Sales planning and operations - Assignment Example

Sales Planning and Operations in the Luggage Company Table of Contents Task 1 2 Task 2 4 Task 4 6 Task 5 9 Task 6 10 References 12 Bibliography 14 Task 1 1.1. Corporate objectives act as the foundation for sales strategies. Corporate objectives can be defined as a long-term ambition or goal of a company. Thus, for the development of the sales strategy, a company must clearly define, plan and evaluate its objectives. Sales strategies are adopted by an organization to achieve its marketing objectives. Sales strategies adopted by an organization, especially at the time of introducing new products, depend upon its objectives. Corporate objectives are generally formed by an organization according to its available assortment of products or services. Corporate objectives also take into consideration the market in which the company is operating or is intending to operate as well as the existing demand for the product or the service in the market. Therefore, sales strategies are developed in line with the corporate objectives by taking into account the intended target market of the product and the profitability that can be derived from the target market. For instance, if for a product the corporate objective is to generate revenue of a certain specified amount and to target certain age group or demographic of the target audience, then in order to reach up to that amount the sales strategies are formulated. 1.2. When a new product such as iPads and tablet computers are to be introduced in the market, a strong sales plan is required by a luggage company. In such cases, the objectives of a firm or company would primarily be the identification of the product, increase in growth and capability to win competitor’s market. The sales plan is basically the strategies developed by an organization for the evaluation and implementation of its objectives. Sales plan include sales channels, target market, marketing mix, promotional mix, and sales forecast (Boone & Kurtz, 2011). Sales channels can be defined as the route of delivering the products to the consumers. A company must give prior attention to the development of the sales channel strategy as companies can face the risk of un-sustainability because of less clarity in the concept. The luggage company can utilize sales channel like online selling, telemarketing, field selling and inside selling for launching the new products. The strategies can include channel segmentation and selection of the effective channel for the distribution of the product among others (Boone & Kurtz, 2011). Target Marketing is very essential for the introduction of new product in the market. The target market is generally focussed on a specific market where the probability of buying iPads and tablet computers would be more. The term ‘target market’ involves focusing or evaluating various factors like targeting the current customers, analyzing the competition, and evaluating the demographic factors. The target market for the luggage company can be people belonging to 18-40 years group. It can also target travelers like leisure traveler, business traveler and adventurous travelers among others (Boone & Kurtz, 2011). The company must evaluate the marketing mix effectively that is to be used for launch or marketing of the new product. The word mix describes the strategies’ combination of price, product, place, and promotion of the products. The company can make pricing strategies depending on the ability and need of the customer and also evaluate the price fixed by the competitor. Different promotional activities like sales promotion, advertising and publicity can be useful in enhancing the growth. The strategies for the product will help in building the features according to the customer requirement and similarly, strategies for the place would help it in evaluating the place where the probability of purchase would be higher. The company has to make proper decisions on the utilization of the right marketing mix at the right place (Boone & Kurtz, 2011). Promotional mix generally specifies all the techniques or combination of methods applied for communication about the product to the consumers. A luggage company can apply the promotional mix such as personal selling, advertising, publicity, sales promotion, internet marketing, direct marketing and public relations. These promotion activities will help communication and convey the product features to its customers, which will further assist in the popularization of iPads and tablet computers (Trehan & Trehan, 2011). Sales forecast could help the luggage company in knowing the feedback regarding the new products. The sales forecast is basically predicting the sales of a particular product in future evaluating various factors such as rate of inflation, market trends, customer requirement and others. Thus, in such cases, sales forecast would be effective to meet such changes and ignore the hurdle that can hamper the organization. Task 2 2.1. For designing and implementing the marketing strategy, the sales team has to initially coordinate all the functions of the organization with the marketing components and marketing orientation as each functional area includes its own objectives and strategies. Secondly, it is essential for the sales team to analyze the weaknesses, strengths, opportunities, and threats of the marketing environment which could assist them in identifying of the goals and mission and accordingly develop the strategies. For the implementation of the marketing strategy, it is essential for the firm to evaluate and develop the plan of producing, distributing, pricing and promoting the products (Kazmi, 2008). 2.2. Sales team in the luggage company has to develop an accurate promotion mix by utilizing all the information they have related to the delivery system. For supporting the promotion mix, it has to evaluate and establish the mentioned fields such as advertising, personal selling, direct marketing, collateral promotion, sales promotion, public relation, and publicity. The use of best advertising media or channels such as television, radio, magazines, cinema, and billboards could be done by the sales team as an initial support to the promotion mix. The sales team can also inform the customers directly about the product which can be termed as personal selling. The team could also apply sales promotion activities such as incentives or offers to increase the sales (Chaston, 1999). 