K. R. Subramanian
Marketing plays a key role in shaping Consumer attitudes and Consumer attitudes shape buying behavior towards Products and Services. While Sales is concerned more with a ‘push’ approach in reaching products to Consumers at appropriate places, a lot of incentives are used by companies in influencing consumers shape their views and choice of products and services. At the level of competition witnessed today, incentives take up the centre stage in promoting products and services and companies are finding newer ways of influencing prospects through attractive incentives. Incentives are used to overcome barriers to communication with consumers. How ethical such marketing promotions are, is but one question; but the larger issue is one of identifying the Role of incentives in the scheme of things so that marketers can use them more effectively and appropriately. One possible fall out effect of incentives is that it starts influencing consumer behavior in a way that becomes irreversible and companies find the cost of marketing becomes too much to absorb. This article tries to analyze the role of incentives in the current marketing environment and the extent of their influence on consumer behavior.
Consumer Attitude, Push Strategy, Sales Oriented Companies, Incentives, Influence On Consumer Mindset, Irreversible Process.