final modificationPromotion and Personal Selling Exam MBA answered - adham abulnour.pdf

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  • Dear Students, Greetings,

    This is your final exam, it is an open book exam, and every one knows that open book exam does not mean to re-write what is in the book or to copy and paste. Your understanding of the whole course, your thoughts, and your critical thinking are very important to succeed and be distinct. Read carefully all questions, follow instructions for each one, use your own way. Use every possible source of information. Be unique, be distinct, be yourself.

    Good luck. Adham Abulnour First question:-

    Komatro is the health-conscious juice company which began a couple of decades ago when Greg Steltenpohl, Gerry Percy and Bonnie Bassett began squeezing fresh oranges on a $200 hand juicer. The company was growing strongly with annual sales rising 30% per year and approaching $90m. The company had established a strong brand with enormous member loyalty.

    On October 30, 1996, everything changed. Health officials in Washington state informed the company that they had discovered a link between several cases of E. coli 0157:H7 (E. coli bacterial poisoning) and Komatro fresh apple juice.

    The link was confirmed on November 5. As the crisis played itself out, one child died and more than 60 people in the Western United States and Canada became sick after drinking the juice. Sales plummeted by 90%, Komatro's stock price fell 34%. Customers filed more than 20 personal-injury lawsuits and the company looked as though it could well be destroyed.

    You are the Marcom Manager of Komatra Company, will be writing a press release to handle the crisis that your company is facing.

  • Answer:

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    PRESS RELEASE

    Komatro Inc. successfully contains and terminates the E-coli outbreak in apple juice

    The company responds to the outbreak claim with absolute efficiency and utmost care towards the affected consumers

    Washington, USA, January 5, 2015:

    Our cherished Customers:

    We, at Komatro Incorporated, are profoundly alarmed by the claim (issued by health officials at the Washington State Department) that our apple juice products contain E. coli. Our number-one concern is the safety and well-being of people who drink our juices. From the moment we received the alarm (and even though no solid proof was provided, at the time, regarding the accuracy and relevance of this claim), we have acted immediately and taken every action possible to retrieve the cause of this outbreak and ensure future prevention.

    To this end, we have ordered a complete recall of all our products containing apple juice. This recall covered each and every of our retail outlets (numbering in thousands in several states). The recall was thoroughly completed within a few hours thanks to multiple and efficient task teams that were formed and mobilized immediately after the onset of the alarming notification. The recall cost was in millions which the company endured because our most important concern is the health of the consumer.

    The company would like to express sympathy and regret for all those affected and is immediately promising to pay all medical costs that pertain to the E. coli outbreak.

    Contact: Adham, Marcom Komatro Incorporated food industries Phone 001-00000000 Fax 0010-0000000000 Marcom.Adham @komatro.org

    Seattle county. Washington, USA

    Komatro Incorporated

    food industries

    Komatro Incorporated

  • We have immediately created an interactive website (www.xxxx.com) for all of our valued customers to report any problem that they have had with our products. Several press conferences and TV encounters (viewable on our website) are being held to provide accurate and reliable information on how we have contained the outbreak and improved our business practices to avoid such alarming situation in the future. Company internal meetings are being held on a daily basis to give our employees the chance to ask questions and get the latest information on how to remedy the situation.

    Our cherished customers, All of us at Komatro are greatly distressed by this situation. Komatros first concern is

    always to provide fresh natural products with no harmful preservatives or artificial materials. We rigorously follow our vision statement and core values of responsibility,

    honesty and trustworthiness. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or fear stirred by the situation and we are acting by the minute to get our products back to the

    public with optimum care as we have always treated you.

    Thanks a lot for your understanding, commitment and loyalty.

    ### Adham Marcom

    President of Komatro Incorporated

    For more information please contact Adham Marcom at: Marcom.Adham @komatro. org or use phone

    contact: 001-000000000

  • Second question:- You have been asked to advise a club to which you belong on how to manage its communication program. Develop for the club its own communication model IMC campaign and explain how the campaign can help the club identify its communication problems and develop better communication program and activities.

