Business-to-Business Marketing - Case Study Example

SID: COMPANY OF REPORT Contents 0 Business to business Marketing…………………………………………………………….4 2.0 Introduction: 4 2.0 Marketing communication tools:  4 2.6 Conclusion: 6 Introduction: 7 3.3 Conclusion: 10 Introduction: 10 4.0 Relationship variables and business networks 11 5.0 Conclusion 14 Bibliography 15 Business to business relationships, 2000, retrieved on May 2, 2011, from http://www.dobney.com/Knowledge/customer_relationships_b2b.htm 15 ‘Choose and manage an advertising agency’, n.d. retrieved on May 2, 2011, from http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1073791718&type=RESOURCES 15 Debra, 2007, ‘Marketing for B2B vs. B2C – Similar but Different’, Masterful Marketing, retrieved on May 2, 2011, from http://masterful-marketing.com/marketing-b2b-vs-b2c/ 15 Heathfield, S, M, 2011, The Bottom Line for Employee Retention’, the key employee Retention Factor, retrieved on May 2, 2011, from http://humanresources.about.com/od/retention/a/manager_role.htm 16 Johnson, E, 2011, ‘Managing a Sales Team 101’, retrieved on May 2, 2011, from http://sales.about.com/od/trainingasalesstaff/a/management101.htm 16 Laura, L, 2011, ‘Customer Relationships Are Key to Your Marketing Strategy’, retrieved on May 2, 2011, from http://marketing.about.com/od/relationshipmarketing/a/crmstrategy.htm 16 Sirota, D, Mischkind, L, A, and Meltzer, M, I, 2006, ‘Why Your Employees Are Losing Motivation’, Working Knowledge, retrieved on May 2, 2011, from http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/5289.html 16 To: Peter Wang and Sarah-Harvey Jones, CCS  From: John Smith, XYZ Consulting Ltd (fictitious name) Business-to-Business Marketing Report Introduction: Communication has always been one of the most significant and fundamental strategic areas of an organizations success. A company may have the best or most innovative services and products, but if it’s internal and external communications are not strong, then the demand for the products or services raises a flag of concern (Moore, 2011). When communicating the value of its services, Cloud Creative Solution’s (CCS) first and foremost point of focus must be on how it will benefit the clients. Sarah and Peter must ethically plan, communicate, and follow industry guidelines, so that they will earn the trust of their customers and target audience, as it is very important when promoting a service or a product. 2.0 Marketing communication tools:  Other than personal selling, CCS can follow one or more from the basic tools of communication: 2.1. Advertising: This tool helps to get a company’s messages to large audiences well through avenues such as television, radio, Newspapers, Magazines, Billboards, Internet etc.; other mobile technological communication devices may also be used. This method can successfully reach a large number of customers, although it may be somewhat expensive. 2.2 Sales Promotion: This tool is usually used through contests, premiums, coupons, samples, demonstrations, incentives or displays. Though it attracts a large number of customers, but it can only be used to accelerate short-term sales, by encouraging repeat buying and building brand awareness. 2.3. Public Relation: This tool of marketing communication is initiated through news/press releases, public appearances, or sometimes event sponsorships. It is a good way of building trust and goodwill by presenting the service or company in a positive light. Public Relation refers to how a company handles its relationships and the flow of information with the various publics which include the general public, shareholders, consumers, employees, partners, the government and competitors. 2.4. Direct Marketing: This tool is used to test new products or alternate tactics and reach targeted audiences to increase sales via mail, email, catalogues, encouraging direct responses and feedback to radio and TV. Sarah and Peter must look at legal, regulatory, social, competitive, technological, ethical and cultural considerations before opting for any of the above options as a communication tool. One thing that they must avoid is when choosing any of the tools and activating it, they do not end up reaching inappropriate audience or cause controversy. It could be damaging for the company when trying to build up brand awareness and encouraging customers to spend on a company’s products. Decisions that link the overall objectives and strategy during the marketing planning phase helps to evaluate and adjust the particular activities of integrated marketing communication. While marketing managers Sarah and Peter must examine the beliefs, behaviors, and emotions of their targeted audience to their brand. It will help them to influence and sway the beliefs of their audience to attain product awareness, by attracting their attention towards the promotional campaigns. As CCS has a wide range of target market, advertising is a good option for them. It is the mass media means of marketing communication and helps to provide exposure to the largest and largely geographically dispersed viewers at the lowest cost per head. That being said, as advertising costs add up rapidly with mediums like radio and television; and sometimes even online advertising can be very expensive for the business. Direct marketing as the name suggests enables organizations to reach out directly to customers without intermediary channels. If CCS uses this tool correctly, Direct Marketing is exceptionally effectual in the long run and allows creating valuable and lasting relationships with the consumers. E-mail spamming, junk mail, and telemarketing are generally despised; therefore direct marketing tools must be used with caution and thought. Although, there is a downside to this approach as it is usually unwanted and seen as a nuisance by general public, direct marketing approach also helps the companies to interact with a comparatively large number of customers and persuade a most wanted or call to action response, which is generally a purchase. Public Relations tool is very important for Cloud Creative Solution Limited and can be very beneficial to the company. It is an essential component for the businesses to think about. As the organization grows larger, PR becomes an increasingly crucial element of the marketing communication mix. 2.6 Conclusion: At the end of the day people buy from people and the most successful companies are those that benefit other people the most. The good thing about PR is developing and practicing