1. Personal Selling
Basically personal selling is one-to-one communication between seller and prospective purchaser. It generates direct contact with prospects and customers. It is one of the most expensive forms of promotion.
Examples: personal meetings, telemarketing, e-mails, and correspondence
2. Advertising
Advertising is a form of nonpersonal promotion. It is when companies pay to promote ideas, goods, or services in a variety of media outlets. It can be found everywhere. With advertising, a company engages in a one-way communication to the prospect or customer.
Examples: magazines, newspapers, television, websites, city buses, etc.
3. Direct Marketing
Direct marketing is a type of advertising directed to a targeted group of prospects and customers rather than to a mass audience. Two forms of direct marketing are printed by mail, or direct by e-mail. The goals of direct marketing are to generate sales or leads for sales representatives to pursue. Direct marketing allows a business to engage in one-way communication with is customers about product announcements, special promotions, bulletins, customer inquiries, and order confirmations.
Examples: direct mail, e-mail
4. Sales Promotion
Sales promotion basically represents all marketing activities other than personal selling, advertising, and public relations. Sales promotions are used to stimulate purchasing and sales and the objectives are to increase sales, inform potential customers about new products, and create a positive business or corporate image.
Examples: coupons, product samples, point-of-purchase displays
5. Public Relations
Public relations activities enable an organization to influence a target audience. Most of the time, public relation campaigns try to create a favorable image for a company, its products, or its policies. Companies give news releases to announce newsworthy developments about a company's products or services, distribution channels, facilities, operations, partners, revenues and earnings, employees, and events. Publicity is one tactic that public relations professionals use. This means bringing newsworthy information to the public.
Examples: a campaign to encourage businesses to donate computers to schools, donating to hospitals, donating to a cause