    Answer:

    An IMC campaign developed to improve a clubs communication program should be optimally constructed on a number of critical foundations:

    Diversifying the types of communication channels incorporated

    Employing formal marketing communication channels

    Formal marketing enhances the club's profile and membership count. The clubs contact info should be listed in the telephone directory while membership registrations are advertised for instance in newspapers. Accompanying measures extend from offering discounts on family memberships to redecorating the club facilities. The list of formal marketing activities should be ideally organized in the Integrated Marked Communication (IMC) plan of the club.

    Employing informal marketing communication channels

    Relevant techniques include encouraging marketing activities that club management and members can do informally on a daily basis. Examples include offering help and information to potential members over the phone as well as encouraging potential members (friends of current members) to join up.

    Both formal and informal marketing channels depend on club members talking positively about the club. So it is vital for the club to make every experience and contact with the club a positive and rewarding one.

    Seeing everyone as a potential marketer

    In planning, organizing, leading, coordinating and controlling its communication programs; the club management should ideally hire a marketing and promotions officer who would in turn assemble a team to oversee the development and implementation of the cub's marketing strategies and IMC plan.

    The marketing team members should be able to communicate effectively. Personal and professional traits include being positive, enthusiastic, well organized and having marketing expertise and experience in dealing with the local media. The team should be ideally capable of performing the following tasks:

    Develop the club marketing plan

    Prepare a budget for the marketing plan.

    Supervise the implementation of planned marketing tactics

    Develop regular feedback reports and improve the marketing plan in their light.

    This being said, a successful IMC campaign for the club should see everyone as a potential marketer and thus strive to involve its members and employees in marketing whenever they can. Members should be encouraged to tell their friends and family about the clubs facilities and offerings. At the same time, the club should explore potential members needs, how new and existing services can be developed to keep up with such needs, and how this should be made known to current and potential members.

  • Identifying the content message for the IMC campaign

    An IMC plan should not be complex to develop, understand and apply by its executors; nor incomprehensible to its recipients. Being realistic about the club's marketing objectives is a key element of success for the IMC plan as some marketing tactics and communication channels are costly to implement and may not have t the desired effect.

    Several techniques are employable to develop an IMC plan. An always useful step is to raise the subject with members at the club meeting. Points on the agenda should include what sets the club apart from other clubs, what it offers that other clubs don't, and what the benefits of joining the club are.

    The IMC plan should ideally include these messages and subsequent marketing activities. These are the attractors that appeal to new members and make people feel good about joining.

    It is also always useful to examine IMC campaigns of other clubs. This may help in developing and creating content for the IMC plan. It is not uncommon for clubs to make the mistake of pouring a lot money and dedicating a lot of time to catch new members while forgetting current ones. It might improve less expensive and more influential if the club would develop its IMC plan content to highlight the improvements to basic services, attitudes of staff towards members, and the standard of facilities.

    The content for an IMC plan should be ideally developed under the following points:

    Objectives: communicating only measurable and achievable goals that are comprehensible to the public e.g. establishing new tennis courts.

    Situation analysis. This point is mainly concerned with communicating the clubs current situation (socio-culturally and financially). It is always helpful to carry out a SWOT analysis to identify the clubs strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

    Strategies. These include tools and activities to address the club's current and potential members. The key is to develop these tools and activities to target specific market segments. The main issue is to design, direct and communicate services at specific individuals or groups of members. Questions to be asked at this point include: what do members like, what do they read, where they go, how to attract their attention.

    Budget. The communicated IMC plan content should be developed within a realistic marketing budget that corresponds to the club's current capabilities. Low-cost or no-cost strategies are a safe option to begin with.

    Evaluation. The club should eventually and systematically evaluate the impact of ots IMC plan content and whether it has met the objectives. The marketing team should periodically collect copies of press clippings, media coverage and any feedback the club receives - positive or negative.

    Applying and communicating effective promotional techniques

    There is a variety of applicable techniques that the club can use to market and promote itself:

    1. A common practice is to use the club name, logo, letterheads and signage on promotional materials. Club name, logo and signage should be also widely communicated on promotional events, presentations, competitions and membership registration days.

    2. Following the same logic is developing websites that are simple and effective in communicating with members, sponsors, supporters and the local community. A positive step is to include club members who have the skills to design and write the club's website. Basic websites should cover the services and facilities offered by the

  • club, a calendar of events and meetings, membership information and definitely the club's contact details. The website should be ideally linked to related sites and search engines. A starting point is to ask schools, universities and recreation centers to include a link to the clubs website on theirs. Members discussion forums are encouraged to be included on the website. The websites content should be updated continually with new information.