socially conscious business practices. In today’s connected world, it is important for any sized business to work within the larger framework of society and possess parallel responsibilities. If Sarah and Peter decide to use all three methods along with personal selling, they must ensure that all the approaches are well incorporated. Each tool of the communication mix must integrate with other elements of the communication mix so that an amalgamated message is consistently reinforced and there are no controversies among the messages projected using different methods (Olander, Catarina, Sehlin and Christer, 2001). Introduction: Human Resource recruitment requires scheduling and vigilant carrying out. This is an outline of the factors that an organization must get correct to hire better-quality employees. Employing people initiates with the acknowledgment that you need an employee, and stops when the employee departs your business. Human Resource Management is also a planned and all-inclusive come within reach of organizing people and the place of work culture and milieu. Effectual HRM facilitates employees to put in successfully and prolifically in general to the company’s direction, as well as the achievement of the organization’s ambitions and objectives. CCS plans to hire at most six-eight employees who would be both outside and inside staff. The company needs employees that are highly competent and professional in whatever work they are assigned. As the company work is very creative and needs many bright ideas, recruitment criteria needs to be defined very clearly, and the staff has to be recruited based on originality. 3.0 Structuring the sales force Culture is not easy to define, but an organization normally knows when it has found an employee who is fit for its culture. Culture is a controlling element that silhouettes work satisfaction, work dealings, and work progression. Nevertheless, culture is a bit that one cannot really see, except through its corporeal expressions or materializations in the work place. Culture is learned. People gain knowledge to act upon definite behaviors either through the rewards or through unenthusiastic consequences that follow their actions. Employees learn customs by working together with other employees. Culture modification requires people to alter their behaviors. It is often complex for people to unlearn their mature way of doing things, and to start performing the new behaviors every time. Happy employees are not essentially prolific employees. Prolific employees are not essentially happy employees. It is imperative to find facets of the culture that will prop up each of these traits for the employees. The effectual management of a sales team can create or split the business. Sales people depend on administration support for numerous things that it entails a manager or management team that is prearranged, considerate, and imaginative and is able to explain the particular needs they expect from the sales staff. The sales team and the administration work as one, each are a foil for the other to update the sales process and to boost sales. There are quite a lot of different ways to that Sarah and Peter can use to direct a booming sales team. Primarily, it is decisive to offer their HR management team with set goals for the team. Based on what the sales protuberances are, they will be able to present their management team with a plan to work for. This will give the manager the skill to assess the performance of employees, in turn being able to make the most of the sales team’s talents and endowments. Sarah and Peter need to be very comprehensible on their sales objectives and when they are to be accomplished. A sales objective is the root of a sales plan. Sales management must have a sketch in their mind in order to get the majority of private achievements and invention out of each of its sales staff. If there is a predicament, such as with the service or even anything organizational that affects sales, they should be very attentive about managing it as this can affect the efficiency of the entire sales team. Moreover, it is important that Sarah and Peter make an impact upon the management team leaders that each member of the sales team is to be taken care of in a courteous manner. It is startling how many sales managers have a lot of savoir-faire of how to put in order workloads and close sales, but know approximately nothing about how to supervise “people”, and believe that being domineering is the excellent way to progress productivity (Heathfield, 2011). Sarah and Peter need to see and find ways to give confidence and help the new staff to encourage the sales team. This will make a companionship and increase sales. Managers who keep hold of staff start by exchanging a few words of obvious hopes to the employees. They split their photo of what represent success for the employee in both the probable deliverables from them, and the performance of their job. These managers present recurrent feedback and make the employee feel appreciated. When an employee comprehensives and exchanges words with a manager who holds on to staff, he or she feels empowered, convinced, and positive in their ability to get the job through. 3.3 Conclusion: A tip to learn by heart is that the staff will, at the end of the day, mirror the qualities and headship of the management team. If the administration is snappish and higgledy-piggledy, or even too flexible, and without obvious aims and objectives, the sales people will suffer and so will the bottom line. It is critical to ensure whether or not the sales leaders are balancing and sustaining their sales team’s labors to keep the profits increasing (Sirota, Mischkind, and Irwin, 2006). I believe that Sarah and Peter should take on the go role in the management team by being accessible and noticeable to the sales team. It is not required of them to turn up their shirt sleeves and work alongside with them; after all, in most cases they have employed them for their proficiency in this. However, something as straightforward as stopping by the management office or sales floor twice a day to greet them, and to verify to see if they require anything, will pay off in the end. Motivation, Empowering Employees is the key to a successful sales team (Johnson, 2011). Moreover, providing the employees with fringe benefits will also motivate them; hence satisfaction level will increase reducing the chances of employee turnover. Answer 3: Introduction: How a company develops relationships with the clientele should smoothly remark the overall business way of life, not contend with it. That is, the mission and purpose should down pat when selling with all portions of the business, counting customers. However, having one set of principles and values for customers and a different set for employees and stakeholders is counterproductive to the business. 