Top 10 Merits and Criticisms of Sales Promotion

Merits of Sales Promotion

The following are some of the merits / advantages of Sales Promotion.

1. It helps to create awareness among the buyers on the various goods and services that are available in the market.

2. For the manufacturers, promotion is a medium to reach the prospective buyers and get their support.

3. Promotion activities help to build a good business image.

4. Promotion is also required to popularize a brand and to secure brand loyalty.

5. It is not uncommon, these days, to find every businessman talking ill of his competitors’ products. Such practices, no doubt, are undesirable. It is through promotion that a marketer can show that the remarks made by his competitors are false.

6. It gives employment opportunities for many. There are many who are employed as salesmen, copywriters and public relations officers.

7. Media like newspapers, TV, radio, etc., are much dependent on advertisements for their revenue.

8. The trade fairs and exhibitions organized by traders, as part of sales promotion, from time to time generate lot of income for the organizers and participants. It is also a source of entertainment for the public.

9. In a highly competitive market, promotion is the only method by which each marketer can highlight.his product features and draw the consumers’ attention towards him.

10. Last, but not the least, it is only the promotional activities of the marketers that have enabled us to acquire goods that have certainly raised our standard of living.

Criticisms of Sales Promotion

The following are some of the criticisms of Sales Promotion.

1. It forces people to buy goods they do not need.

2. It induces them to buy goods they cannot afford. Schemes like hire-purchase lure people to buy expensive goods. As a result, a substantial portion of their monthly income is required to pay the installment dues. The money left with them may not be sufficient for their family maintenance.

3. It makes them spendthrifts. It does not allow people to save their hard-earned money.

4. It forces people to buy certain goods that are harmful to their health, e.g., cigarettes, liquor, etc.

5. It gives scope for marketer s to make false claims about their products.

6. It also paves way for unhealthy competition among marketers.

7. The promotional cost will hike the product price and it is only the consumer who will bear the burden.

8. There are many sub-standard products that are being marketed on the strength of promotion. Most marketers, instead of concentrating on product quality, have started concentrating more on the promotional aspects.

9. The benefits of promotional activities have certainly reached only those who are affluent. People with less purchasing power, although have the desire to buy, can not buy the various products that are being marketed. Thus, a section of the society remains discontented.

10. Promotional activities of marketers affect the market for those products, which are of very good quality, whose manufacturers cannot afford the promotional expenditure. Example: Products of village industries.