Identify and explain the promotional tool of marketing-mix, which is an impersonal form of communication and is paid by the marketer. Also, explain its three merits and demerits.
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Explain the weaknesses of advertising as a tool of communication.
Advertising is an impersonal form of communication, which is paid for by the marketers to promote goods and services.
Merits and demerits of advertising :
- Mass Reach
Advertising can reach a large number of people over a vast geographical area. e.g. an advertisement on TV or radio can reach lakhs of people in a day. - Enhancing Customer Satisfaction and Confidence
Advertising helps in ifftroducing new products in the market. It also helps in promoting sales of existing products by arousing interest and awareness among the prospective buyers, thereby increasing its sales and profits of the organisation.
Advertising helps to build the image of the firm and its products in the minds of the buyers. It gives clear direction and builds confidence among the prospective buyers about the quality of the products. - Expressiveness
With recent developments in art, computer designing, graphics, etc, advertising can create special effects and make the messages look very attractive. - Economy
Because of a wide reach, a huge expenditure on advertising spreads over a large number of people, causing the per unit cost to decline significandy.
Limitations of Advertising
Advertising faces certain limitations, which are as follows: - Less Forceful
It is an impersonal form of communication. It is less forceful, as there is no compulsion on the prospects to pay attention to the message. - Lack of Feedback
It is difficult to evaluate the impact of advertising message as there is no immediate and accurate feedback mechanism available.
Inflexibility
It is not flexible, as the message once fixed, can’t be altered again and again as per the needs of customers.
Low Effectiveness
Large number of advertisements has created a difficulty in making the people pay attention to the message.