Promotional Mix
As indicated in the previous report, M&S Romania has not implemented effective promotional strategies and is therefore yet to create proper awareness, interest, desire and action as described by the A.I.D.A. model. Certainly, promotion might turn out to be expensive but on the other hand it is vital for contributing to the success rate of businesses (Gamble & Thompson 2010). In order to suggest the best approach for M&S Romania, the promotional mix will be used as a base model:
Chart 1: The seven aspects of the promotional mix
The situation analysis report revealed that Romanians can pay any price provided they are satisfied with the quality of the product offered.
The M&S Romania deals primarily in clothing products that are suitable for every family member and therefore promotional activities that can attract the attention of majority of the Romanian citizens should be prioritized. The specific elements of the promotional mix should include the following elements:
Advertising
The advertisement approaches used should be able to maximize the market awareness of the various products offered by M&S Romania. This should be conducted through various non personal channels or media that include: Television, Radio, print media, billboards, banner ads, posters and the internet (Jonson & Scholes 2008).
Priority should be given to advertisements that are able to reach majority of the targeted consumers. The various advertisements used should take into account the product distribution channels that company needs to implement in Romania. The design and implementation of various advertisement strategies should be effective in the communication of the quality and attractiveness of M&S Romania clothing products (Jonson & Scholes 2008).
Visual advertisements that are able to reach the largest number of consumers such as TV, billboards, Newspapers and the internet should be used. Specifically, television advertisement should be the main focus and should be conducted through leading TV channels such as PRO TV and OTV.
Billboards with attractive images of the various types of clothes should be erected in strategic locations of the major cities and towns. Attractive ads should also be placed in leading daily newspapers such as the Catavencu academy. Internet ads of the M&S products should placed on social sites and other leading Romanian websites.
Sales promotion
M&S Romania should initiate sales promotional activities at all levels including the production level, and intermediaries such as wholesalers and retailers (Markides 1999). The company should distribute product samples to targeted outlets in order to encourage the sale of its clothes.
This should be carried out in the major cities and towns of Romania. Sales promotional activities such as contests, coupons and point of purchase displays should be adopted in all major M&S Romania product outlets (Mulcaster 2009). Sales promotions should specifically be carried out on newly launched products, those that are registering low sales and during the launch of products at a new outlet.
Personal selling
M&S Romania should carry out personal selling activities to achieve maximum sales. This can be implemented through two channels. First, company representatives can be dispatched to various leading outlets within Romania to persuade them to buy and sale their products. This should be on a face to face basis and should include product presentation to effectively communicate the quality aspects of the M&S products. Alternatively, personal selling should be conducted at M&S established outlets or franchises.
Direct marketing
There are various forms of direct marketing strategies that can be effectively adopted by M&S Romania. The company can recruit a team of sales representatives who will conduct direct marketing activities by face to face communication with potential customers in the streets or other meeting points.
The group can also distribute fliers and catalogues detailing the range of quality clothes manufactured by M&S Romania, and where they can be purchased. Street advertising can also can also be adopted as a form of direct marketing to increase public awareness (Gamble & Thompson 2010).
Publicity
M&S Romania should involve itself in activities that will generate commercially significant news about it both in print and electronic media (Moncrief 2004). Such activities might include sound environmental policies or active involvement in charitable courses. In the same breadth the company should guard against activities that will create negative publicity. The company should take note of the fact that publicity is potentially favourable and unfavourable, its cost free and absolutely controlled by the media (Gamble & Thompson 2010).
Exhibitions
Exhibitions provide consumers with a chance to try new products and manufacturers to get a direct feedback regarding their products (Moncrief 2004). M&S Romania should conduct regular exhibitions at company controlled outlets and encourage the same in other major outlets.
Corporate image
Corporate image goes hand in hand with publicity. Apart from involving itself in socially positive activities, M&S Romania should captivate a positive and customer friendly culture in its various outlets or franchises to promote a good image in the eyes of Romanians (Gamble & Thompson 2010). A good reputation will encourage more customers to purchase its products.
References
Gamble, J & Thompson, A 2010. Essentials of Strategic Management, University of Alabama Alabama.
Jonson, G & Scholes, K 2008. Explorig Corporate Strategy, Prentice Hall, Essex.
Markides, C 1999. ‘A dyamic view of strategy’ Slan Management Review , vol.40, pp. 55-63.
Moncrief, J 2004. ‘Is strategy making a difference’, Long Range Planning reveiw , Vol.32 no.2, pp. 273- 276.
Mulcaster, W 2009. ‘Three Strategic Frameworks’, Business Strategy Series , vol.10 no.1, pp. 68-78.