Abstract:

Eleven separate research studies, covering as many marketing places, were conducted to determine which marketing communications tools are most useful in providing information about products and services specified by managers who have purchasing responsibility for their companies. Marketing communications evaluated were specialized business publications, trade shows, salespeople, conventions/seminars, direct mail, directories, daily newspapers, general business magazines, network television, radio, newsmagazines, consumer magazines and cable television. The eleven marketplaces included architecture, packaging, networking, fleet/trucking, grocery, restaurant, office supply, advertising, chemical, home improvement, and medical. Cumulatively, across the 11 segments, specialized business publications were rated first as the most useful source of information about business products, with salespeople, second. Trade shows were listed third; convention/seminars, fourth; and direct mail, fifth. At the bottom were cable television, general magazines and radio. Of the 11 marketplaces, specialized business publications were significantly ahead in seven, and salespeople in two. In brief, the values, both of targeted editorial and print advertising represented by the business publications covering the 11 different markets were established by these studies.