    3. On the same E-communication track, emails facilitate the communication between

    clubs and members. The club should however carefully consider the content and control the quantity of email messages sent out to members. It is commonly less provocative to members (whether current or potential) to receive a single email with a number of key points rather than multiple emails each with a single message. Attention should be paid when sending out mass emails to enter all the recipients email addresses in the "bcc" slot and not the "to" the "cc" slot. This helps prevent against future complaints from privacy infringements and spam mails.

    4. Newsletters are a vital tool in promoting clubs as they provide information to

    members about events, activities, and news. Again, a positive step is to include club members with the skills to design and write the newsletter. Easy, personalized and direct channels should be incorporated in communicating the newsletter. It is less expensive to send newsletters to members by email rather than printing them. The newsletter should be also downloadable (or at least browse-able) from the website too. Newsletters are the most common and direct way of communicating with members, especially if it is via email. Newsletters should be clear and easy to read. A good newsletter needs to get all relevant information to the right people in a timely and accessible fashion.

    5. Another effective tool is to design and communicate (distribute) flyers and brochures

    that contain the club's services and contact information. Mail boxes and notice boards (in community centers, recreation centers, schools and companies) are common delivery platform for flyers and brochures.

    6. Distributing promotional T-shirts, caps, socks and uniforms freely can improve a

    club's image and at the same time promote events and activities at the club. Selling such items can also raise funds while also promoting the club.

    7. Paid Advertisement ensures a wide coverage through different forms of media e.g.

    newspapers, radio, and television. The club management should carefully revise the content communicated in the advertisement. However advertisement media is commonly costly and thus it is always advisable to consider cheap and effective forms of promotion first. Nonetheless, if media advertisement is the chosen path, several considerations have to be carefully examined first. The following paragraphs shed more light on the subject,

    Using media to promote the club

    In order to raise the club's public profile, it is always useful to develop a good relationship with local media. This will definitely facilitate any future contact and simplify the usually tiresome advertising endeavors.

    The media is normally inclined towards publishing or broadcasting content that appeals to and attracts their audiences. Accordingly, promoting the club through media should be accompanied by the trial to understand what the media is interested in covering and how such information can be provided. This is finally translated by the IMC campaign into finding creative ways to make information more interesting and attractive to attention.

    Newspaper and radio are common communication channels for promoting clubs and their activities. Local newspapers are usually interested in covering club events but sometimes don't have the staff to cover the story. In this case, the marketing team can issue media

  • releases as these are standard way to provide information to the media. Basic consideration in composing a press release is to write simply, state the facts, explain the concept and, show how it is useful. Clubs also commonly establish good contact with popular radio stations to let them know about the club, what the club is doing, and the types of events coming up.

    Ensuring effective Communication to and from the club

    In parallel to implementing the IMC plan, the club should ideally ensure an effective two-way communication channel with its members. The main issue here is that each club is unique and accordingly should strive to establish its own efficient ways of communicating with members. The communication responsibility is optimally open sharing by everyone in the club. The final goal is to maintain the communication fluent and running. A number of disciplines can ensure the smooth running of communication:

    Maintaining correspondence

    Formal and informal correspondence (feedbacks, information, etc.) are commonly delivered via mailboxes and email inboxes in a club. A correspondence official should be assigned to go through the correspondence and distribute it to designated parties in an efficient way. Clubs also receive regular newsletters and bulletins from related and kindred entities (for example national sports organizations). Again, an official appointed by the club should ensure that management and members are aware of relevant information (news, events, deadlines, etc).

    Maintaining records and databases

    The communication flow out and in a club should be ideally maintained in a comprehensive database. For ease of retrieving information the database should be organized to facilitate communication with for specific targeted groups. Such groups include for example management (top, middle and line), social members, seniors, veterans, sponsors and VIPs. The database should be ideally compatible with the email system employed in the club to allow targeted emails.

  • Third Question:

    Sales promotion is one of the integrated marketing communication tools; it is defined

    as a direct inducement that offers an extra value or incentive for the product to the

    sales force, distributers or the ultimate consumer with the primary objective of creating

    an immediate sale. With respect to the two presented sales promotion offers below;

    Offer 1: Dominos buy one large pizza and get the other free and Offer 2: Procter &

    Gamble buy Ariel and get Downy for free. Please analyzing the two below offers, and

    state how these two offers can affect the consumer Decision-Making process for the

    promoted item.

