Promoting a Product

Personal selling refers to one-on-one communication with customers or potential customers. This type of interaction is necessary in selling large-ticket items, such as homes, and it's also effective in situations in which personal attention helps to close a sale, such as sales of cars and insurance policies.

Many retail stores depend on the expertise and enthusiasm of their salespeople to persuade customers to buy. Home Depot has grown into a home-goods giant in large part because it fosters one-on-one interactions between salespeople and customers. The real difference between Home Depot and everyone else, says one of its cofounders, isn't the merchandise; it's the friendly, easy-to-understand advice that salespeople give to novice homeowners. Customers who never thought they could fix anything suddenly feel empowered to install a carpet or hang wallpaper.

Congratulations! You can spend two free nights at any Hyatt Hotel in the world! All you have to do is sign up for a Hyatt-branded credit card". This tactic is a form of sales promotion in which a company provides an incentive for a potential customer to buy something. Most sales promotions are more straightforward than our hotel stay/credit-card offer. Promotional giveaways might feature free samples or money-off coupons. Promotions can involve in-store demonstrations or trade-show displays. They can be cheaper than advertising and can encourage customers to buy something quickly.

Apple Inc. and Starbucks partner to promote the iTunes experience by giving away free iTunes products, including a "Pick of the Week" music download, apps, book samples from the iBookstore, TV shows, and games. The current app giveaway is the Shazam Encore App, a music recognition service that allows users to immediately identify any song that's playing, see the lyrics, watch the music videos, purchase concert tickets, and buy the track and share it with friends on Facebook and Twitter. The joint promotion benefits both companies: Apple gets to plug its iTunes download and other products, and Starbucks entices customers to come into its stores, enjoy free Wi-Fi, and buy coffee.