The Role of the Sales Manager - Essay Example

Topic: Understand the Role of the Sales Manager and to gain Knowledge Lecturer: Presentation: Interviewee – Sales Manager Name: John Grisham (not real name) Age: 46 Business: Starbucks Coffee Company Year Started: 1971 Interview Hello, Mr. Grisham? I am grateful for sparing some of your time to answer a few questions about your company. The aim of this research is to understand the role of the sales manager, to gain knowledge of the firms long and short term goals and objectives, production process, consumer behavior and competitors. Would you like to have a copy of the questions that I will be asking prior to the interview? No. but I would appreciate if you leave me with a duly filled copy after the interview for documentation purposes 1. First of all can you talk about your company? How was it founded? The company was founded by three scholars by the names Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel and Gordon Bowker who’s entrepreneurship minds were inspired by Alfred Peet who was a Dutch trader specializing in the importation of coffee beans to the U.S which he would roast and crush them resulting in a delicious flavor. The trader owned a coffee kiosk that attracted a sizeable number of customers including the three founders of Starbucks. They opened a coffee store in Settle in 1971 through personal and borrowed capital. The brand name Starbucks was associated with traditional coffee traders and the legend of the high seas. 2. What goods and services does this company provide? Basically, the company deals with processing and selling differentiated coffee products such as roasted coffee beans, coffee and tea beverages, cold blended beverages as well as beverage-related accessories and equipment. 3. What is the company’s mission statement? To inspire and nurture the human spirit- one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time 4. How does this company promote social responsibility? (What is its policy on ethics?)  The company promotes the livelihoods of the public especially in the coffee growing regions. It promotes environmental conservation through tree planting activities with coffee growing communities. It also supports wildlife conservation in the poor coffee producing countries as well as educating farmers on better methods of coffee production. The company supports education and community development in poor rural communities. Its policy on ethics supports the global business ethics and is implemented through established regulations that each member of the organization should follow on day to day basis. 5. How large is this company employee wise, and geographically? (is it global, or local) Currently the company directly employs 137,000 workers and more than 100,000 indirectly employed through its products supply chain. The company is a multinational with subsidiaries established in 55 countries globally. 6. What does diversity in the workforce mean to you?  Diversity in the workforce is a strategic human resource management practice that allows integration of various competencies and talents disregarding racial and ethnic background or gender among employees. It helps to avoid discrimination in the workplace. 7. How would you define ethics in the workplace?  It refers to the conduct of workers in relation to the company’s code of regulation as well as inter-personal relationships among workers 8. What types of ownership does this company operate under? (Type of corporation, is it public, private, is there an owner?)  It is a private company owned by Howard Schultz who bought it from its three founders in 1987  9. Why would someone want to work for this company?  The company engages in best human resource human resource practices and attaches great value to its human capital. Working conditions, remuneration and professional ethics are held with high regard. It is the best company to work for, where rewards match the efforts of every individual. Industry Analysis The company has grown from a small coffee store to a large multinational company with a great market share. It has been successful in differentiating its products to take advantage of various market segments in the coffee industry. There are many competitors in this industry but Starbucks has successfully maintained consumer loyalty due to its marketing strategies. One of the significant strategy that has helped the company to maintain a large market share is product positioning. Other than offering beverage drinks and snacks, the outlets are positioned in such a manner that customers prefer them to their homes for relaxation and other leisure activities. Entertainment is guaranteed for customers in well furnished relaxing places within the outlets. Consumers are also offered wireless internet connection and reading books. Handicapped customers have special pathways to facilitate their movement while conference rooms are available for meetings and retreats. Higher end positioning of product lines in terms of cost and quality is significant for customers to spend in their comfort zones away from the day to day market hustles. The major competitors in the industry that are financially capable to leverage their capacity to exert pressure on Starbucks include McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts. Nevertheless, their positioning strategies are incompetent in comparison to Starbuck’s marketing strategy. Caribou Coffee is a greater competitor since it applies similar positioning strategies as Starbucks. However, the company has shunned market expansion thereby giving Starbucks a leeway to increase its consumer base and globally. The coffee industry has grown tremendously since the rudimentary stages before Starbucks joined the market. Coffee products are increasingly being used in many economies globally, offering investors a chance for business growth. Starbucks has been proactive in establishing new markets and promoting farmers to continue with coffee production. The company has therefore grown in tandem with the coffee industry. Corporate social responsibility is used by Starbucks as a tool for awareness creation as well as a marketing strategy. For example, the company is popular among communities for its efforts to promote the livelihoods of the public especially in the coffee growing regions. Involvement of the company in tree planting activities with communities to promote environmental conservation has helped to maintain client loyalty. It also supports wildlife conservation in the poor coffee producing countries as well as educating farmers on better methods of coffee production. Supporting education and community development activities in the regions where coffee is grown and consumed instills potential clients with loyalty for the company’s products (Clark 67). Companys Website The company’s website, www.starbucks.com provides significant information about the company and its products. It also provides useful links for social networking such as facebook and twiter. Visitors to the website have a link where they can contribute ideas regarding how they would like to be served. Clients can also view the menu and compare prices before shopping online. The website also has a link for customer service and news regarding the organization’s activities. It also contains a video that gives an overview of the company’s mission, location and products among other interesting information to clients. Generally, the website is a critical one stop shop for information that is necessary for a customer or information searcher. Self Analysis  This interview and industry analysis has enhanced my understanding of the role of the sales manager, to gain knowledge of the firms long and short term goals and objectives, production process, consumer behavior and competitors. I have realized that a sales manager is not just in charge of selling company products. Rather, he/she needs to be a critical thinker who understands consumer needs and uses his knowledge to develop strategies to satisfy these needs. He/she is an extrovert who has the capacity to understand competitor strategies and how to counter them. He/she needs to be pro-active in the search for emerging markets that can help the company to increase its leverage in terms of competition. This experience has affected my knowledge attitude towards sales management to a great extent by enhancing my initial idea whereby I viewed sales management as the act of selling and recording whatever has been sold. I have gained wider knowledge of the extent of sales management especially for a large multinational company such as Starbucks. Moreover, I realized that aspects of organizations such as; mission statement, workplace diversity, ethics in the workplace and corporate social responsibility should also be understood by the sales manager. Understanding of the company’s history, the goods and services offered, size of the company, type of ownership and the human resource strategies is important for the sales manager as it is an indicator of the nature of organization he/she works for. Human capital is significant for the success of a company’s growth. References Clark, T. Starbucked, Sceptre, 2007 www.starbucks.com Read More