What is the definition of promotion in marketing?

Promotion in marketing is best defined as the process of communicating between seller and buyer. This aspect of marketing focuses on informing potential customers about the products or services offered, persuading them to make a purchase, and reminding them about the brand or product over time. Effective promotion encompasses various strategies such as advertising, sales promotions, public relations, and personal selling, all designed to create awareness, reinforce brand image, and stimulate sales.

The essence of promotion lies in its role as a bridge that connects producers with consumers, enabling the transmission of messages about the benefits and features of a product or service. This is crucial to the overall marketing strategy, as it directly influences how potential customers perceive the offerings and ultimately decide whether to engage with them.

Creating product demand, while related to promotion, is specifically an outcome or goal of promotional efforts rather than a definition. Quality control measures and market analysis techniques pertain to different aspects of marketing—operations and research, respectively—rather than communication between sellers and buyers. Therefore, understanding promotion as a communicative function illuminates its essential role in the marketing mix.