How promotion decisions affect the rest of the mix

Promotion is easy to treat as a separate job, but every promotional choice you make pulls on the other three elements of the mix. The budget, the message and the method each have knock-on effects.

Promotion and price

Promotion costs money, so heavy spending pushes up a business's costs, and it may need a higher price to cover a big campaign. A small candle maker spends £4,000 on video adverts and adds £2 to the price of its £22 gift set. Each set sold at the new price brings in £2 more than before, so the business must sell 2,000 sets just to cover the £4,000; the campaign only pays off if it brings in far more sales than that.

A temporary discount, such as "20% off this weekend only", is a sales promotion, but it is also a pricing decision: it lowers the price customers pay and so cuts the revenue from each sale. Repeat it often and customers learn to wait for the next deal instead of paying full price.

Promotion and product

Promotion is how customers find out a product exists and what it is like, so it shapes their view of its quality and image. The same well-made coat seems more premium when it is shown in a glossy magazine advert than in a blurry photo on a cheap flyer. Promotion also supports new or improved products: a "now with a longer battery" message tells customers something has changed and gives them a reason to buy again.

Promotion and place

The method you choose points customers towards a channel. A poster with a QR code sends people to an app, a social media advert links to a website, and a leaflet through the door brings people into a shop. Promotion that sends buyers somewhere they cannot easily buy wastes the spend.

Above all, the message has to match the price and the outlets. If the adverts promise luxury but the price is a permanent sale price and the product sits in a discount warehouse, customers stop believing the claims and the money spent on the campaign is wasted.