Studia Universitatis Vasile Goldi Arad Economics Series Vol 22 Issue 1/2012

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THE CONTROL AND EVALUATION OF
PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES
Felicia Sabou
Vasile Goldis Western University, Faculty of Economic Science
E-mail: feliciasab@yahoo.com
Abstract
The paper focused on importance and benefits of control and evaluation of marketing
activities. The control of efficiency review the assessment of the resources for marketing
activity, checking also the efficiency of the human resources, advertising, promotion
activities and distribution activities. In the analyse of human resources the most important
ratio are: the average of costumers visits on a day, the number of custom order received
from 100 visits, the number of new customers from a period, the number of lost customers
from a period, the marketing human expenditures from all the sales.
The strategic control is made to check if the objectives and the company strategy are
adapted to the marketing environment.
Keywords: the control of marketing activities, the evaluation of marketing activities, the
efficiency of marketing activities.
1. THE PLANNING OF MARKETING ACTIVITIES
Marketing Strategy defines the market segments that the company will act,
how to differentiate and market positioning and mode of action on the marketing
mix elements, to achieve the objectives.
On the marketing strategy is based on a plan allowing the optimal use of
resources to achieve objectives.
The marketing strategy has the following components:
Market Strategy;
Product Strategy;
Pricing strategy;
Distribution Strategy;
Promotion strategy.
An important part of the business plan, marketing plan is a tool for
coordinating all marketing activities.
The marketing plan is a document specifying all marketing activities which
will achieve, and how to implement and control them.
A marketing plan can be made for a company to a product, brand or a
particular market.
Characteristics of the marketing plan:
- Quantify the expected results;
- To specify the resources necessary for substantiation of the budget;
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- To characterize the activity to achieve and to clarify responsibilities;
- Specify how to control the plan is implemented;
- To ensure implementation of marketing strategy;
Marketing budget estimates of revenue and marketing expenses
In the control and evaluation action, is necessary to check how monitoring
and evaluation to achieve its objectives, employment in the budget.
Summary contains a summary of the overall marketing plan, outlining the
main objectives and measures to be taken.
Marketing objectives specify performance indicators that are to be
achieved, their level and the time they are to be meet. Marketing objectives relating
to: sales volume, market share, launch a new product market, profitability, market
coverage, consumer attitudes, consumer loyalty.
Marketing Strategy identifies attractive market segments, product
positioning and brand segments and guided the company in relations with
customers and competitors. Also in this section shall nominate the strategies used
to achieve objectives.
Action Program highlights actions that need to be made, the time at which
they are made, people involved and their related costs.
The marketing budget is projected expenses, revenues and profits expected
also specifies the necessary resources and financial implications of implementing
the marketing plan.
Monitoring and evaluation of marketing plan shows how to record and
measure the results, verification and monitoring achievement levels of all activities.
Marketing opportunity occurs under certain conditions, when the company
take action toward a group of consumers, an action that generates sales and profits.
Analysis of these opportunities requires identifying, analyzing and selecting them.
Selection of marketing opportunities is in terms of a number of factors:
- Organization (company's objectives, financial resources, strengths and
weaknesses, cost structure, management skills);
- The environment (demographic, economic, technological, political,
social, environmental, competitive.
To achieve the objectives, the companies can use competitive strategies
based on successful imply the existence of certain conditions but at the same time,
entail risks.
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Table 1. Conditions for success and competitive strategies based on risk
Strategies Success conditions Risks
Differentiation Differentiation Marketing
Skills high
Product Innovation
Fundamental and applied
research capacity
Quality and technological
skills recognized
Experience in the sector
A very good cooperation
with distribution channels
High price sensitivity of
customers
Consumer indifference to the
elements of the product
The ability to imitate
competitors
The cost leader Domination by the
investment costs and
access to financial
resources
Innovations
Supervision of
implementation activities
Designing to facilitate the
production process
Low cost distribution
technological changes that
undo the benefits of earlier
Technological changes that
undo the benefits of earlier
Lower costs for new
competitors to imitate high
capacity and knowledge
exploitation
The impossibility of applying
the product or marketing
innovations because the
negative effect on costs
The focus Focus Combining these
policies and their
orientation towards a
clearly defined market
segment
A lot of differences in costs
for companies that operate in
a broad market and those on a
segment. Market not well
individualized requirements
Source: F.Foltean, L.Ldar, C.Dobre, Gh.Ionescu, C.Negru, Marketing, Ed. Brumar,
2000, p. 117.
The Differentiation Marketing strategy means: differentiation skills high,
product Innovation, fundamental and applied research capacity, quality and
technological skills recognized, experience in the sector, a very good cooperation
with distribution channels and also means risk like the high price of a difference
between competing products, high price sensitivity of customers, consumer
indifference to the elements of the product and the ability to imitate competitors.
The cost leader strategy means: domination by the investment costs and
access to financial resources, innovations, supervision of implementation activities,
designing to facilitate the production process, low cost distribution of technological
changes that undo the benefits of earlier, lower costs for new competitors to imitate
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high capacity and knowledge exploitation, the impossibility of applying the
product or marketing innovations because the negative effect on costs.
The focus strategy combining these policies and their orientation towards a
clearly defined market segment large differences in costs for companies that
operate in a broad market and those on a segment.
Develop and implement marketing strategy is directly influenced by the
organization of marketing activities, concerning the achievement of objectives and
to improve the use of resources.
Where there has been completion of a structure of marketing activity is
necessary to take into account several factors, such as business expansion strategy,
the number of markets where the company intends to operate, the nature of
company products, company size and potential Experience Company, the firm's
internal environment, etc.
