What is the impact of the number of customers on promotional strategies?

• A. The number of customers has no impact.
• B. Only personal selling should be used regardless of count.
• C. Advertising is always used when customer numbers are small.
• D. Few customers may benefit from personal selling, while many customers may require advertising and sales promotions.

Answer: (D)

The number of customers you’re trying to reach shapes how you allocate your promotional tools. When the audience is small, personal selling shines because you can tailor messages, answer questions, and build relationships one by one. It’s resource-intensive per person, so it’s most effective with a limited, high-value group of potential buyers. But as the customer pool grows, reaching everyone with one‑on‑one selling becomes impractical and costly. In that situation, advertising provides broad reach to many people at a lower cost per impression, and sales promotions can stimulate action across a large market. So the best approach is to use personal selling for a small audience and rely on advertising and promotions when the audience is large. The other options ignore how reach and cost per contact change what’s efficient and effective, assuming one method fits all audience sizes.