Trade Business Communication Policy

The purpose of the paper is to examine the specifics and peculiarities of the communication activities of entrepreneurial business from the trade enterprises, to identify the main problems and make recommendations for its improvement. To achieve the aim of the research a survey has been conducted among 112 managers of trade enterprises on the territory of Bulgaria. The survey was conducted in March-July 2015. The direct survey is used as a main research method for analysis and evaluation of the results - statistical methods and for their visual graphical representation - EXCEL from Microsoft. The questionnaire includes five blocks issues related to corporate advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations and publicity, direct sales. The analysis and evaluation of the survey’s results shows that businesses in the trade enterprises are still not sufficiently aware of the need for planning, organizing and competent management of its communication policy. The representatives of major companies in this economic activity systematically develop advertising strategies, plans and programs, plan their advertising budget and also feature a private PR specialist or use the services of PR agency. At the same time it was found that SMBs do not recognize sufficiently the needs of the consumers in the chosen segment, do not take any action to influence the general public, do not devote adequate resources to the development and management of their communication policies. Ignoring advertising can lead to serious problems in implementing the marketing policy of the company. Observations reveal that it is essential for the trade companies to make better use of media, traditional forms of advertising and self promotional tools. Marketing management must pay attention not only to the marketing of its individual products, but to focus the interest of the consumers to the brand, business values, corporate image, mission, etc.