cavity…wall insulation firms； double…glazing firms and others。
Many use hard…sell techniques； giving door…to…door selling a bad name。
However； panies such as Avon Cosmetics have managed to sell
successfully door…to…door without a。。racting the stigma of unethical
selling practices。
。 Party…plan selling： This is a variation on door…to…door selling that is on
the increase； with new party…plan ideas arriving from the United States。
Agents enrolled by the pany invite their friends to a get…together
where the products are demonstrated and orders are invited。 The agent
gets a mission。 Party plan has worked very well for Avon and other
firms that sell this way。
Selecting distribution channels
These are the factors you should consider when choosing channels of distribution
for your particular business：
1。 Does it meet your customers’ needs？ You have to find out how your
customers expect their product or service to be delivered to them and
why they need that particular route。
2。 Will the product itself survive？ Fresh vegetables； for example； need
to be moved quickly from where they are grown to where they are
consumed。
3。 Is it patible with your image？ If you are selling a luxury product；
then door…to…door selling may spoil the impression you are trying to
create in the rest of your marketing effort。
4。 How do your petitors distribute？ If they have been around for a
while and are obviously successful； it is well worth looking at how your
petitors distribute and using that knowledge to your advantage。
5。 Will the channel be cost…effective？ A small manufacturer may not find it
cost… effective to sell to retailers over a certain distance because the di