An understanding of promotion is essential for effective marketing Essay

An understanding of promotion is essential for effective marketing. Discuss - Essay Example In order to keep the customers, there is need to entice them through incentives such as promotions, the reason why this essay seeks to critically analyse the link between effective marketing as well as promotion. As a point of departure, it is imperative to begin by explaining the two major concepts in this discussion which are; marketing and promotion. According to Cant et al (2000), â€Å"marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, marketing communication and distribution of ideas, products, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organisational goals.† The ultimate goal of marketing activities will be to facilitate mutually satisfying exchanges between the parties involved. The aim of the business will be to make profits while at the same time striving to satisfy the needs of the customers. If the marketer does a good job of understanding the needs of the consumers, develop products that develop value to the customer and prices, distributes and promotes them effectively, these products will sell very easily. In this regard, the function of marketing is to identify the customers’ needs then try to satisfy them profitably. E ffective marketing may not be very easy to attain without implementing certain strategies such as promotion that are meant to appeal to more customers. On the other hand, promotion is an element of the marketing mix. Lancaster & Reynolds (1999) suggest that promotion has a wider implication than the term implies. In the context of the four Ps, promotion includes advertising, sales promotional activities such as consumer competitions or a free quantity for the regular price, public relations and selling. This is called the promotional mix or more correctly nowadays, the communication mix (Lancaster & Reynolds 1999). Marketing has some direction over the customers but this control is