Public Relations, Publicity and Corporate Advertisement - Term Paper Example

Public Relations, Publicity and Corporate Advertisement Significance of a Salesperson to Push Products Push products are products that require promotion; prompting a particular reaction from the target group that would call for a sales presentation opportunity. During this presentation, the details of the product are highlighted and the cost stated together with the payment terms. The customers are then asked to purchase the product. Normally, the prospects display some objections, which lead to a negotiation phase. Here, they struggle to overcome the objections and ‘close’ the sale. At this point, it is either the prospect complies and accepts the product usually after some battle, or demands for a price reduction to a point such that the business cannot make a profit. Others may request for more time to think about it. From the above, a push process can be summarized in phases as follows: In all the above phases, a salesperson is very important as explained below: During product promotion, it is the duty of a salesperson to promote the products. The salesperson will employ various methods of promoting the products. These methods may include creating of trade shows that will demonstrate the product to attract distributors. They may also visit retailers to persuade them to stock their products. The sales people will use all means to force the products into the market. The sales people will also take charge of the presentation. They will talk about the product and give every detail concerning the product. During the presentation, the salesperson will convince the customers on the goodness of the product. Salesperson skills are required maximally during this phase. A salesperson is then required to propose the product to the consumer. He will inform them of the cost and the payment terms. The salesperson’s skills are required in convincing the customer that the cost stated is fit for the product. Objections usually arise, and therefore a salesperson is required in overcoming these objections. The objections that arise usually revolve around time and money. The customers do request for time, to go and assess other alternative products. It will need a salesperson to convince them otherwise. Arguments about money are common since they do advocate for price reduction. This reductions may come to a point that thee business doesn’t make profit. A salesperson is required during the negotiations to ensure that the products are purchased at the satisfaction of both parties. As also explained above, some customers accept the product, usually after a battle. During this battle, a salesperson is required to convince the customer to a point where he accepts the product. (Champy 2010) Expectations of sales professional As a sales professional, a lot is expected for the ability and sales performance to exceed ones quota or higher personal goals that one has set for him. For this to happen, one has to possess the skills of sales professional. It takes both the mind and the effort to attain professionalism. A sales professional is expected to do the following: 1. He is expected to sustain high customer satisfaction levels. There should be minimal to no customer complaints on the services offered. There should be good customer relationship. 2. He is also expected to maximize on all opportunities that are available in his sales territory so as to maximize the potential sales revenue available in the territory. 3. He should be able to maintain a professional attitude as expected of him as sales professional. 4. He should also be able to identify possible leads in the territory and develop them into deals and estimates. 5. He should be able to demonstrate negotiation skills and professional selling in all engagements. 6. He should also demonstrate high expertise in each product line sold and be able to present and demonstrate on the same as per the sales plan. (Champy 2010) The above among others, being the expectations of a sales professional, depict a position that I would be fully interested in. Generally this position entails using every resource available to increase on the sales performance of a product line. My interest is brought about by my ability to socialize and interact with customers, a convincing language and being opportunistic with the ability to maximize on available opportunities to improve productivity. These among others, added to my career professionalism would make me fit for this position, have a very high performance as sales professional and be very competitive in the market. Advertisement ethics Below are policies that I would use to ensure I remain ethical in my advertising activities 1. Avoid deceit – Use of deception language and lies in the advertising activity is prohibited. Examination of the message to be provided to the consumers should be done critically as well as the actual product qualities. 2. Avoid acts that would possibly cause an unavoidable substantial injury that is not outweighed by the overall benefit provided to consumers 3. During advertising, avoid transmission of ideas without active consideration. 4. Age should be considered during advertising. People of any age group should not be affected negatively by the advert. 5. Intellectual property should be put into consideration in advertising activity. Public Relation, Publicity, and Corporate Advertising Public Relations Public relations is a way of coming up with programs that boost purchase and satisfaction through communicating information and sending impressions. This is done through linking a company and its products with the consumer needs. (Cutlip, Center & Broom, 1985) Public relations help in: Determining the public’s existing attitude towards the organization. This in turn helps in planning and acts as an early alarm for glitches. It also helps in designing a public relation plan that is proactive rather than reactive. It also helps in the execution of the plan by deciding on the target audience and determining the necessary tools. It also helps in defining the efficiency of the plan Public relations are credible, cost effective, image building and gets over consumer resistance. (Cutlip, Center & Broom 1985) Publicity This is generating news about a product or a service in the media. It is a short term strategy and is not under the control of a firm. It is a highly credible method since it is reported by a third party. It is based on news value; it generates a lot of impressions, and is a word of mouth and therefore trusted to some extent. Corporate advertising This is a method of promoting a firm by enhancing its image through assuming a position on a social issue, or even seeking involvement from the market. This method helps in building morale among employees and improves their relations. It also helps in giving investors information thus reducing uncertainty. It is also important in helping diversified companies to establish an identity and helps in positioning a firm to reach target markets that could not be reached by other forms of advertising. Comparison Public relations, publicity and corporate advertisement are all tools for communicating information about the products and services of an organization, or the organization in order to benefit the firm or its offerings. (Boone, 2012) Public relations and corporate advertisement usually helps in providing positive information about the firm. It is usually paid for and therefore information is controlled by the firm itself. In publicity, news is not always positive or controlled by the firm. The media in this case is not under obligation to cover your event or publish a press release since they are not paid by the firm. Publicity is a short term strategy. An auditor cannot publish the same article multiple times unlike in public relations and corporate advertisement. Corporate advertisement and public relations depends on the amount paid. It can be done over and over again as long as the firm is willing to pay for the services. (Englewood and Heath 2005) A perception by the consumer is also created. A consumer knows that when a public relation is done, a firm has actually spent to convey a message, which is of course important to the consumer. It brought a need of expenditure. During publicity, a consumer knows that the information is given by a third party and not by the firm. He also knows that the firm has not spent for the information to be conveyed. In corporate advertisement, a consumer knows that a firm is trying to build an image and has also spent on the same. This influences the perception and attitude of a consumer. (Englewood & Heath, 2005) On the other hand, public relations and corporate advertisement have to exercise creativity for them to earn credit. For publicity, it is all about finding new news to release to the media in order to generate a buzz. Role and Impact of Publicity Publicity will be impactful in future. The information relayed through publicity is highly credible. This is because the information is reported by third party e.g. magazines, new casters or newspapers. They base on consumer reports. The information is more trusted since it comes more or less from the consumer side. Publicity also helps in correcting bad behavior and impunity in firms. This is possible since the information relayed is not controlled by the firms. It is a method that allows for freedom of expression. This ensures that the firms are straight forward and perform to their maximum. Most information given through publicity is usually true. This is because information is not manipulated by the firm, and is given based on the opinion of the reporter who is a third party. It is equivalent to consumer report. (Boone, 2012) Publicity helps firms to improve on their products and services since through that, they are able to get the opinion of the public on the firm, the services rendered and the products. REFERENCES Boone, L. E. (2012). Contemporary marketing, 2013 update. s.l.: Cengage learning custom p. Champy, J. (2010). The pull of customers, the push of processes. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education Pub. as FTPress. Cutlip, S. M., Center, A. H., & Broom, G. M. (1985). Effective public relations (6th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. Heath, R. L. (2005). Encyclopedia of public relations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 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