Sales, Digital and Direct Marketing

StrategiesPresented By: Janet and Christine

INTRODUCTION• Today’s competitive environment demands that companies take on a

radically different approach to their sales functions. Sales people are moving away from administrative and transaction based roles which are now handled by the internet to building relationships that are more focused on collaborative and consultative roles.

• Management can now use personal selling, the internet and direct marketing to interact with customers

Sales Force Strategy• Sales force strategy is concerned with deciding how to use personal

selling to contact customers, generate sales and develop customer relationships. Personal selling activities will vary based on a companies positioning and promotional strategy.

Step 1• Determine the role of salesforce in a promotion strategy• Selling process must be determined

Step 2• Sales channel must be determined (How will the internet and direct marketing contribute to sales)• Design of the sales organization must be determined

Step 3• Sales people must be recruited, trained and managed• Results of the sales strategy are evaluated and corrected

1. Determine the Role of Selling in Promotional Strategy• Management must decide the role and objectives of the Sales Force in the

marketing program. • Several factors guide the role of selling; - Target market- Product characteristics- Distribution and Pricing policies - Pricing policiesObjectives for the salesforce is often tied to sale quotas which are incentive basedThe important issue is deciding how much direct contact is needed by the buyer with the sales person.

Types of Sales JobsNew Business Selling• Involves obtaining sales

from new buyers• Example: Online sales

Trade Selling • Provides assistance and support

to value chain members rather than selling.

• Support includes merchandising, building relationships, product info

Consultative Technical SellingSell to an existing customer base and provide technical and application support. This is used in complex equipment or services

Missionary Selling• A producer’s sales people works with channels to

convince customers to purchase• e.g. Commercial airlines salespeople

2. Define the selling process • Many activities are involved from identifying a buyer’s needs to closing

the sale to managing the post sale relationships. The selling process include;

Prospecting for buyer

Opening the relationships

Qualifying the prospect

Presenting the sale

Closing the sale

Serving the account

Cont. The selling process is normally managed by the sales person however many companies are moving that function to customer relationship management teams or account managers. The role of management is to provide guidelines for the selling process and set targets for the teams in line with the strategy. The selling process provides guidelines for recruiting, training, allocation of effort, organizational design and the use of selling support activities Understanding the selling process is essential in coordinating all aspects of the marketing program.

3. Decide on Sales Channels Part of the personal selling strategy is deciding the channels you will use to get to customers. Management must decide; 1. Which channels to use in contacting end users2. How telemarketing, Internet and Direct marketing will support the field salesforce3.Direct face-to-face contact with salespeople is very expensive and the need for this resource should be evaluated in terms of benefits vs costs• The choice of channel used is influenced by the buying power of the

customer and sales volume threshold

4. Design the sales organization • Designing the sales organization includes selecting an organizational

structure and deciding the number of sales people to deploy across geographical areas and to customers/prospects.

• An organizational design should support the salesforce strategy • Organizational design is influenced by the requirements of the

customer base, products and geographical location of buyers

Questions to ask • What is the selling job? What activities are to be performed by sales

people? • Is specialization of selling activities necessary? • Are channels of distribution relationships important in the organizational

design?• How many sales management levels are necessary to provide

supervision? • If sales teams are to be used, what will be their composition?• How and to what extent will sales channels be used to support the

salesforce

Types Of Organizational Design

Market Driven Design (Heavily

influenced by the customer base)

Product/Market driven design

Geography driven design (Where

customer base is widely distributed)

Product driven design

Simple product offering

Complex products

Customer needs are different

Cont.• Sales unit design has a strong impact on sales unit performance • There are many factors influencing the performance of the sales

person. These include; 1. Market potential 2. Number and location of customers 3. Intensity of competition4. Market/Brand position

5. Recruit, train and manage salespeople• The management of the sales force involves the following activities; • Selecting salespersons• Providing training• Measuring performance • Motivating them with the aid of monetary and non-monetary

incentives. If performance measurement shows significant deviations from the performance standards set, then corrective actions have to be initiated.

