This research examines the use of marketing communication at The Men's Warehouse firm. The marketing communications function of a firm involves contacting customers, other parties within the distribution channel, shareholders, the financial community, governmental agencies, and the media (Kotler, 1992, p. 500). This research focuses on the marketing communications between a firm and its customers.
Marketing Communications With Customers
Every company involved in the marketing of products must disseminate information about the existence of the company and its products, the features of the products, the terms for the acquisition of the firm's products, and the ways in which the firm's products will benefit the market being targeted (Kotler, 1992, p. 501). There are four primary activities by which a firm may communicate with its customers. Together, these activities are known as a firm's marketing communications mix (Kotler, 1992, p. 502). These activities are as follows:
1. Advertising. Advertising consists of any paid form of non personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor (Kotler, 1992, p. 502).
2. Personal selling. Personal selling is any oral presentation in a conversation between a representative of a marketing organization and one or more prospective purchasers for the purpose of making sales (Kotler, 1992, p. 502).
3. Sales promotion. Sales promotion involves the offer to prospective purchasers of short term incentives to
encourage a person or persons to buy a product being offered for sale (Kotler, 1992, p. 502).
4. Publicity. Publicity is the non personal stimulation of demand for a product achieved by planting commercially significant news about the product in a communications medium wherein such publication is not paid for by the sponsor (Kotler, 1992, p. 503).
The marketing communication mix for a firm may be fully integrated to rely more o...