The marketing communication mix, sometimes referred to as the promotion mix, is a set of five tools that businesses use to communicate with their customers, prospects and stakeholders. It doesn’t matter how large or small your organization is, or what kind of products or services you sell, utilizing an effective marketing communication mix can help you increase your revenue.

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The five key components of the marketing communication mix is advertising, public relations, sales promotion, personal selling and direct marketing.

Elements of the Marketing Communication Mix

Advertising refers to any paid promotion of products, services or ideas by an identified sponsor. Organizations can advertise in a number of ways, such as:

  • on television
  • radio
  • magazines
  • newspapers
  • billboards
  • online

It’s an effective way to reach large quantities of people, but it can be very expensive as well.

Benefits of Using Communication Mix Components in Small Business

It can be hard to know what components of the marketing communication mix to use to promote your products and services. Even if you don’t have a large marketing budget, there are several ways to get your brand and your message out there to your target audience.

Before you begin planning which communication mix tools you will use, be sure to have a good understanding of who your customers are and how to get their attention. This way, you can be sure that your efforts are being seen by the right people. When it comes to advertising, television and major print outlets can be very costly. If your audience is online, you may be able to purchase online graphics and text ads for a small fraction of the cost of a television ad. Online ads are also highly targeted by keywords, so you can ensure they will be seen by your customers.

Small business owners can also utilize other elements of the marketing mix. Personal selling doesn’t require a company to have a large sales team. It only takes one person to build relationships with key prospects, which can then lead to sales. Similarly, when it comes to direct marketing, email marketing can be effective in reaching your target market for a relatively small investment of your time.

Sponsorships may seem like something only large corporations can take part in. However, small businesses can utilize this communication mix tool by sponsoring local children’s sports teams or farmer’s markets and fairs.