What makes a good sales person? • Being customer-driven and highly motivated for the job • Accepting direction and co-operating as a team player • Being motivated by peers, financial incentives etc. The characteristics that a sales persons need to possess are often dependent on the type of selling situation and the selling strategy being employed.

Training Sales People • Training can either be formal/informal• Factors that affect the duration and type of training include; sales job,

product complexity, experience of new sales people and management’s commitment to training.

• Companies seek to achieve the following through training; - Increase productivity-Improve customer relations-Enable better management of time and territory

Evaluate performance and make adjustments where necessary• Sales management means continually working to improve the

productivity of the selling efforts in order to achieve high performance.

• Performance of sales force considers results, costs, customer satisfaction

Where to focus the analysis? • Evaluation often extends beyond the sales person to include the

organization unit i.e. districts and branches, product performance across geographical areas

Performance & Measures • Sales Mangers must use both behavior and outcome measure to effectively

measure performance of a sales person. • Areas to measure include; sales planning, presentation, expense control,

technical knowledge, information feedback and sales results. • One of the challenges of evaluating performance is accounting for factors

beyond the sales person control(competition, market potential, poor supervision)

• In evaluating the organizations selling strategy, management may identify areas where corrective action is required. A good information system helps in the diagnosis of performance and guides in corrective action where necessary.

Intro to Digital Strategy

• Internet has fundamentally changed the marketing function, causing the greatest shift in the field since the invention of the television.

Cont.

• No longer can we rely on print, publicity and a media buyer to distribute our catchy ad campaign.

• We need to invest in IT resources and an understanding of internet tools to effectively (and profitably) connect with our market busier people, who have shorter attention spans, and often suffer from information overload.

• A plan to accomplish something with the benefit of digital/internet tools.

• It is the process of specifying an organization's vision, goals, opportunities and related activities in order to maximize the business benefits of digital initiatives to the organization.

Approaches to creating a digital strategy

• Identifying the opportunities and/or challenges in a business where online assets

can provide a solution. E.g. stakeholder interview, competitor and financial

analysis, etc.

• Identifying the unmet needs and goals of the external stakeholders that most

closely align with those key business opportunities and/or challenges. E.g.

External stakeholder interviews, using web analytics, etc.

• Developing a vision around how the online assets will fulfill those business and

external stakeholder needs, goals, opportunities and challenges. E.g. Business

plan or case, online media plan, technical assessment, measurement plan, etc.

• Prioritizing a set of online initiatives which can deliver on this vision. E.g.

Campaigns etc.

Approaches to creating a digital strategy

Internet Marketing ObjectivesObjectives based on different businesses, i.e., B2B and B2C

Internet value opportunities

• Targeted marketing is possible online.

• Messages can be designed to address specific needs and preferences of the audience.

• The web offers an opportunity for interaction and feedback.

• The internet offers access to a wide range of information.

• Sales potential offered online is substantial.

• It offers a great opportunity for communication innovation.

• Exposure opportunities online are significant, enabling companies to attain cost-

effective access to customers and prospects.

• Speed of response is impressive.

Internet value risks

• Changes in audience preferences.

• Difficulties in finding ways of measuring effective of using the internet for your

business.

• Response delays.

• Potential for deception/fraud.

• Users may be aware of online advertisers and end up change their behavior to

avoid it, e.g. change from one social media to another.

• Costs may end up being higher than expected.

• Promoting brands using all forms of online advertising channels to reach customers.

Digital Tools

Some common digital marketing tools

• Email Marketing• SEO and SEM• Online Advertising • Social Media Marketing

Email Marketing• Email Marketing is promoting

products through use of email.• 2 main ingredients to an

effective email marketing campaign:– Build to a large list of people

you can write to (Database).– Emails should be packed

with free value and should move people to buy what you’re trying to sell.

