PROMOTIONAL MIX STRATEGIES

1. Customer Readiness Strategy

Before customers decided to make a purchase, they will first go through a series of stages
called “buyer readiness.” According to Marc Mancini, the stages of buyer readiness are:
- Awareness
As a seller, before we sell something, we have to know about the details of our
products and also who are the markets. We have to make a contact with those who
have the possibility to buy our products. To make the brand’s name conspicuous in
the market, the brand should create advertisements, so that the serious/potential
buyers will come.
- Knowledge
After clients get to know our brand through the advertisements we made, and they are
getting interested, clients will start looking for information about the products we
offer. That means, we have an opportunity, we must be able to satisfy the clients by
explaining about our products as detailed as possible so that clients are finally agreed
to buy the products or services we offered.
- Liking
Installing attractive advertisements will add to the attractiveness of the client and also
make our brand look more positive. Direct the creativity to make the brand seems
joyful, inviting and approachable.
- Preference
Give the explanations to the prospective clients about the benefits they will get, why
they should work together with us or why they have to use the products/services from
our brand.
- Conviction
In making advertisements, we must be able to convince clients that if they need a
product/service like we offer, they must remember to contact us first before
contacting other competitors.
- Purchase
After the prospective clients decide to look for us, expert sales expertise is very
important to help them to make the right purchases.

Example:
Nowadays, lots of hotel are using social media for promotion. Almost all hotels have
their own social media accounts. Through social media accounts, it is easier for them
to introduce their hotels and attract customers to be their guests.

2. Push vs Pull Strategies

- Push Strategies
Push marketing is a promotional strategy where businesses attempt to take/to
introduce their products to the customers. Common sales tactics is done by offering
products directly to customers through showrooms or assistance from sales
promotions. This tactic needs to be done to introduce the brand especially for new
brands or to make customer aware of the product or brand.
Example:
 Hard Rock Hotel is currently trying to use push marketing strategy, they made an on-
property program allowing them to generate brand awareness and try a push-
marketing approach to generate ancillary revenues.

- Pull Strategies
Pull strategy is a strategy that involves promotion of marketing efforts to the final
consumer. The goal of pull marketing is to attract the customers to come, hence the
term pull, where marketers are attempting to pull customers in. Common sales tactics
used pull marketing such as mass media promotions, word-of-mouth referrals and
advertised sales promotions. From a business perspective, pull marketing attempts to
create brand loyalty and keep customers coming back over and over again, whereas
push marketing is more concerned with short-term sales. Businesses generally will
use pull marketing when the customer him/herself knows what he/she is looking for
or what problem he needs to solve.

Example:
Amaris Hotel Pancoran Jakarta give special price for their rooms during Ramadhan
(IDR 450.000 nett/room/night). By creating this promotion, customers who see the
advertisement will come to the hotel by themselves.

The relation between customer readiness and push-pull strategies in promotional mix:
By approaching advertisements and others to prospective buyers, this will increase
the attractiveness and readiness of prospective customers to buy the products/services
we offer. Then, by applying push-pull strategies, it will encourage or convince the
prospective customers to finally want to make a purchase transaction.