What is Really Behind the "Customer-Involvement" Movement?Posted by Paul Christ August 04, 2011
Over the last 20 years marketers have embraced this notion of a customer-centered business and have done so by investing heavily in specialized technologies, including customer relationship management (CRM) systems, advanced call centers and customer self-service equipment. In addition, to let the world know they are creating a business environment that empowers its customers, companies have aggressively praise their efforts through corporate press releases, website postings, white papers, social media comments, statements in annual reports and direct communication with customers. By introducing new technologies and letting customers (and the world) know about it, companies see the potential of building a satisfied and highly loyal customer base. Yet, when the big picture is examined customers may discover that while a firm is patting itself on the back for its customer service gains they may, in fact, be whittling away at services that long-time customers have come to expect. Retailers Reconsider Empowering Customers With Self-ServicePosted by Paul Christ July 15, 2011 Major Grocer Getting Rid of Self-Checkout Lanes (MSNBC)
Customer empowerment can be seen across all consumer and business markets, and in many forms. But the most prominent form of empowerment is the move to offering self-service purchasing where previously the option was not available. Some examples include the growth of such customer purchase options as home improvement retail stores, at home movie purchases, and online vacation booking. For businesses, empowerment is evident with in-house publication design, online advertising and management of product shipment. Using Softening Agents to Prepare the Customer for a Big PurchasePosted by Paul Christ July 08, 2011
Faced with this situation, members of the selling organization are taught to closely research the prospective buyer and seek out key influencers whose feedback and support may prove crucial. Unfortunately, in too many instances the key influencers are not the predominant users of the purchased product and, consequently, they fail to appreciate problems that may occur as the organization transitions to the new purchase. This is particularly the case in large-scale purchases where influencers, such as key executives, are sold on the good things the product has to offer for the entire organization but leave it up to organizational users to endure any pain associated with achieving the benefits promised when the purchase decision was made. The Intangible Value of BrandsPosted by Paul Christ June 20, 2011 The 10 Most Valuable Trademarks (Forbes)
The measure is brand equity. As we discuss in the post, Once Dead, Old Brand Names Are Revived, brand equity relates to financial advantages that are associated with the name of a product or company. While the level of brand equity depends on how the company conducts its business, in essence brand equity is a measure of the value of the name itself. Taking Advantage of Underappreciated Market SegmentsPosted by Paul Christ June 10, 2011 How to Disrupt an Overlooked Market (BusinessWeek)
For relatively small or niche segments that do not show much growth potential, large firms are perfectly happy letting smaller companies handle these customers. Yet, sometimes large firms just do not understand these markets and cannot see the opportunity that lies there. They often unable see what smaller marketers see for the market segment. In particular, smaller marketers see that if underappreciated segments are targeted in the right way with the right marketing mix, these segments may actually have the potential to grow substantially and become very profitable. Technologies For Improving Sales TrainingPosted by Paul Christ June 01, 2011
Labels: Sales and Selling, Trends
New Tools for Sales Training (Inc. Magazine)
However, as we note in a previous posting, it would be shortsighted to think that convincing customers to make a purchase is all salespeople do. In fact, many salespeople function more like small business operators as they are assigned a dedicated geographic area and must manage all aspects of these territories as if it were their own business. This leads them to being involved in much more than selling by taking on such roles as office administrator, market researcher, shipping coordinator, meeting planner and much more. |
Samples of Marketing TutorialsStep 3: Research Design To get answers to the issues raised in Step 2 the researcher lays out a design for obtaining the information. Of course many marketers do not produce a formal design plan when conducting research. For example, a small retailer who asks a returning customer how she liked the product she purchased the previous week is engaged in research and… Latest Marketing Stories
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As a follow-up to 
Giving customers what they want is the mantra of nearly all marketers, and for the last 50-plus years has been arguably the most fundamental concept in marketing. Marketers have been schooled to believe that success rests on giving customers what they “think” they want. Many marketers have translated this to mean customers want to be empowered in deciding what products and services are best for them. That is, they believe most customers want to know they are in control when dealing with the marketer.
For organizations selling products or services intended for use by a large number of users within a single purchasing environment, such as a large corporation, completing the sale can be a confounding experience. The sales cycle on these types of purchases can take months or even years to complete since input on the purchase may come from many areas of the company that normally would not be involved in purchase decisions that carry less impact.
How does a company measure marketing success? When asked this question most for-profit marketers will relate success to a financial measure, such as sales and profits, or to market statistics, such as level of market share. Non-profit marketers may point to donation levels or attendance at a fundraising event. While each of these measures is easily understandable, one of the most significant measures of success may be one that is intangible and, possibly, unexpected.
One marketing advantage small companies can have over large firms is to target market segments that are underappreciated by their larger competitors. This may be especially true for smaller privately held firms that do not face the same level of financial scrutiny that confront bigger public companies. Facing less external pressure, small companies can gradually build presence in an underappreciated market segment even if profits are not initially very high. They can also often do this without bigger companies taking much notice.
In most organizations that field a sales force, the number one responsibility of their salespeople is to sell products to customers. Whether a company is a retailer or manufacturer, a seller of products or services, a large multinational or local startup, or a for-profit or not-for-profit, virtually all organizations need someone who can sell.
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