2.3. Consumer buying behavior and decision-making process are influenced by both the divisions of the organization i.e. the consumer division and the industrial division. In consumer division, the buying behavior and decision-making process depend on needs recognition, information to fulfill the needs, evaluation of the products, purchase of the products, and post-purchase evaluation. However, the buying behavior and decision making in case of the industrial market depends on the reliability of product performance, technology, delivery of the product, price, service, and sales force of the company (Bhatia, 2008). Task 4 3.1. Before recruiting the employees or members, an organization has to relate the recruitment process with its mission and goals. It has to analyze the job openings offered, the responsibilities that the potential candidate has to put up with and the qualifications as well as skills required to satisfy those needs. Here, recruitment is required for both the consumer division and the industrial division of the luggage company. In consumer division, the employees mostly deal with cash. It requires recruiting a finance head capable of setting and implementing guidelines for all the staffs for financial control. Retail outlet basically deals with direct selling and brand promotions. In such cases, it requires a marketing manager or marketing head with basic knowledge of consumer orientation and efficiency in consumer handling. A store manager should also be recruited for the retail outlet. The store manager must have knowledge of the entire aspects or factors related to retail operation (Lamba, 2002). Most retail outlets conduct training programmes for the management team. The company should recruit a management trainee who is capable of providing an effective training to the staff so that they work smoothly. Retail stores or outlets include departmental stores as well. These stores consist of different small departments which are operated by many employees. Thereby, recruitment of departmental store manager is likely to help the company in proper control of the activities and sales (Lamba, 2002). The industrial division of an organization includes customer service as a significant segment of the marketing unit. For customer service department, the potential employee should be able to handle the calls, effectively solve the queries, enhance the product value and also generate new customers and retain the old ones. Similarly, select the financial manager that monitors efficiently the profit and loss of the organization. The company should also recruit salesperson having good communication skill, able to convince the industry to buy its products and also able to handle all the obstacles affecting the sales (Lamba, 2002). 3.2. A special training programme or seminar should be conducted within or outside the organization where the employees will be provided with adequate and updated product knowledge. Employees should be provided with the flexible time schedule so that they can attend other educational sessions. The organization should also hold meetings which will help in motivating and inspiring the employees towards the goal achievement. Notably, employees generally get motivated with additional incentives programmes. 3.3. For effective organization and control on sales output, management has to measure, plan, control and direct its activities. The management has to measure the resources it has and to be applied to the production of the goods, making plans for the analysis and evaluation of the environmental factors as well as the market. Also, it has to measure and control the activities done against the planned or developed targets (Mishra, 2009). 3.4. Through the database, the company can develop its strategies more efficiently. It can make comparisons with its competitors in terms of product quality as well as quantity and eventually it will help the organization to focus more on the development of the products. The database will help the organization to know the feedback and reaction of the customers towards the product and also the demand in the market. Task 5 To choose an agent or distributor for an international market, the organization should consider his capability of selling the products overseas using their contacts. He must have full knowledge of the international market. He must be able to handle all the risks and enhance the growth prospects of the organization. The potential candidate must also have proper knowledge of the particular international market, the competitors, government rules and regulations and other challenges which shall further assist the employees in becoming more productive for the organization. Task 6 The luggage company should consider exhibition as a part of its sale approach. Through the exhibition, the customer can have detail knowledge of the products. The exhibition has many advantages for the growth of the luggage company especially while introducing the new products. The products such as iPads and tablet computers are basically technical products and their introduction requires highlighting the features of the product. In such cases, the exhibition becomes beneficial where the company can test the consumer reaction. The exhibition involves discussion of the management team with the members which can result as a good point for enhancement of the products. It helps indirect interaction of the sales staff with the customer and helps in accepting the orders (Damster & Et. Al., 2006). However, the exhibition also possesses many disadvantages. For instance, it involves the availability of all the staffs for a particular period and so there is no concentration in other fields. Also, exhibitions are found to be very costly for a company (Damster & Et. Al., 2006). There is a difference between industrial and consumer divisions. Industrial divisions basically deal with industries whereas consumer divisions deal with various retail outlets. Exhibitions like trade fair, canton fair, conference, as well as exhibitions in overseas can be targeted for a luggage company. The conference programme can be quite effective for a luggage company. The conference held between the company and the customers or distributors could help in taking the sales order and enhancing the demand along with brand loyalty. The exhibition is one of the tools frequently used by companies as their communication strategy. It conveys about the products’ features and advantages of using it. Basically, the exhibition team is managed by an organization among the employees themselves who can conveniently influence the customers and make them understand the product features (Damster & Et. Al., 2006). Exhibitions would actually be beneficial for the luggage company because customers in today's context require the detailed explanation for the purchase of products like iPads and tablet computers and moreover it would easily influence the customers and solve their queries at once. References Boone, L. E. & Kurtz, D. L, 2011. Contemporary Marketing. Cengage Learning. Bhatia, S. C., 2008. Retail Management. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. Chaston, I., 1999. New Marketing Strategies: Evolving Flexible Processes To Fit Market Circumstances. SAGE. Damster, G. & Et. Al., 2006. Event Management: A Professional and Developmental Approach. Juta and Company Ltd. Kazmi, A., 2008. Strategic Management and Business Policy. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Lamba, A. J., 2002. The Art of Retailing (Book Only). Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Mishra, P., 2009. Sales Management: Key to Effective Sales. Global India Publications. Trehan, M. & Trehan, R., 2011. Advertising and Sales Management. FK Publications. Bibliography Slater, S. F. & Mohr, J. J., 2006. Successful Development and Commercialization of Technological Innovation: Insights Based on Strategy Type. The Journal of Product Innovation and Management, Vol. 23, pp. 26-33. Verhallen, T. M. M. & Et. Al., 1995. Strategy Based Segmentation of Industrial Markets. Industrial Marketing Management, Vol. 27, pp. 305-313. Read More