4.0 Relationship variables and business networks If a company cares for its employees roughly, it is with no doubt that it will treat its clients practically. In addition, if it rips off its stakeholders or does not worth them as cohorts in its business, one should not look forward to them to shore up big businesses when it comes an occasion to vote on significant issues. Similarly, taking advantage of the customers, or saying no in order to tribute your customer service policies, a company loses its standing of catching the attention and keeping hold of employees, with an elevated standard of labor ethics. It is imperative to commit to memory that if the employees sense it is good enough to take advantage of the customers, they may also consider complimentary to cheat the business. Customer policies and connection standards should be a fraction of the mission statement, receiving either second-rate or special dealing over employees, service providers, or even stakeholders (Laura, L, 2011). While a mounting business needs to regularly be a magnet for new customers, the heart and main concern should be on gratifying the existing customer base, which is what Sarah and Peter do. Companies that do not make the grade to cultivate and hang on to their customer base in due course fall short. Sarah and Peter need to spend twofold so as to get new clients so that they’re able to maintain the existing customer base, because the economic condition of London is worsening, and advertising agencies are limited in ability to exert a pull on new clients if they cannot cling to and please existing customers and clients (Wolfe, L, 2011). The main thing is that one of the chief mechanisms in marketing and business growth is to pay out the greater part of the company’s time and effort fostering customer relationships, so that it gets trade from existing clients and customers. This strategy will move the business forward in increasing sales by 50% without growing budget (Harrison M, Hague P and Hague N, 2011). For CCS, networks are bound to happen in attribute of the business backdrop. Every company occupies a network position, which is really no more than the summation of its network relationships and all the goings-on links, resource knots, and actor relationships that these dealings contain. Network ingredients can be borne in mind through the mnemonic compass: suppliers, customers, owners, partners and employees. Two of these (customers and partners) are particularly important to CCS as most of the marketing for the company is done through the mouth-of-word (Heathfield, S, M, 2011). Administration in networks involves running both groups of network, such as outsourced advertising agencies or logistic partners (Richards, H, 2011). The key for the B2B dealer is to be completely knowledgeable as compared to the merchandise or service being sold. This perceptive must envelop not only the ‘technical’ details of the offer, but also the absolute offer together with after-sales service, crisis resolution, client administration team, etc. Consequently, the B2B sale is a lot of ‘technical sale’, meaning that salespeople in business-to-business marketplace are frequently very skilled, and instigate from a technological discipline inside their organizations. The triumph of an intact business-to-business product line can be principally reliant on the aptitude of a small group of salespeople (Choose and manage an advertising agency’, n.d.). The truth that business-to-business markets have comparatively few segments makes the job of the B2B dealer easier than it might if not be. Yet, skills in identifying which customers fit which slice, and how to petition to each of these segments, are not simple to come by. Given the restricted size of business-to-business intention audiences, several marketers find the mainly undemanding approach is to row the target audience by size and split it by topography, with accounts receiving the awareness they ‘deserve’ according to their calculated value to the supplier. Business-to-business marketers have equally the time and the pinpointing data from upstream to carefully assess their options before making a decision (Buttle, F, n.d.). B2B marketers are often recommended to embark on thorough market research, combining this with upstream information in order to put up a full market intelligence picture (Bagdonienė, L and Žilion, R, n.d). The B2B salesperson is also a special animal to the buyer salesperson, in that the spotlight is on paying attention and humanizing a limited figure of relationships rather than the more quantity-driven and transactional loom seen in customer markets. This places prominence on face-to-face communication; the salespersons must have a profoundly technical understanding of whatever s/he is advertising (Business to business relationships, 2000). The final exclusive factor of B2B buyers is a suitable conclusion to this paper: simply those business-to-business buyers are more challenging (Debra, 2007). They have a liability to make the correct decision when paying for on behalf of their company. They take fewer risks, and for that reason need eminence to be accurate. 5.0 Conclusion They have the knowledge to recognize a bad contribution when they see one, and are used to receiving what they want. Often they are paying more than they would as a customer and consequently wait for more in return. They are probable to look upon themselves as acting together with the service supplied to them, rather than a role of an unreceptive recipient. The connotation for business-to-business marketers is understandable. As their job to combine the target audience’s wants, Sarah and Peter must consequently raise their fixture to guarantee that their services and intangibles meet and go beyond customers’ requirements. In CCS’s favor is the fact that business-to-business buyers are more humdrum than their consumers are. This means that good quality market intelligence and close concentration to their target markets’ needs place them in a physically powerful position to meet the needs of the market. 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