Selling and Sales Management - Term Paper Example

? Sales Management Assignment Task Sales Management Assignment Introduction There are various pros and corns that are associatedwith the use of internet in building customer relation. The internet is a good interaction surface but faces challenges such as security and choice of products which limits it to many functions. Sales require standard operational set ups so as to ensure maximum flow of products. The sales personnel must ensure that they adhere to such standards. Marketing may adopt any method depending on the choice of the entrepreneur. Advantages and Disadvantages of Building Customer Relationships via the Internet It is important to build customer relation through the internet since there are various advantages that come along with it. To begin, one can easily interact with customers through the free social sites and have them together so as to deliver relevant information to them. It is also possible to update the network as regular as possible. Sharing of customer experience and information may be enabled through the internet. There is an opening for business evaluation depending on the customers view. As this is done, there is a feeling of personal attachment that develops mutually. For instance a company like sumsung can effectively makes its marketing over the internet by advertising its products and issuing direct purchases from all over the world. Through the internet, it is possible to attract more customers with no limitation as long as the customer has connections with you. In fact, in case of social sites, all other friends and families will be able to see the information about the business. This enables more room for sharing leading to the growth of the network. Businesses can exploit this technology for promotion of their services and products1. Modification of features is possible through the internet hence relating as per current situation is possible. This can be father enhanced by customizing links and collaborating features within the website. Interaction with the customer is made more dependable with the provision of contacts and sharing of information via the inbox; this ensures a feeling of security with the individual customers. Through the social sites, there can be recorded an increase in the leads and sales. Enticing information may be included such as the offers available, new brands, among other information that may be required by the intended customers2. As such, the efficiency of this method as an advertising tool is fully realised among the users. There is the need to build trust so as to realise the advantages of using the internet t reach the customers. Disadvantages of building customer relation using the internet Security is the first issue with the internet technology in the world today. This is mostly due to hacking that has made most customers to doubt the payment procedures hence less commitments in line with the payments. Some companies which offer money transfers may be the victim in this case making the process harder. For instance, the use of visa cards has recorded froud in its transsuctions occasionally. The scale of the system is a limiting factor to some level. In case the system is made to accommodate a given number of customers then it so happens that the customers increase beyond the expected number then the business is set to shut down since there will be an overflow3. The cost of e-commerce must be calculated; the business must be in a good position to raise sufficient funds in order to accommodate the expenses incurred in using the internet. The product or service in question should also be evaluated so as to determine the loyalty of the customers. As such, the challenge comes where the customers targeted may want to have the real feel of the product rather than just the pictorial view of it. Vulnerability of business information to competitors becomes a major disadvantage in customer relation over the internet4. The cost of internet start up is also significantly high. In general, the intimacy of a one to one interaction with the customer lacks in the use of internet technology. Conclusion Emerging issues in technology has impacted both positively and negatively to the world of business more so marketing. There are various companies which have embraced coustomer relation through the internet. One of such companies is the sumsung company. Through this, it has recorded numerous benefits along with it. However, there are challanges that have followed regarding the use of internet marketing by the company among other companie which apply it. Sales Ethics Sales ethics can be defined as the guidelines of principles or acceptable acts which define the decision that personnel in an organisation make in order to meet wants profitably. In sales and business in general, there are acceptable standards of operation that determine the consumer behaviour and trust. As such, there is the need to realise the importance of the consumer perception on the business. A n example is a banking firm for instance the bank of America cooporation must ensure that its clients are well served and the sales methodology exhibit ethical conducts. An attempt to ensure this includes the ethical practices in sales which are inevitable5. This is the first requirement to ensure that the business expands. Its importance includes; profitability which is considered as the dividend of ethical practices in business. A firm that has proper saves operational value is one that is destined to be more profitable than otherwise. There is an assurance on the ongoing concerns through the high profit making. This is as per the desire of the business to be ongoing in a self sufficient manner over a long period of time. The only way to face the going concerns successfully is by ensuring ethical practices in sales and other business involvements. The business should be able to sustain itself; it therefore calls for the need for a positively empowered work force with values on how to carry out the sales. This is so considering the fact that the business is an investment that has expectations at the point of set up. Competition is a reality in the business field. In dealing with it, saving money is associated with it. Money will be saved in the using of quality rather than substandard