5 Types of Product Promotion Strategies

We have previously discussed the definition of strategy, and this time we will discuss the division of strategies . Strategies can be divided into different types based on different dimensions. This time we will distinguish strategies from the perspective of corporate business .

Article Directory:

1. Basic logic of division

2. Marketing strategy

3. Brand strategy

4. Product Strategy

5. Communication strategy

6. Channel strategy

1. Basic logic of division

1. The essence of strategy is the logic of trade-offs in the judgment process

Strategy is the brain center that issues judgment instructions ; business is the origin of the enterprise, providing blood transfusion and empowerment for each sector of the enterprise. Therefore, if you want to clarify the essence of the strategy, you must analyze the strategy from a business perspective.

Overall, strategy is all about making judgments. Use structural thinking to combine the strategies of each sector and ultimately make strategic choices.

2. Six business processes of the enterprise, corresponding to five strategic sections

The business process of an enterprise can be divided into six major processes from the beginning to the end: market research, brand planning, product manufacturing, channel layout, communication and promotion, and sales conversion (usually sales are also included in the marketing category) .

Based on the above six processes, strategies can be divided into five types: market strategy, brand strategy, product strategy, channel strategy and communication strategy .

2.Market Strategy

1. Market strategy is the track to solve the participation problem

What products to choose, which target groups, which price range, how to sell the products, and who are the competitors?

The core purpose of market strategy is competition and occupation. The market speaks with data, which guides the research, analysis and adjustment of market strategies. The market is the king, planning and strategizing with all his might.

2. Market strategy covers the selection of population, competition and market segments

Market strategy determines the overall framework of corporate behavior and is closely related to brand, product, channel and communication. In addition, the market strategy must also solve three major problems:

The first is the crowd strategy . Who to sell to and how to sell are eternal issues in the market. Only by accurately portraying the target crowd can the future be full of imagination.

The second is the competitive strategy , who are the competitors, what are their strengths and weaknesses, and how to attack or defend. Competitive strategies are often implemented through brands, products, and communications;

The third is the market segmentation strategy , with category segmentation to grab blue ocean and growth, population segmentation to grab minds, and regional segmentation to seize opportunities.

Accurate and quick response is the way to market strategy.

3. Core capabilities of market strategy: learning ability, data sensitivity, and decision-making ability

Market strategy is a reflection of business acumen, and business acumen requires the following abilities:

Learning ability: from theory to model, from industry to business, from horizontal strategy to vertical execution, to master everything;

Data sensitivity , where the data comes from, how to mine data for effective analysis, and see the essence of the market through the surface of the data;

Decision-making ability, the priorities of various solutions, and the intensity of resource support must be accurately assessed and decisively implemented.

3. Brand strategy

1. Brand strategy is a banner that solves the problem of differentiation

Brands solve the problem of difference. Who am I, what is my personality like, what are my strengths, how am I different from others, etc. But brand itself is a broad concept, which can be divided into broad and narrow meanings:

In a broad sense, it refers to all behaviors of a corporate brand , including products, marketing, communications, public relations and other sectors. Therefore, the brand strategy case will also include products, communications and other content.

In a narrow sense, it refers to the brand system building , mainly the CIS system, which determines the direction of the brand. Product strategy, communication strategy, and channel strategy are all extensions of brand strategy. The brand is the commander-in-chief of the three armies. When the flag is waved, the three armies will respond.

2. Contents of brand strategy: rationality of existence, brand uniqueness, brand adaptability

In order to distinguish it from other types of strategies, this article focuses on brand strategy in a narrow sense.

The most important task of a brand is to build a moat. That is the brand’s differentiated recognition, so the brand focuses on what it tells consumers and what it lets consumers see.

Brand strategy is formulated around three key words: Why, What, and How.

The Why layer explains the rationality of the brand’s existence, and the conclusion is the brand story. The What layer talks about the brand uniqueness, and the conclusion is the brand spirit, brand concept, brand values, brand personality, development plan, slogan, logo, standard color, window display, service standards, etc. The How layer talks about brand adaptability, and the conclusions are development direction, public opinion tone, marketing proposition and marketing form, etc.

3. Core capabilities of brand strategy: structured thinking, analytical ability, and deductive ability

Customizing brand strategies is actually system building.

Structured thinking is indispensable, and it trains the logical model that diverges from the origin; the second is analytical ability , finding the right dimension, summarizing and refining; the last is deductive ability . Among the large amount of information, refining and summarizing is the key indicator of brand strategy.

4. Product Strategy

1. Product strategy is the engine that solves demand problems

Whether it is a physical or virtual product, the essence is the symmetry of supply and demand.

The scope of product strategy includes the product itself and product supporting facilities, and its purpose is to meet demand and exceed demand. Make consumers willing to pay and pay repeatedly. Products are the soldiers and generals on the final front line.

2. Contents of product strategy: product development/mix/price/image/endorsement/service strategy

Selling points are the core of all product strategies, and how to form selling points is the answer that product strategies must provide.

From the perspective of the product itself, product strategy includes: (1) Product development strategy : raw materials, origin, production cost, taste, style, interactive design; (2) Product combination strategy : image product, volume product, profit product; (3) Product pricing strategy : price segment coverage and proportion, main price segment and auxiliary price segment; (4) Product image strategy : packaging, auxiliary materials, product color, UI design; (5) Product endorsement strategy : sales credentials, authoritative credentials, star effect; (6) Product service strategy : transportation, pre-sales service, after-sales service, service standards.

