Nescafe Sales Force Strategy in the UK: The first 100 days - Essay Example

Table of Contents Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 3 Recommendation Identifying and Liaising with Stakeholders 3 Recommendation 2: Integration of Sales Force Structures 4 Recommendation 3: Recruitment and Training Programs 5 Recommendation 4: Staff Benefits and Motivation Programs 6 Recommendation 5: Regular Feedback Mechanisms 7 References 8 Nescafe Sales Force Strategy in the UK: The first 100 days. Executive Summary This briefing is based on the Sales Force Report of the United Kingdom branch of the globally famous Nescafe brand. The purpose of the briefing is to summarise the report and come up with five key recommendations that Nescafe will implement in it first 100 days of operation to boost sales. At the base of the briefing are the strategies the company will employ to reach the buyers of its products. To achieve this organisation requires a comprehensive plan that involves all the relevant stakeholders. The briefing contains a step by step process that begins by outlining plans to identify and liaise with stakeholders, followed by plan to integrate the sales Nescafe sales force with those of her parent company Nestle, then recruitment and training of staff, followed by a staff benefit and motivation program and ends with a feedback mechanism. The success of this strategy requires well thought and precise planning. This briefing is a summary of Nescafe’s strategy. Nestle as a company is a major taxpayer in the United Kingdom, a famed charity giver, farmer’s supporter, sports events sponsor, health care and diet supporter and job creator. It is a powerful global brand with the resources and ability to mount a big fight to maintain and cement its position in the United Kingdom and other parts of the globe. The company is big in the United Kingdom. Nestle as a company that has been in operation for over 75 years and has been producing instant coffee since the 1930’s. Introduction Nestle is a world leading brand in the manufacture of food products and operates in over 1000 countries worldwide. One of her most famous brands is Nescafe a coffee that is consumed by millions of people all over the world. In recent years the coffee market has become very competitive and dynamic. Not only have new entrants entered the market but new and innovative ways have sprung up changing the way coffee is sold and consumed (Hutt & Speh, 2012: 282). For instance home brewing and pods that are used to sell personalised and instant coffee have become a fad in the United States and much of Europe. Technology has also come into play and affected the production and consumption of coffee. As a result major players like Nescafe with a 41 % share of the UK market cannot rest on their laurels. They have been compelled to come with ways of maintaining their market share in the face of increasing competition. Nestle has come up with a sales strategy to achieve this market growth in the United Kingdom. Recommendation 1: Identifying and Liaising with Stakeholders The involvement and active participation of relevant internal and external stakeholders is an important part of any strategy. Therefore, the first strategy will be to identify and liaise with these stakeholders with the objective of winning their support and confidence to push through the organisation’s plan. The most important of these stakeholders are the actual buyers of the product (Cravens, FitzHugh & Piercy, 2011: 522). In the first 100 days Nescafe will need to identify the buyers of her product and study their buying habits. This will involve finding out their purchasing power, numbers and flow. This data will be stored with the aim of understanding and influencing them. These stakeholders include supermarkets and its entire staff from the CEO to the store managers and down to the support staff. The supermarkets are the products key account holders and in the first 100 days Nescafe must identify key supermarkets and their heads and forge a working relationship with them as well as strategically erect display stands (Guenzi & Geiger, 2011: 201-204). An accurate stock register should be made to meet the needs of the identified buyers (Bower & Graue, 2015: 59). Nescafe and the identified supermarkets should agree on the selling price within this period. The first 100 days should also see the identification of businesses that are able and willing to install coffee machines. This period should also see the identification of relevant suppliers and vendors of various products that will help propel the sales of Nescafe. In this regard a value chain analysis should be done. Recommendation 2: Integration of Sales Force Structures Organisation strategies require synergy without which huge potential and resources may go to waste (Johnston & Marshall, 2013: 522). Forging and managing working relationships is a delicate process fraught with egos and people who believe they know it all. It can often go haywire if mismanaged. Nescafe’s mother company Nestle has been in business longer and as a result has an established structure that has served it well. Its sales personnel, for example, have been very successful in making the brand famous globally. The expertise and experience will need to be passed on to Nescafe staff and, therefore, the need for integrating the two sales structures will be matter of priority. The first 100 days should see the realignment, formation of teams and the allocation of resources complete. The division of the sales force should be completed within this period. They will be made up of three main groups, one in charge of supermarkets, the next in charge of corporate accounts and the last to handle the smaller