    Answer:

    Premises: Promotional offering through bundle pricing

    The promotional discipline applied in the two offerings under investigation is bundle pricing. In a bundle pricing, a company sells a package or set of goods or services for a cumulative lower price than if each item is bought separately. Pursuing a bundle pricing strategy allows a company to augment and promote its sales by giving consumers a discount. However, several factors intervene to control the degree of success of a bundle pricing strategy while shaping the impact on the consumer decision making process. In comparing the two case offerings Ariel & Downy and Dominos pizza, certain differences in the bundle pricing strategy applied for each are clearly identifiable. The following discussion investigates a number of the key factors which influence the consumer decision making process in response to the two offerings.

    Assessing the demand: understanding the consumers inclinations

    Consumers make very different decisions based on the appeal and price of products. This suggests businesses benefit from knowing how consumers think about their products ad prices. Knowing what products consumers want most is a vital key in shaping the bundle pricing.

    In the case of Dominos Pizza, knowing whether consumers want the pizza or other products (for example pasta) most, helps in determining the bundle that is most likely to sell and

  • accordingly result in the biggest orders. If the consumers demand is relatively high on pizza, offering pasta at a lower price might convince consumers to add it to their order. The opposite is true if the demand is higher on the pasta. The fact that Dominos pizza offering is buy 1 pizza get 1 for free suggests that neither pizzas nor other products are experiencing high demands at the time the promotion is made. The company is focusing its marketing efforts in a concentric growth mode through promoting and attempting to increase the sales of its main product i.e. pizzas.

    This is different in the case of Ariel & Downy because the offering is based on promoting in a horizontal diversification mode where a highly demanded product Ariel: a prize selling washing detergent is being bundle priced with a related company product Downy: a fabric softener. The main motive behind this pairing is most likely to promote Downy: increase consumers awareness about this particular product and consecutively motivate purchases.

    Dominos Pizza shall need special techniques to be able to bundle price its horizontally diversified products. In the real world, a company cant continually change prices, but online, it can be done very quickly and efficiently. On its online website, Dominos Pizza can track what products the consumers searched for first when they entered the website (most likelt to be pizzas). At checkout, the company can offer a reduced price for other kindred products (e.g. the pasta or any other add-on) .The chances of bundle purchases can increase significantly in this scenario.

    Impact of competitors and market share

    The differences in the price bundle strategy between the two case offerings can be also understood in terms of competitors and market share.

    Dominos Pizza can be seen to operate in a dog market where lots of fast food companies compete viscously. In Egypt, other competitors such as pizza queen have similar bundle promotional offerings of buy 1 pizza get the other for free. Minouche pizza is another example which offers a free liter of Pepsi its large pizza orders. To compete in such a vicious market, Dominos pizza can be forced to promote in a similar manner at least to be conceived as equivalent to its rivals by consumers. In other words, Domions Pizza bundle offering of buy 1 pizza get 1 for free might prove essential for the company to be able to sell in the first place.

    On the other hand, Ariel is a prized and highly demanded washing detergent with a large market share. Few rival products (perhaps Persil from Unilever) compete in the highly prospective market of washing detergents. One can safely assume that each household will need to wash its cloth on a regular basis but not each family will make a daily fast food order. Washing detergents such as Ariel can be considered as commodity products in todays world. To this end, Ariel can be used to promote other less demanded products such as Downy: a fabric softener which is seen as a luxury-specialized product. Associating Downy with Ariel might help pull up the former because families now are being introduced to the option of softening their garments after washing for a reduced price.

    Bundling and sampling: increasing awareness and motivation

    Not only does bundling provide a strong incentive for consumers to buy already demanded products, it allows them to sample other products that might not be highly demanded or unheard of. This way, consumers awareness is scrupulously directed towards new or non-selling products: one of the primary steps in the Purchasing Decision Making Process. In the case of Dominos Pizza, pizzas with new (or not so highly demanded) flavors are now being introduced to consumers through the bundle. For Ariel and Downy, consumers are expected to be more aware of a specialized product like Downy when it is being sold in the same package with a highly reputed detergent than if it would have been left standing alone on the market shelf.

