Sales promotion is any sales activity that supplements or coordinates advertising and personal selling. Sales promotion includes free samples, coupons, contests, and other special incentives intended to stimulate sales. Display or visual merchandising is an important part of promotion. It is the display of a product at or near the point of purchase. Visual merchandising includes attractive window and interior displays and eye-catching exterior signs.
Public relations is the total process of building goodwill toward a business.
One approach to building public relations is to hire a company to promote the business goals of the owner. The fee is usually determined by the amount of time the public relations firm must spend to accomplish the small business owner's goals. Publicity is free advertising for the business. For example when a newspaper covers the opening of a new business, the owner does not pay for it. Personal selling is the direct effort made by a salesperson to convince a customer to make a purchase.