Some 62% of the companies in Romania use the Internet for promotion, according to a study by iSense Solutions.

Meanwhile, 34% prefer leaflets/brochures, a similar percentage participate in fairs/conferences, and 22% promote themselves via the smartphone.

The study included owners/entrepreneurs, CEOs, and general managers of four categories of companies from various sectors in Romania: with up to five employees, 6-50 employees, 51-250 employees, and with more than 250 employees.

“As the number of employees and the allocated budgets grow, the marketing mix used by the companies also diversifies, and the importance of traditional channels in promoting their products or services grows,” said Traian Nastase, managing partner iSense Solutions.

Thus, although in the overall ranking the Internet is the main channel used for promotion, the companies with 5-60 employees prefer to promote themselves through leaflets/brochures (41%), and outdoor (28%), while those with more than 250 employees use the TV for promotion.

However, the Internet remained the promotion channel in which most companies have invested in the last 12 months (56% of firms). Meanwhile, 44% of companies with over 250 employees have invested most money in TV promotion.

In terms of efficiency, 62% of the companies that use the smartphone to promote themselves consider that this the most effective channel for promotion. The Internet comes next (55%), followed by the traditional media – outdoor (44%), radio (40%), and TV (34%).

When it comes to online promotion, most companies (67%) use their own websites to promote themselves, 54% prefer Facebook advertising, 46% use other social media, 37% - email marketing, 30% - ad sites, and 24% - ads on Google.

The study also shows that only 35% of entrepreneurs/CEOs/general managers believe that positioning by low prices represents the key for success, while 69% believe that offering quality services/products is the most important thing. Slightly over 60% of companies also think that ensuring a good experience for customers is important.

The study is based on a quantitative research made online on a sample of 267 active companies.

Three-quarters of the Romanian firms use social networks for promotion

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com