  • With increased awareness about the products, the discounts (made through the bundle pricing) start to act as a motivational incentive for purchase. Motivation is another key step in the Purchasing Decision Making Process.

    Perceived value: has Dominos pizza made a mistake?

    As a promotional strategy, bundle pricing is based on the concept of consumer surplus. Every consumer has a price that he is willing (or has already planned) to pay for a specific good or service. If the price set by a company is equal to or lower than what the consumer is willing to pay, the purchase will be settled. This is because the consumer will considers the price as a good bargain after having passed through all the steps of the decision making process from increased awareness to actual purchase.

    Consumer surplus is the difference between what the consumer actually pays and what the consumer was willing to pay. Bundle pricing is a promotional attempt to capture this surplus. Despite the allure of the concept, consumers are not always willing to put a high value on certain products or services. When this argument is applied to Dominos pizza, this unfortunately means that consumers must not see the pizzas as high value products that are originally worth a high price (and thus eliminating the need for promotions). Pricing influences how consumers assign value to a brand. A cheap pizza cant be very good. Bundle pricing of this kind can decease the perceived value of the product; especially in the food business. Perhaps a more value-conserving strategy that Dominos pizza could have applied is to offer other items to make the bundle more diversified and still at a low price. Consumers, at least in Egypt, commonly order salads and onion breadsticks with pizzas. While a consumer might be indifferent between Dominos pizza and its competitors regarding the pizza, he/she will likely order from Dominos if it offers large discounts on salads and onion breadsticks.

    Efficient implementation of bundle pricing: avoiding the downsides and increasing motivation

    A valid argument can be made that consumers arent always likely to be motivated by a bundle offering .Different consumers traits (and accordingly buying decisions) sustain this argument. To start with, bundle pricing is a common promotional strategy and consecutively consumers may suffer from bundles burnout. This means that consumers are being bombarded with so many bundle promotional offerings they dont really feel motivated to purchase (do not see the bundle price as a good bargain). In addition, lots of consumers decide on the brand first, then search for a promotional offering. This implies that the consumer would buy the brand at full price out of brand loyalty- even if they couldnt find a promotion. Not all consumers view bundle offerings as highly influential promotional tools and are thus unlikely willing to break their decision about which brand to purchase because of a bundle promotion.

    In regards to the company, bundle offering a certain product (for free or at a reduced price) with another product means that the company must have sufficient capacity to satisfy demand for both products. This consecutively can result in increased production and inventory cost. Moreover, bundle offers can generate sales but this does not necessarily mean that revenues will increase. This is a simple matter of multiplying the quantity of goods sold by their selling price. Deceased return on investment (ROI) is not an uncommon downside of bundle pricing. At the same time, bundle pricing may not motivate a consumer since the offering is more than he really wants. This is especially true for Dominos Pizza (buy one get one free) offers, which might exceed what many consumer need for their meal.

    To overcome such drawbacks, Dominos pizza and Ariel and Downy should make their offerings time-limited in order to gain benefits (increased awareness of products, motivation to purchase and generating sales) without substantial decreases in ROI. Dominos pizza and Ariel and Downy can also direct their efforts to other highly influential strategies:

    Generating consumer loyalty through specialized programs+ Purchase incentives

    Increasing satisfaction with the purchases + Improving the brand image

  • Fourth Question:

    From your understanding of the personal selling process, describe how could you apply the

    steps of the personal selling process on one of your products in your company, and explain

    how you implement it from the first step " prospecting" till the last one " follow up' mentioning

    as well the objections that your members are elaborating most of the time and how are you

    going to overcome and deal with these objections till you make the close and the follow up.

    Answer:

    The answer to this question is verbalized in correspondence to the chronologic order of the personal selling process steps. The definition and related activities of each step are first explained. The steps are then applied to the services provided by a hypothetical company working in the real-estate brokerage business. A brief description of objections that might be faced in each step is then investigated with an action plan to overcome such expected hindrances.

    1. Pre-sale preparation:

    The first step in personal selling deals with the selection, training and motivation of salespersons. For a starter, the sales staff must be fully familiar with the product, the firm, the market and the selling techniques. Sufficient information should be also provided on the competitor's products and the degree of competition. Salespersons should be also acquainted with the motives and behavior of potential buyers.

