Price, product, promotion and place (4Ps): Students should appreciate the…

The idea

Promotion covers all communication used to inform and persuade customers. Methods include advertising (TV, social media, print), sales promotions (discounts, BOGOF), public relations (press releases, sponsorships), personal selling and direct marketing. Benefits include raising awareness, building brand loyalty, increasing sales and targeting specific segments. Drawbacks include high costs, wasted reach, short-term sales promotions eroding brand image, and difficulty measuring return on investment.

For example: A small bakery using Instagram ads may gain local awareness cheaply but struggle to measure sales impact, whereas a national TV campaign reaches millions but costs thousands and may miss the target audience.

What earns the marks

• Identifies a promotional method and explains one benefit, such as advertising raising awareness among potential customers.
• Explains a drawback of a promotional method, such as sales promotions reducing profit margins or encouraging customers to wait for discounts.
• Applies the benefit or drawback to a specific business context, considering its size, budget or target market.
• Evaluates the overall suitability of a promotional method by weighing benefits against drawbacks for the business.
• Uses business terminology accurately, such as 'promotional mix', 'return on investment' or 'brand image'.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Listing promotional methods without explaining benefits or drawbacks.

  Put it right: Link each method to a specific advantage or disadvantage for the business.

• Assuming all promotion is expensive.

  Put it right: Recognise low-cost methods such as social media or email marketing and consider cost relative to budget.

• Ignoring the target audience when judging a method.

  Put it right: Assess whether the method reaches the intended customers effectively.

Exam tips

• Use connectives such as 'however' or 'therefore' to show balanced evaluation of benefits and drawbacks.
• Apply each point to the business in the case study, using its name and context to gain application marks.
• For higher marks, make a justified judgement about which promotional method is most suitable and why.