Organization of marketing activities can be done in practice, in the form
of:
- Conduct marketing activities in traditional departments: sales, production.
Such an organization is its early marketing and can be found in small firms;
- Grouping of most marketing activities in a single compartment
(traditional), usually in the sales;
- Conduct marketing activities in a general compartment;
- The focus of all marketing activities in a specialized direction, to
coordinate all marketing activity;
The most important requirements to be met by an efficient organizational
structure of marketing are: setting clear responsibilities, ensuring a rapid and
efficient communication, coordination of all subunits of the organizational
structure, implementation of appropriate management of human resources
department Marketing.
In recent years the trend was found for the subordination of the senior
management of direct marketing department and not of intermediate links, as in the
past.
The multitude and diversity marketing department functions are
determined by the extent of work undertaken by the firm, the profile of activity,
geographical area in which it operates, the staff included in marketing activities.
The main tasks of the marketing department are:
Duties of the role of coordination and synthesis (marketing research
document, and develop marketing programs, to base decisions);
Tasks related to operational implementation process (executive tasks
located in the area of product policy, price, promotion and distribution);
Additional Tasks, activities aimed at research, product development, the
use of information systems, marketing, services marketing, etc.;
Relationship marketing department may be:
authority relations: hierarchical, functional staff;
cooperative relationships;
relations of supervision;
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Hierarchical relations appear in their relationships with senior staff, and are
subordinate.
Functional relationship is manifested in their relationships with other
departments and is carried in the transmission of these provisions, information,
tasks, etc.
Staff relations appear in their relationships with senior staff and expressed
by the delegation of certain powers by it, which are solved problems that affect
other departments.
When dealing with other departments of the company appear a series of
cooperative relations, expressing the collaboration with them, both in the
foundation of decisions and in the performance of measures in order to achieve the
overall strategy materializes through firmei.Aceste relations a permanent contact of
the marketing department with operational departments of the company's
organizational structure.
Relations of control are not typical marketing compartment where they are
manifest, whether in relation to bodies at the higher hierarchical levels or with
other departments, marketing section acts on behalf of management.
Internal organization of marketing department is in the following forms:
-Functional organization, is based on criterion functions and is up in the
marketing department of some sectors of collective whose duties are defined by
specific marketing activity. In this form of organizing all sectors are subordinated
directly to the Head of Department (Expl. research, promotion, new products, etc.);
-Organization of the products, is used when the company's business covers
a wide range of products. In this case, it is in the marketing department, specialized
sectors in developing and deploying all marketing activities specific to each
product or product categories;
-Organizing the criterion markets, is mainly intended for an adequate
geographical areas and segments of consumers as large;
-Multi-organization, combined use of several forms of organization,
thereby eliminating the disadvantages of a single criterion. May be used as the
criterion of the product to market, achieving a better understanding and meeting the
needs of each market segment for a particular product;
2.MARKETING AUDIT
Marketing audit is a systematic and impartial evaluation of all marketing
operations, including the objectives, strategies and their underlying assumptions
and methods, procedures, personnel and organization, used for the implementation
thereof.
Marketing audit requires detailed analysis of objectives, strategies, tactical
action plans and procedures, performance evaluation, control and improve future
programs.
Establish a marketing audit can be made having regard to the following
model:
a).The analyse of external environment company
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microenvironment: market, customers, suppliers, competition, public
bodies, etc.
economic, technological, legal, demographic, social, cultural
macroenvironment;
b).The analyse of applied strategies
company objectives (are clear, realistic performances allow
quantification);
business strategies (strategies applied to meet environmental conditions
and competition, the company is or is not positioned well on the market, marketing
strategy applied is clear and consistent with business objectives, how the
distribution of resources between components company marketing mix);
c).Organnizing the business and marketing compartment (check that
marketing activity is coordinated by a director, if the company's activities are
clearly defined functions, products and markets, etc.).
d).Planning and control of marketing activities (marketing planning, sales
forecasting mode, the information system of the company, achieving control of
marketing).
e).The eficiency of marketing activities (product profitability, cost
reduction measures, etc.)
f).Marketing mix
Product;
Price;
Promotion;
Distribution;
3. THE CONTROL AND EVALUATION OF PROMOTIONAL
ACTIVITIES
The analyse of promotional activities involves two different aspects:
Promotional budget;
Control and evaluation of marketing activities;
The literature mentions several methods for determinate the promotional
budget, such us (Gh. M. Pistol):
Percentage of turnover method;
Method based on available resources;
Alignment method to competition;
Method based on promotional objectives;
Method use marketing experiments;
The most important control methods in marketing activities are : the
control on yearly budget, the control of profitability, the control of efficiency and
the strategic control;
The purpose of control on yearly budget is to identify if the objectives are
realised, using the folowing tools:
The sales analyse;
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The analyse of marketing quotation;
The ratio between sales and marketing expenditures;
Financial analyse (profitableness ratio);
The consumers satisfaction;
The control of profitability is realised for screening the profit or the lost of
the activities, products or services. It is necessary to made a profitapleness analyse
of product, service, costumer, market segment, distribution level and zone.
The control of eficiency review the assessment of the resources for
marketing activity, checking also the eficiency of the human resources, advertising,
promotion activities and distribution activities. In the analyse of human resources
the most important ratio are: the average of costumers visits on a day, the number
of custom order received from 100 visits, the number of new customers from a
period, the number of lost customers from a period, the marketing human
expenditures from all the sales (%).
The strategic control is made to check if the objectives and the company
strategy are adapted to the marketing environment. This control means : assessment
of marketing activities efficiency, marketing analyze, marketing performance
analyze and the analyze of social and ethical responsibilities of the companies.
References
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