SEO/SEM• This is about gaining visibility

on search engines when users search for terms that relate to your business.– Organic search (SEO): – Paid search (SEM):

• In search marketing, companies focus on driving more traffic to targeted areas of their website. They use search to:– Generate new leads– Sell products– Build their brand– Divert traffic from their competitors

SEO/SEM

• This is an internet advertising model used to direct traffic to websites, in which advertisers pay the publisher (typically a website owner) when the ad is clicked. It is defined simply as “the amount spent to get an advertisement clicked.”

Social Media Marketing

• Category of websites that allow people to connect, communicate and share information in real-time on the internet.

Why? – Build brand awareness– Interact directly with customers and the

market– Launch promotions– Distribute news– Generate leads– Monitor competitors– Build links– Connect with thought-leaders– Find out how the market perceives you– Establish thought-leadership– Gather market research– Facilitate sales

Advantages of Digital Marketing

Keeps companies at par with competitors.

Companies can be available 24/7

Helps build relationshipsGlobal reach

Advantages of Digital Marketing

Cost EffectiveCater to specific needs/interests.

Real-time Marketing and Customer Service Accountability

Advantages of Digital Marketing

Can help small businesses compete with large corporations Measuring statistics is easy

Illegal/Unethical Practices

Disadvantages of Digital Marketing

High cost of hardware

Get drowned by too much online ad clutter

May not be appropriate for your product.

Disadvantages of Digital Marketing

There’s too much competition online

Digital Marketing Challenges in Kenya

• Lack of governance, laws and regulations.

• Cultural issues.• Lack of technical infrastructure.• Online shopping worries.

– Fear factor– Unreliable delivery mechanisms– Fraud

Examples of Local Companies that are successfully using Digital Marketing

Examples of Global Companies that are successfully using Digital Marketing

B2B B2C

Direct MarketingDirect marketing is a form of advertising that specifically targets a person or company to generate new business, raise the profile of an organization or product, or make a sale.

Direct marketing trades on the greatest of all sales advantages - the opportunity to communicate directly with your customer to build a personal relationship. It allows you to reach your target audience with direct messages, without using traditional, costly advertising methods such as TV, newspapers and radio advertising.

Objective: To make direct contact with end-user customers through alternative media.

Direct Marketing MethodsDirect mail• Direct mail is posted mail that advertises your business and its products and services. There are several

different types of direct mail (e.g. catalogues, postcards, envelope mailers).Telemarketing• Telemarketing involves contacting potential customers over the phone to sell products or services. It is

capable of generating new customer prospects in large volumes and is also a useful tool for following up on direct marketing campaigns.

Email marketing• Email marketing is a simple, cost-effective and measurable way of reaching your customers. It can include

e-newsletters, promotional emails to generate new leads or offers for existing customers, or ads that can appear in other business's emails.

Text (SMS) marketing (Ads on mobile devices)• Text messaging allows businesses to reach individual customers and send messages to large groups of

people at a low cost. You could use short message service (SMS) messaging to send customers sales alerts, links to website updates, appointment or delivery reminders, or personalized messaging.

Social media marketing• Social media can be used effectively as a marketing tool for business as it gives you the opportunity to

interact directly with your customers and regularly share relevant product or service information.

Reasons for using Direct Marketing Methods

• Socioeconomic Trends – buyers can shop at home, save time (convenience); for

working spouses, it imposes less constraint on household duties.

• Low access costs – it is much lower compared to one-on-one sales contact, i.e.

investing in a physical shop, etc.

• Database Management – collecting customer information and using this to

market to them directly.

• Value – convenience, reduced shopping time, rapid response, competitive

prices.

Direct Marketing

• Segmentation capability• Flexibility• Timing• Selective Reach• Personalization• Measurement of effectiveness

Direct Marketing

• Limited reach• Customer rejection - Customers

resent intrusive communication• Difficult to acquire data necessary

for preparing customer database• Environment and Law

The End

If people like you, they will listen, but if they trust you, they will do business with you.