which takes a lot to repair. In order to reach the hearts of the customers, it is a requirement that the sales representatives and the whole system take part in building the image of the firm in proper implementation of principles and ethical values The ethical practices are two way, the customer is not the only one to be considered but the business also. Among which is integrity and honesty which must be exhibited by both sides. There should be levels of accommodation that are set as minimum so as to build a reputation for the business6. Issues like decrease in prices in order to take advantage of either side are purely unethical and must not be tolerated in sales. The challenge comes in decision making between what is ethically acceptable and what is business friendly. In such a case, the sales personnel must make considerations and weigh the options before executing any steps. conclusion It is upon the sales executive to make a decision on whether to remain ethical or not to but what matters is the long term effect of the choice made. Companies which deal in any sales at any point such as banking industries must embrace ethical practices. Otherwise, this may be so adverse that the business collapses or mild. Being ethical in sales calls for the heart of delivery rather than being personal however critical it maybe. From these explanations among other reasons, ethical practices in sales can no longer be ignored. Transaction – focused traditional selling and trust based relationship selling Transactional selling is a method applied by a marketer during the sales of organisational outputs with concerns on the selling of products with minimum focus on the customer’s desire and preferences and trying to have new customers at any point. An example is a motor vihecle industry such as the general motors which only produces standard vehicles and sells them in their standard design with no much attention to the consumers.Hand relationship selling indulges in maintaining long-term customers and developing loyalty which brings about benefits on both sides. This is the major difference among the two types of selling which will be discussed into the subsequent sections7. The other name of transaction selling is traditional marketing and refers to selling method that only looks into one formula of providing quality rather than making explanations. Long term reflection of the product in the market is not looked into despite efforts to sell the products to customers through mass marketing. The determining factor in this case is the fact that there is a short time for customer and the seller to interact8. The skill applied is typically the pull technique and looking into quality of the product as the main point of concern. The main purpose is to ensure that the customers are satisfied without relating with them in any manner during the transaction. The way to maximizing the profits includes the recruitment of the customers who my buy their products. A classical example of this is a consumer of a specific laundry detergent who specifies the shop where they buy the detergent brand9. This is developed from experience with other shops, but the process of buying it doesn’t include any influential level of interactions. If the prices escalate then they will move to cheaper shop regardless of the loyalty. Value is looked into more than any other factor in the relationship selling . the customer requirement is well taken care of in order to maintain them over a long term. An example is the food industry where businesses such as mcdonaldas have to serve their customers intrest so as to maintain the customers; customer loyalty is gained in this case. The consideration of retaining the customers reflects on cost minimisation since it is more expensive to loer a new customer than to maintain the regular ones. The strong ties between the customer and the producer becomes of importance in compeeting fairly within the markets10. An example of such a situation could be where a customer to a wine store engages in conversation with the seller about the wine. The sales personel can therefre suggest what should be included in a given meal. Conclusion. The bottomline here is that the transuction selling involves the immediate sell of products tothe customers without caring about the fture. To the contrary, relationship selling involves building of good relations as other events follow. The contrast between the two is apparent and is defined by the products that a firm may be indulging in. A producer ay choose either of the two methods after puting market composition and factors. One of the methods applies independently at a time without having a mixture of the two in any setting. Sales in general may be determined by che choice of marketing methord. From the above discussions, it becomes clear that every sales personnel maximises on recording the highest sales. As such, they require proper methods of marketing their products in the most effective way possible. The internet, on the other hand, has facilitated marketing to a large extent. The use of the internet, however, is faced by various challenges that call for keen selection of products to be marketed. The customer may be of great importance in all cases, but consideration of this may not apply at all the stages in the marketing methods. References Lamb, Charles. Marketing. New Jersey: Cengage learning, 2002. Ingram, Thomas et al. professional selling: a trust based approach. New Jersey: Cengage learning, 2007. Jayawardhena, Chanaka. Changes in banking sector- the case of online banking UK: 1991. Cott, Ekholm. Sales Ethics Problems and Solutions. Minnesota: College of St. Scholastic, 2004. Hirsch, Robert and Ralph, Jackson. Selling and Sales Management. New York: Barron's Educational Series 1993. Ronchi, Stefano. The Internet and the Customer-Supplier Relationship New York: Ash gate Publishing, Ltd., 2003. Palmer, Daniel. Ethical Issues in E-Business: Models and Frameworks. Canada: Idea Group Inc, 2010. Schulz, Richard. The Encyclopaedia of Aging: Fourth Edition, 2-Volume Set Springer Publishing Company, 2006. Zhang, Howard et al. nonthermal Processing Technologies for Food. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Pattie, Odger. the world of customer service New Jersey: Cengage learning 2007. Read More