In medium- and long-term planning, product strategy and brand strategy complement each other. The product is the brand and the brand is the product. In addition, different strategies should be matched at different stages. For example: in the start-up phase, choose short-term, flat and fast penetration with low prices and high-intensity promotions; in the growth phase, choose a high-frequency update and appropriate price reduction strategy; in the mature phase, choose an all-round optimization strategy.

3. Core capabilities of product strategy: observation, perception, and innovation

Being familiar with the fundamentals of the business and products is the basis for formulating product strategies, and on top of that one also needs to have observation, perception, and innovation capabilities.

(1) Observation: Understand the trends of competitors, understand customer behavior, and observe the usage details of related products anytime and anywhere; (2) Perception: Perceive customers' current and future needs, including functions, styles, designs, prices, etc.; and let customers perceive the product. What are customer needs? How do you let customers know that their needs can be met? (3) Innovation: how to implement product functions, how to differentiate, and how to iterate.

5. Communication strategy

1. Communication strategy is voice, solving the problem of brand reputation

The communication goal is to penetrate the entire sales funnel, maximizing the effect from cognition, familiarity, interest, purchase, loyalty to repeat purchase.

Appeal is the premise of communication strategy, including image appeal at the brand level, differentiation appeal at the competition level, selling point appeal at the product level, and reach appeal at the marketing level. Different appeals will naturally lead to different strategies.

In the current public opinion field, communication includes hard advertisements, soft articles, public relations articles, short videos, and grass-planting. For communication, input and output are always positively correlated. Only sufficient explicit input can bring higher expectations. Communication is the godfather, bringing fans.

2. The content of the communication strategy: who to talk to, what to say, where to talk, and when to talk

Who you are talking to is the communication population strategy. For example, if it is for a specific population, choose vertical categories; if it is for the general population, choose horizontal categories. The population determines the boundaries of the communication strategy.

What you say is a communication strategy, which is realized through the communication of creativity. It can be physical or mental. Physical is ruthless and brainwashing, while mental is touching and touching is touching human nature.

In other words, when it comes to communication media strategy, scale determines coverage, and strength determines penetration. Scale is the communication media matrix, which controls key media and guides mass media. Intensity refers to the frequency and depth of communication, using repeated stimulation to hit people's hearts and minds directly.

When do we talk about the communication cycle strategy, and how long is the communication cycle? How many stages are there? Stage demands? Who are the crowd? What is the dissemination of information? How big is it? What creativity? What medium to choose? Specific release time?

In short, the communication strategy is to target the crowd, understand people's hearts, extract key information, speak out in key media through high-quality content and key nodes, and form an encirclement and bombardment of attention.

3. Core capabilities of communication strategy: insight, creativity, appeal, and interactivity

Insight: The origin of communication is people. Only by starting from human nature can we touch people's hearts. The focus of insight is commonality, not individuality;

Creativity: creativity and imagination, using insightful viewpoints to find explosive entry points, unexpected and reasonable;

Infectiousness: The content of the communication can generate empathy and the aesthetics of the communication is of high standard;

Interaction: Both internal and external interaction are required. Internal interaction allows communication to return to the brand and product, avoiding decoupling; external interaction allows communication to form feedback, such as guiding comments and guiding diffusion, avoiding the brand playing a solo role.

6. Channel Strategy

1. Channel strategy is a map that solves purchasing problems

Channel refers to the path that allows products and services to reach consumers, so the purpose of channel strategy is to activate the channel and make products within reach.

In the current business ecosystem, online and offline are the main channels, including self-built channels, agents, distributors, franchisees, retailers and other types.

Therefore, channel strategy focuses on layout and game, and its essence is the cooperation and complementarity among all parties to improve terminal conversion and efficiency. Channels are generals, conquering cities and territories

2. Contents of channel strategy: channel mix/management/incentive strategy

Channel combination strategy: determines the construction of the channel system, direct channel or indirect channel, long channel or short channel, single channel or multiple channels, traditional channel or vertical channel, etc. The channel combination should be selected based on product characteristics, population characteristics, and brand characteristics.

Channel management strategy: channel classification/regional market classification, hierarchical management, and resource allocation. Brands that focus on offline business also need to develop channel image strategy and display strategy

Channel incentive strategy: a combination of push and pull, how to give profits to channels, how to reward and punish sales, and how to support marketing

3. Core capabilities of channel strategy: social, organizational, and sales capabilities

Social power: Channels are not only about communication, but also about relationship maintenance. Only with mutual benefit and trust can the channels be smooth;

Organizational strength: The channel is a large collective, and the channel strategy is aimed at all employees. Organizational strength can be directly transformed into channel combat effectiveness;

Sales power: To understand channels, you must understand sales. Understand the market, be flexible, be familiar with sales strategies, and implement sales strategies downwards.

If the competition of enterprises in the market is compared to a race, the market strategy is the choice of track, the brand strategy is the BP of the team, the product strategy is the engine, the communication strategy is the roadshows, and the channel strategy is the layout of sites and finding the most advantageous place to generate sales of the products/services behind it.

In short, strategy is a decision-making package. Multiple strategies are interrelated and complementary, requiring structured thinking. Therefore, as a strategist, you need to constantly expand your boundaries and absorb various knowledge.

Author: Zang Feng

Source: Strategist Zang Feng