Personal selling is the promotional action conceded out by companies or sellers in which they present their product or service to a prospective customer and clarify to them the benefits and advantages of it. Sales promotion refers to the use of promotions, offers, and incentives in the short term to bring about an increase in sales. It is an implement used to motivate customers to buy a product.
The difference between personal selling and sales promotion are:
PERSONAL SELLING
- Meaning: Personal Selling is a marketing tool in which the salesperson presents the goods to the customers and instigates them to purchase it. It carried out in which a company agent directly explains the attributes of a product to a possible customer to influence them to buy their product.
- Purpose: The key purpose of personal selling is to create awareness and build a long term relationship which will lead to closing the sale.
- Consequence: Long-term increase in sales. Increase customer awareness about a product; develop long-term relationships.
- The cost involved: High. It is expensive as it needs employee training, a dedicated workforce, repeated visits and transportation.
- Communication: Face to face. It is a marketing tool in which the salesperson presents the goods to the customers and instigates them to purchase it.
- Market Size: Personal selling is used in markets with fewer potential customers or customers with high purchasing power.
- Customers: Few potential customers with high purchasing power.
- Incentive schemes and offers: Not always present
- Nature of product: Customized, High value, complex to use, and technically complex.
- The method used for which kind of product: High value. Here customers are offered information on products, and mutual long-term relationships are built.
SALES PROMOTION
- Meaning: Sales Promotion is a range of non-personal marketing activities that are carried on to initiate sales of products and services. It carried out by a company to increase sales in the short run by offering incentives to potential customers.
- Purpose: The key purpose of sales promotion is to increase the sales and dispose of stocks in a short span of time.
- Consequence: Short-term increase in sales. Generate greater sales; clear the stock in a short time period.
- The cost involved: Comparatively less. It is less expensive to conduct compared to personal selling.
- Communication: Indirect. It is is a range of non-personal marketing activities that are carried on to initiate sales of products and services.
- Market Size: Sales promotion is used in markets where a larger number of customers exists and the product is of low value comparatively.
- Customers: Greater number of potential customers.
- Incentive schemes and offers: Always present.
- Nature of product: Standardized, low value, easy to use, uniform, and easy to understand.
- The method used for which kind of product: Low value. Here offers incentives to encourage the purchase and to disseminate information.
