A Study of Sales Promotion Concepts, Methods, Strategies, and Applications

Author

Bongkotkorn Rattananan, Fontbonne College

Year of Award

1992

Degree

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

College

College of Business & Professional Studies

Degree Program

Business Administration

Department

Business Administration

Keywords

marketing, coupons, advertising, consumer

Abstract

Today, promotion represents two-thirds of marketing expenditures for many consumer products firms. Thus, practitioners such as marketing managers of consumer product companies, service companies and industrial firms need to understand sales promotion.

In the early 1980s, the emergence of sales promotion as a significant marketing issue occurred because of spiraling sales promotion costs. Academics then began to devote increased attention to planning, implementing, and evaluating sales promotion.

Sales promotion sets in motion a complex interaction of management decisions and consumer behavior. If managers are ever .to assume the "driver’s seat" in this interaction, they must understand not only how, but why consumers respond to promotion. The in-depth look at consumer behavior and economics will provide a rich collection of concepts and theories that, explain how sales promotion affects sales.

The methodological approaches to measure promotional effectiveness are very critical. These approaches include the design, analysis, and application of experiments involving sales promotion. The salient characteristic of experiments is that an experimental treatment, in this case the occurrence of a promotion, is manipulated in such a way that we can observe its effects.

Although there are many tools that can be used for sales promotions, much of the research has concentrated on only three major types: coupons, trade deals, and retailer promotions. There is conceptual as well as empirical evidence for and against the social value of these tools. Theoretical research and empirical research is needed to measure the economic impact of them.

Promotion is increasingly being called upon to meet an ever-expanding set of -marketing objectives. It is, therefore, important to understand how and when promotions can be used as part of overall marketing strategy, including the strategic issues in the design and use of promotion.

This thesis is intended to serve as an integrated summary and analysis of what we know and do not know about sales promotion. The specific purposes are as follows:

Provide a reference that summarizes the field.

Organize and standardize the field so as to provide common ground for further advances.

Identify the gaps in current knowledge of sales promotion.

Provide significant guidance on how to analyze the effectiveness of promotion.

Attempt to integrate and reconcile the disparate theories and findings regarding sales promotion.

Present concepts of why promotions are used and how they influence sales.

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Recommended Citation

Rattananan, Bongkotkorn, "A Study of Sales Promotion Concepts, Methods, Strategies, and Applications" (1992). All Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects. 345.
https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/all-etds/345