    Related activities in the company: awareness campaigns and sales training for salespersons+ in-house seminars about skills and qualifications required+ Rivals assessment workshops

    Objections: long durations of training sessions

    Planned response: encourage e-learning and regular in-company exams to check the progress of the sales staff.

    2. Prospecting :

    The prospecting step deals with the segmentation (logic categorization) of potential buyers on the basis of the need for the product and possessing the financial ability to buy it. Potential customers may be spotted and located through observation, enquiry and analysis of records of existing customers. On the same track, social contacts, business associations and dealers can be helpful in the segmentation and eventual targeting of potential buyers.

    Related activities in the company: historical data collection+ developing enquiries lists and purchase-tendency questionnaires+ contacting business associations and data banks for legal purchase of data.

    Objections: By the sales staff: prolonged times of data search and analysis (Big Data Analytics).By the segmented potential buyers: privacy infringements

    Planned response: Use specialized computer software for better categorization and filtering of data+ outsource certain activities of the data hunting process+ Ensure legal ways of data collection.

    3. Approaching :

    Prior to contacting the prospective customers, the sales team should be fully aware of their contact details, needs, habits, spending capacity, motives, etc. This knowledge is essential in selecting the adequate sales appeal. With such knowledge, the customer is approached in a polite and dignified way. A salespersons approach is of critical importance as the first impression is the last impression. The salesperson should ideally start his approach by

  • introducing himself and his product to the customer. A friendly smile always makes a customer feel at home. When the salesperson is occupied with some other customer, he/she must assure the new customer that he would be attended to at the soonest occasion.

    Related activities in the company: training sessions for salespersons on personal charisma and conduct code+ carrying out in-house approach demos to explain the rules of a successful approach and then assess the trainees progress+ unifying the approach techniques for the salesperson in the company gives a general air of consistency

    Objections: By the sales staff: personalized and subjective motives to uncomply to the training + recurrent objections to the tiring door-to-door approach of customers. By the approached potential buyers: lack of interest in the companys service+ can see the approach as time waste or nuisance for them+ customer loyalty to other companies

    Planned response: incentives for salespersons complying to the training (financial incentives and less working hours)+ decreasing door-to-door approaches and encouraging E-commercial approach activities+ more personalized approaches towards customers (within acceptable codes of conduct).

    4. Presentation :

    At this point, the salesperson starts to present the product and highlight its features in brief. The presentation should be continually updated and reformed in light of the customers response. The main goal for the salesperson is to continuously hold the attention of the potential buyer and create interest in the product.

    Related activities in the company: Developing visually appealing and brief presentations+ training salespersons on the right vocal tone and adequate time frame in which the presentation should be carried out+ continuous in-house assessment of customers responses and feedbacks

    Objections: By the sales staff: lack of technical abilities and personal traits to carry out presentations in a timely and visually appealing manner+ recurrent cases of inability to understand and correspond to the potential customers needs and buying mood changes. By the potential buyers: not being motivated or well-informed by the presentation

    Planned response: changing salespersons assigned to customers in a well-controlled fashion+ continuously updating and reviewing presentation content in light of customer response.

    5. Demonstration:

    Demonstration is about maintaining customer's interest and arousing his desire. In this step, the salesperson displays and demonstrate the product to the potential buyer. The utility and distinctive qualities of the product are fully explained in order for the customer to realize the need for the product to satisfy his wants. Salespersons are rigorously advised in this step not be in a hurry to impress the customer and at the same time avoid controversy. Part of the salesperson skills at this step is to suggest uses of the product very commonly through creating an impulsive urge to possess the product by appealing to the customers human instincts.

    Related activities in the company: prepare site visits to demonstrate the product (real-estate) + developing presentation content that is more detailed and appealing to the exact wants (including the financial ability) of the potential buyer+ preparing presentations and demonstration specifically for a customers family members who might influence his/hers buying decision

  • Objections: By the sales staff: female salespersons in particular might object to site visits while accompanying potential buyers to display the companys offerings+ salespersons refusing to slow things down with customers in order to give them room to think the purchase over. Salespersons are always in a hurry to settle the purchase and get paid their commission. By the potential buyers: buyers can be actually not interested in this sale and are merely browsing for purchasing or comparing the companys offerings to another company.

