Marketing as a Central Part of the Experience of Sales - Essay Example

?Week 3 Problems service is difficult to receive and the website is not allowing for versatility in contact potential. These s that Debbie has taken on the consumer experience with trying to get customer service is an alarming revelation that will create a problem with keeping customers and having them return for future purchases. With the return procedures this difficult and contact seemingly discouraged on the website, consumers will look elsewhere for systems that are consumer friendly. 2. In the decision making process, Elizabeth is still not leading through knowledge management. 3. Order systems are not integrated which is slowing the process of shipping. As Warren and Jack discuss the current systems, it is clear that the process is extending the wait time to an untenable period of time for both the economic efficiency of the company and in the wait time for the consumer. 4. The system as they process orders is being stalled at the book storage area. 5. The meeting that was used to convince Elizabeth was not successfully presented. Elizabeth’s concerns about finances were only addressed in a cursory way, thus she comes out of the meeting with low confidence about how it will be received by the board. 6. While the new integration process has potential, the project calls for the use of some of the existing employees in the IT department, but there is no discussion as to how their current duties will be handled while they are on the new project. This is likely to incur extra costs on the backend. Week 3 Problem 1 The problem that Debbie has noted in the post-purchase system where customer service is concerned is an example of the problems that the company has with a lack of integrated systems in which the entire process of purchasing has been considered. The specific issues that have emerged with post consumer relations are quite easily fixed for the initial problems by first creating a more consumer friendly directory for contacting the company on the website and then by second making the menus for the telephone system more user friendly and less time consuming. Because of the time spent handling the complaints about the system, the efficiency of post-consumer purchase is hampered. Thus, in making these two simple changes, the most important aspect of the purchase process is saved – that which gives the consumer a good experience and encourages them to repeat their business. Problem 2 The organization is failing to meet expectations where the management of knowledge is concerned. Because the information is given out in doses to those involved in projects, it is clear that decisions are being made without full exploration of the problems that are likely to arise. Elizabeth seems to be the last to know and isn’t given a full picture of what is required rather than at the head of the enterprise. In the process of deciding how to increase productivity, she is listening to only one idea that has a high price tag without considering alternatives, thus she does not have a wide knowledge of the possible solutions. She needs to insist on options so that she approaches the problem with a wider level of information, which is then shared with all who would be involved. Problem 3 The system is not being run at the efficiency that it could be run, but the proposed project to increase the efficiency is both costly and will consume a great deal of man hours. It is clear that alternatives need to be explored. Alternatives need to be explored by Warren so that he is sure that Jack’s proposal is the best possible solution, both financially and towards the increased efficiency. Problem 4 The focus, just as it is in Jack’s plan, is to increase the efficiency at the book storage area. This area requires people power rather than automation which is decreasing time efficiency. However, Jack’s plan automates this area and will change the labor needs. The costs of the labor in balance with the costs of the new system should be weighed, thus challenging the need to lose employees and whether or not simply rearranging the area might now allow for an increase in efficiency. The costs through loss of customers if the technology has a larger margin of error must also be considered. Efficiency might be more manually solved with some ingenuity and creative arrangement. This solution has not been considered or an option for it explored. Problem 5 In the meeting where the solution that Jack and Warren have come up with was presented, it did not include a thorough enough exploration of the problem and why this solution is the best alternative. At present, the costs were not sufficiently justified and Elizabeth is not presenting the proposal to the board with confidence. Elizabeth needs to be convinced rather than influenced before she takes this to the board. Problem 6 During the discussion of the proposal that Jack and Warren have brought to the table, the mention of using the IT department for several weeks was an important part of the process. The IT department needs to be brought in for this discussion because they will have input on the possibility of their involvement, which at this time does not appear to have been considered. Week 4 Problems 1. The fact that Andrew has no idea that the Japanese sales market is going unusually well is indicative that the marketing is not working with information that is current to the nature of current sales. 2. Marketing statistics should be regularly reported and a system to do this should be put into place rather than a onetime exploration by Gail and Nick. 3. Post-purchase information appears to not be done and the company has no idea how they are keeping customers or losing them. 4. The statistics on customers for Can-Go are coming from sites that use overall numbers from the general figures from the web. Can-Go should be tracking Can-Go figures. 5. Andrew and the Can-Go team have not explored what aspects of consumer behavior are working for them and which ones are working against them. As exampled in Week 3 where the company had poor contact information and return processes, Can-Go has not explored how to integrate their systems throughout the purchase process which is leaving them with a lack of information about the entire consumer experience. 6. Warren has no idea what Andrew is or is not doing. Week 4 Problems Problem 1 Andrew should have access to sales figures as they occur. Without this up to date information, marketing efforts is not being done in response to consumer activity. Sales tracking and information about consumer behavior on their website should be made a priority for Andrew and he should have access to this information through a system that has been designed to integrate information that is sent directly to him. Problem 2 With Gail and Nick doing a onetime exploration, it is clear that a system for tracking this information is not in place. Site statistics should be available at a click, thus a systems should be used to better understand the figures that are generated from consumer activity. Rather than a onetime exploration, a determination of which statistics are most important about consumer behavior and how to easily generate reports on those statistics should be explored and made available to marketing. Problem 3 Consumer behavior from the time they enter the website to the time they have concluded their business with Can-Go should be a part of the marketing reports made available. Without this information, marketing is a random process rather than a surgical process. A system that tracks all of this information is a priority for better marketing processes. Problem 4 Using general industry statistics should not be a first line approach to consumer information. Once again, putting into place methods of tracking this information from an internal standpoint is essential to understanding how to best exploit consumer behavior. Problem 5 Since they are behind in understanding consumer behavior where their site is concerned, marketing needs to create a multi-leveled exploration that leads to understanding how their consumers are behaving, which includes determining how to structure the needed information that can eventually be a part of the process of marketing for the company. Rather than sending Gail and Nick for a onetime exploration of losses from at the cart, a widespread exploration should be undertaken o put marketing on track with consumer behavior. Problem 6 Marketing is a central part of the experience of sales. That Warren had no idea if Andrew had a program going on in Japan is indicative of a lack of good knowledge management. Assumptions that are made because of information that is proprietary and not generally distributed will clog the flow of business. The work of each of the departments should be clearly shared within the company so that all are on the same page. Weekly meetings, memos, or a system which reports the work of each department so that it can be easily accessed is necessary so that the company works in concert, rather than in isolation. Read More