Managing Personal Communications Key Concepts

Direct Marketing The use of consumer-direct channels to reach and deliver goods and services to customers without marketing middlemen.

Direct Marketing Channels  Direct mail  Catalogs  Telemarketing  Interactive TV  Kiosks  Web sites  Mobile devices

Benefits of Direct Marketing For consumers:  Convenience, ease, and speed of ordering  Can buy specialty items not available in local stores For marketers:  Can buy mailing lists for almost any segment  Customize and personalize messages  Build relationships  Reach the most interested prospects at the right moment  Easily test alternatives and messages  Easily measure campaign results

Direct Mail Decisions Objectives Target markets and prospects Offer elements Measuring success: lifetime value Testing elements

Catalog Marketing  Includes full-line merchandise catalogs, specialty consumer catalogs, and business catalogs, usually in print form but also sometimes as CDs, videos, or online.  Successful catalog marketing:  Manage customer lists  Control inventory  Offer quality goods  Project a distinctive image

Telemarketing Outbound Telemarketing Inbound Telemarketing

Other Media for Direct- Response Marketing Newspapers Magazines Radio Television

Public and Ethical Issues in Direct Marketing  Irritating consumers  Taking advantage of impulsive, less sophisticated, or vulnerable consumers  Misleading communications  Invasion of privacy

Interactive Marketing  New electronic channels offer:  Interaction  Individualization  Advantages of the Web:  Contextual placement of ads  Rich media ads

Elements of Effective Web Design (7 Cs Specific Design Elements) Context Content Community Customization Communication Connection Commerce

Forms of Interactive Marketing  Web sites  Microsites  Search-related ads  Display ads  Online videos and ads  Sponsorships  Alliances  Online communities   Mobile marketing

Word of Mouth Buzz marketing Viral marketing Opinion leaders Blogs

Buzz and Viral Marketing Buzz marketing Generates excitement, creates publicity, and conveys new relevant brand-related information through unexpected or even outrageous means. Buzz marketing Generates excitement, creates publicity, and conveys new relevant brand-related information through unexpected or even outrageous means. Viral marketing Encourages consumers to pass along company-developed products and services or audio, video, or written information to others online. Viral marketing Encourages consumers to pass along company-developed products and services or audio, video, or written information to others online.

Opinion Leaders  Cliques—small groups whose members interact frequently.  Bridges—people who belong to one clique and are linked to a person in another.  Factors working to ignite public interest in an idea:  Reaching mavens, connectors, and salesmen  Stickiness  Power of context

Blogs Regularly updated online journals or diaries.

Marketing Skills: How to Start a Buzz Fire  Identify influential individuals and companies and devote extra attention to them.  Supply these key people with product samples to encourage word of mouth.  Cultivate contacts with community influentials.  Develop word-of-mouth referral channels.  Provide compelling information that people want to pass along.

Personal Selling and the Sales Force  The term sales representative covers six positions:  Deliverer  Order taker  Missionary  Technician  Demand creator  Solution vendor

Major Steps in Effective Selling Overcoming objections Closing Follow up and maintenance Prospecting and qualifying Preapproach Presentation and demonstration

Designing a Sales Force

Sales Force Objectives and Strategy  Tasks:  Prospecting  Targeting  Communicating  Selling  Servicing  Information gathering  Allocating  Approach:  Direct (company sales force) —consists of full- or part-time paid employees who work exclusively for the firm.  Contractual sales force — consists of manufacturers’ reps, sales agents, and brokers who earn a commission based on sales.

Sales Force Structure Product or market structure Territorial structure

Sales Force Size—Workload Approach 1.Group customers into size classes by annual sales volume. 2.Establish call frequencies for each customer class (number of calls per year). 3.Multiply the number of accounts in each size class by the call frequencies (determines total work load or sales calls per year). 4.Determine the average number of calls a sales rep can make per year. 5.Divide the total annual calls (step 3) by the average annual calls made by a rep (step 4) to determine how many reps are needed.

Sales Force Compensation Fixed amount Variable amount Expense allowances Benefits

Managing the Sales Force

Sales Rep Productivity  Time-and-duty analysis—helps reps understand how they spend their time and how they might increase their productivity.  Inside sales people:  Technical support people  Sales assistants  Telemarketers

Sales Rep Productivity  Time-and-duty analysis—helps reps understand how they spend their time and how they might increase their productivity.  Inside sales people:  Technical support people  Sales assistants  Telemarketers

Evaluating Sales Representatives  Reports include:  Average number of calls per rep per day  Average sales call time per contact  Average revenue per sales call  Average cost per sales call  Entertainment cost per sales call  Percentage of orders per hundred sales calls  Number of new customers per period  Number of lost customers per period  Sales force cost as a percentage of total sales