vendors. A decision must be made on the type of structure. It can either be a market driven or a geographical sales force structure (Winston, & Carter, 2013: 284-286). Both have advantages and disadvantages. The adopted structure must be complete and bear in mind costs as integration often leads to many bloated and unproductive layers. The resources each of these groups requires must be identified and be made readily available within the first 100 days. Recommendation 3: Recruitment and Training Programs Human resources are the most important element in any organisation and yet the most difficult to manage. Getting the human resources mix right the first time is never an easy undertaking (Ferrell, 2014: 89-91). The first 100 days should see the recruitment process complete. The first step will be to identify human resources internally after which external recruitment processes can commence. Various recruitment procedures must be put in place to attract the highest possible number of potential candidates for selection (Shim, 2012:102-103). These will include advertisements for both internal and external recruitment as well as modern external recruitment methods like online recruitment and social media like face book. Measures to put in place online recruitment plans must be made a priority early enough so as to hasten the recruitment process. Advertisement in national and regional publications must be done within the first 2 weeks to make recruitment and training of staff possible within the first 100 days. The sourcing of the right human resource goes hand in hand with training. The first 100 days will include the training staff on all aspects of the organisation starting from the organisations culture, products, programs, environmental awareness, nutrition, understanding of Nestle and Nescafe’s global positions. Qualified trainers capable of inspiring staff should be identified to impart staff with the required skills, knowledge, culture, efficiency and communication skills to sell Nescafe (Robinson, 2014:444). The first 100 days should see the supermarket attendants have complete knowledge of Nescafe and be able to sell it to buyers. Management should also be trained within the first 1000 days to be able to work in ways that respect people’s culture and environment since these are some of Nestles core values/. Particular focus must put in training in environmental awareness and nutrition training programs. At the end of 100 days the staff should have a complete underrating of nutrition programs and be able to apply them to the benefit of the consumer. These are Nestlé’s key values. Recommendation 4: Staff Benefits and Motivation Programs Staff benefits and motivation should be put in place as a matter of urgency so that staffs are aware of what they are signing up for. The HR should design both long term and short term incentives programs (Dutta, 2011: 180). While the long term objectives will be to retain staff the short term objectives will be aimed at motivating them to achieve immediate targets. Short term targets are of particular importance to the sales staff to enable them meet the grand objective of maximising Nescafe sales. Without extrinsic and intrinsic motivation even the most qualified staff can lack motivation (Ramaswamy, 2013: 504). Motivation is a key part of organisational performance and hence the first 100 days will involve the identification and structuring of staff benefits programs to motivate them. These benefits should include health and wellness, savings retirement pension and scholarship programs and staff should be made aware of them during the first 100 days. Recommendation 5: Regular Feedback Mechanisms Performance feedback is a crucial part of organisational growth at all times especially during periods of change and uncertainty (Lane, 2013: 62). Nescafe will be embarking on an effort to promote the product and, therefore, it will have to keep a close track of its progress. Feedback helps steer organisations in the right direction and correct deviations from the actual plans. Feedback measures about performance should be ready within the 100 days and all concerned parties made aware of performance appraisal methods. Areas earmarked for feedback will include staff, supermarkets and vendors. In particular feedback is very important for sales personnel whose output is easily measurable (Kerin, & Hartley, 2015: 520-524). Their work is often target based. These targets are easily quantifiable. The other staff must also be made aware of how their performance is going to be evaluated and this feedback given back to them with the aim of improving their performance as well as that of the whole organisation. Conclusion In conclusion, Nescafe sales force strategy in the United Kingdom is very feasible as long as the right steps are followed as detailed in this briefing. References Bower, L. & Graue, T. (2015) Business and marketing: strategies to start strong, survive and thrive, New York.  Cravens, D., FitzHugh K. & Piercy, N. (2011) The Oxford handbook of strategic sales and sales management, Boston, OUP Oxford, Business & Economics. Dutta. B. (2011) Sales and distribution management, New York International Pvt Ltd. Ferrell, W. (2014) Marketing, Cengage Learning, 10 Jan 2013. New Jersey, USA. - Business & Economics. Guenzi, P. & Geiger, S. (2011) Sales management: a multinational perspective, Chicago, Palgrave Macmillan. Hutt, M. & Speh, T. (2012) Business marketing management: B2B, London, Cengage Learning. Johnston, M. & Marshall ,G. (2013) Sales force management: leadership, innovation, technology - 11th edition, New York, Routledge, Business & Economics. Kerin, R. & Hartley, S. 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