    Planned response: prepare virtual (computer graphic and video) demonstrations for customer in order to decrease load on sales staff + without any pressure or formal obligations, customers at this point can be asked to fill in an application or a purchase request through the company. This step adds formality to the whole process and might deter customers from repudiation.

    6. Handling objections:

    A rule of thumb in the personal selling process is that a sale is not simply achieved by creating interest and desire. Every individual customer shall strive to make the best bargain for his money. Presentations and demonstrations -though useful in introducing and explaining the product- can also adversely create doubts and questions in the buyers mind.

    The sales staff should have the patience and skills to clear all doubts and objections without entering into a controversy. Added to this, a salesperson should never lose his temper. Popular means of motivating and clearing the doubts of a hesitant or reluctant buyer include testimonials and money-back guarantee. This is because the customer must be convinced that his money is safe from the beginning and that he is making the best use of his money by purchasing the product from this particular company. This is why the salesperson should prove the superiority of the product over the competitive products in order to handle any costumers objection. Patience is a must with customers who ask too many queries and takes time in arriving at any decision.

    Related activities in the company: highlighting the importance of patience for salespersons to close deals and not lose customers+ prepare presentations on why should the customer feel satisfied with buying the real-estate item in negotiation from this particular company

    Objections: By the sales staff: lack of patience+ not being clear enough on how to respond to customers objections. By the potential buyers: objections regarding the financial deal, socio-cultural needs, privacy, etc.

    Planned response: categorize expected objections under hand-able categories: financial objections, socio-cultural objections, etc.+ prepare offerings and promotional response for expected objections

    7. Closing the sale: Closing sale is the apex of the personal selling process. Special care should be paid at this step as inappropriate handling of the customer can result in loss of sale. The sales staff should coerce force to close the deal. Instead, the customer should be encouraged to feel that he has made the right and final decision. This is optimally achieved without without imposing the salespersons personal view on the costumer. It is quite common at this step to perform final adjustment in prices. The salesperson should show maintain same degree of interest in the customer which was demonstrated during the approach step. Purchases should be settled in a cordial manner so that the customer feels inclined to deal with the vendor again. In closing the sale, the product/service should be handed over with speed and accuracy to the customer. Once the purchase is closed, the salesperson should suggest, present and even demonstrate relevant products.

  • Related activities in the company: prepare highly effective and fair legal documents to close the deal and receive the money in exchange for the transaction+ train staff how to maintain customer loyalty for future transactions.

    Objections: By the sales staff: lack of patience+ not being clear enough on how to build and maintain customer loyalty for future transactions. By the potential buyers: need to make final adjustments (most commonly in prices)

    Planned response: be flexible to customers objections+ develop loyalty programs and train the sales staff to ensure customer satisfaction

    8. Post-sale follow-up :

    Post-sale follow up is concerned with the activities performed to ensure that the customers satisfaction with the purchased item as well as the firm. These activities generically include installation, checking the smoothness of performance, maintenance and after-sales service. Post-sale follow up can very well aid in maintaining customer loyalty and at the same time preserve the good will of the company and enhance evaluate salesman's effectiveness.

    Related activities in the company: develop a scheduled itinerary for the post-sales activities to be carried out after the sale is closed+ assign responsibilities and success criteria for post-sales services

    Objections: By the sales staff: lack of knowledge and unwilling to take responsibility regards post-sale activities. By the potential buyers: distaste due to poor post-sales follow up

    Planned response: explain the importance of aftersales activities to sales staff and how this would surely increase third buying leads in the future+ design an incentive program for salespersons based on aftersales follow-up+ rigorously apply the prepared scheduled itinerary for the post sales activities+ get feed backs from customers and act in their light.

  • Fifth Question Design 4 advertisements for any product from your own choice using 4 different formatting design styles with 4 different appeals.

    Answer:

    1-Format: picture window

    Appeal: Celebrity appeal(Santa clause)+ Humor appeal (Santa smoking)

    1

  • 2-Format: circus

    Appeal: Emotional: Social appeal

    3-Format: picture frame

    Appeal: Romance appeal + Brand appeal (especially in lower banner)

    3

    2

  • 4-Format: Mondrian Grid Appeal: Brand appeal (upper right and upper left squares) +Snob &

    Masculine Feminine appeal (lower right and lower left squares)

    4