Promotional Mix Woolworth Supermarket

Question: Discuss about thePromotional Mixfor Woolworth Supermarket. Answer: Introduction Sustaining a stable market for the products and services remains one of the key objectives of any business organization. This can be achieved by creating and implementing strategies which would ensure that the consumers are adequately made aware of the products (Greenblatt, 2013). The promotional approach used by a business depends on a number of factors which include; the core business goals, types of brands that characterize the business as well as the nature of the market. In this report, we focus on Woolworths supermarkets as one of the retail outlets. The report outlines advertisement and sales promotion as the core promotional mixes used by the business entity. Promotional Mix used by Woolworth Supermarket A promotional mix involves the process of coordinating marketing activities in a bid to improve the clients perception and probably increase sales. There are various approaches of promotion for instance; personal selling, sales promotion, advertisement, direct marketing as well as publicity. For the supermarket, research indicates that the management largely prefers then use of advertisement and sales promotion. As mentioned by Adeniyi (2009), advertisement strategies involve various steps which the business management uses to increase the awareness about their brand. The supermarket uses television, radio, periodical articles in addition to bill boards to announce their products and services. The contents of the advertisement are made to be as appealing as possible. The process of advertisement does not only involve mentioning the effectiveness of the products on promotion but also the product prices. While carrying out the advertisements, Woolworths is always keen on clarifying their specific location to the consumers. This would enhance convenience and access to the business premises where the consumers are then treated to a variety of goods and services at flexible prices (Cohen, 2008). Additionally, the incorporation of information technology in business management has made online platforms the most convenient arenas for advertisement. The online platforms used by supermarkets to enhanc e advertisement include business websites in addition to other social media. They also harness the merits associated with e-Commerce to improve the popularity of their products. Through the various online platforms, the supermarket outlines their products, their effectiveness, access points, aftersales services available as well as the product prices. The online media equally allows the supermarkets to obtain and review the customer feedbacks with regards to products and services. Consequently, the management establishes the areas in need of adjustments in a bid to enhance sales. Apart from advertisements, supermarkets largely depend on sales promotion to enhance the awareness and market of their brands. One of the commonly used sales promotional strategies is giving sales presentations. In this case, the sales personnel directly interact with the clients and give them useful information about the products for instance the product uses, advantages and prices. These interactions are effective because they give the business entity a direct link with their clients who can ask more questions and get clarifications on the products before making informed choices. Sales presentation can be a sure way of enhancing the popularity of a product or service especially when the conversation is effective and persuasive enough. The other form of sales promotion used by Woolworth is the issuing of free samples. In this strategy, free samples are attached to products and placed on the supermarket shelves (Williams, 2009). For instance the management can have a washing determined attached to a cooking utensil on sale. This idea is aimed at attracting the customer to the cooking utensil. Studies indicate that products in the supermarket which contain attached free samples take the shortest time on the shelves. Other methods of sales promotion include offering of gifts to loyal customers (Harper, 2009). Through this strategy, Woolworths identifies and motivates loyal and consistent customers at a particular outlet. The clients are then treated to various advantages for instance receiving discounts on prices (Ross, 2007). In addition, supermarkets enhance then popularity of their products through event sponsorships. In this case, Woolworth takes up an event and sponsors the activities by providing resources like vehicles and clothing. Then T-shirts, for instance are imprinted with business logo and some of its products. In the process of sponsoring the events, the supermarket equally goes a long way in improving the popularity of their brands. Recommendations and Conclusion Based on the analysis of the promotional strategies above, it would be important for managers to adopt the most effective rational in a bid to improve product awareness. By reviewing the customer feedbacks through trends in sales, the management can establish the effectiveness of a promotional strategy. When the implemented strategy doesnt lead to a corresponding improvement in sales, the management ought to put in place alternative approaches. In addition, the promotional mix ought to be evaluated after a given period of time to determine their effectiveness. It is also important to have enough information regarding the changing trends in consumer needs and preferences. This enables a manager to align their promotional strategies with the client needs which plays a pivotal role in enhancing brand awareness and sales. Consequently, a good promotional mix is determined by the extent to which it triggers positive response from the customers. The best of the best ought to be used by bus inesses to achieve their sales objectives. References Adeniyi, A. (2009) Marketing Principle and Practice. New York: Malhouse Press Ltd. Greenblatt, E. (2013) Woolworths Supermarkets. Journal of Financial Review, 2(1), pp. 2-6. Cohen, M. (2008) Productivity and Efficiency in Human Service Organizations as related to Structure, size and Age. The Academy of Management Journal, 23(1), pp. 21--37. Harper, S. (2009) Configurations of Organizational Effectiveness and Efficiency. The Academy of Management Journal, 36(6), pp. 13451361. Ross, T. (2007) Marketing as a concept. New York: Practice Hall press. Williams, J. (2009) Fundamental of Marketing. Tokyo: McGraw Hill.