In most companies, the constant debate about who really makes the money is like the debate about who came first: the chicken or the egg. However, no matter who is considered the winner in this conflict, it is obvious that today it is not enough for an effective marketer to be a market expert and an expert on consumer behavior. The “correct” marketer is the real owner of “his own piece of business” and a little more sales. Recruiters are eagerly looking for such specialists during the day and the companies themselves are trying to train them through internal rotations.
Have you ever wondered what your sales colleagues think about the marketing department? Well, or at least what do they think marketers do during working hours? The answers can exceed your wildest dreams, ranging from “watching TV commercials” to “ordering product samples for the office.” And they don’t “manage consumer behavior” and “launch hit products,” as we marketers often characterize ourselves. The answer to the question “Why?” lies on the surface: according to sales department employees, marketers are too far from the grocery shelf, which undermines the authority of marketing expertise in their eyes. For a change, we suggest looking at managing a common business from someone else’s perspective and learning to speak the same language with colleagues from the sales department.
Better you come to us
It is also advisable for sales department employees to be aware of what marketers do and why. In this direction, a marketer can act proactively: organize the “Marketing for Non-Marketers” training on his own and talk in detail about the logic of marketing activities in retail outlets, the latest research and trends in the field of consumer preferences. Sales people usually respond very positively and with deep gratitude to offers to tell them something from marketing practice, which is reasonable: a view of the market “from above” will be useful to them in the process of negotiations with clients and will emphasize their status... Viewing the entire article is only possible for magazine subscribers.
The product life cycle is a marketing concept that reflects the main stages of development of a product (product class) from the moment of development to exit from the market. Each product lives on the market for a certain time. Sooner or later it is replaced by another, more perfect one. In this regard, the concept of product life cycle is introduced. Appendix B
The life cycle is described by changes in sales volume and profit over time and consists of the following stages: beginning of sales (market introduction), growth, maturity (saturation) and decline. The market introduction stage is characterized by a slight increase in sales volume and is unprofitable due to large initial marketing costs, small volumes of product output and the lack of development of its production.
The sales growth stage is characterized by rapid growth in sales volume driven by consumer acceptance of the product, profitability increases, the relative share of marketing costs typically falls, and prices are constant or slightly falling.
At the maturity stage, sales growth slows down and even begins to fall because the product has already been purchased by the majority of potential consumers, competition intensifies, marketing costs usually increase, prices may decrease, profits stabilize or decline. When upgrading a product or market segments, it is possible to extend this stage.
The recession manifests itself in a sharp decline in sales and profits. Product upgrades, price reductions, and increased marketing costs can only prolong this stage. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that the maximum profit, as a rule, in comparison with the maximum sales volume, shifts towards the initial stages of the life cycle. This is due to increased costs of maintaining sales at later stages of the product life cycle.
The concept of life cycle is applicable to a class of product (telephone), type of product (cordless telephone), to a specific brand of product (radio telephone of a specific company). Of greatest practical interest is the study of the life cycle of a specific brand of product. This concept is also applicable to such phenomena as style (clothing, furniture, art, etc.) and fashion. Different marketing strategies are used at different stages of the life cycle.
The shape of the life cycle curve remains more or less the same for most products. This means that when a product appears on the market, if consumers like it, then its sales volume grows and then falls. The length of time and intensity during the transition from one stage to another vary greatly depending on the specifics of the product and market. The transition from stage to stage occurs quite smoothly, so the marketing function must closely monitor changes in sales and profits in order to grasp the boundaries of the stages and make changes to the marketing program accordingly.
It is especially necessary to catch the stage of saturation, and even more so - recession, since keeping an exhausted product on the market is unprofitable, and in terms of prestige, it is simply harmful. You also need to choose the right moment to enter the market with some new product.
If the demand for a similar product is already falling, there is no point in starting commercial activities on the market. Obviously, when it is determined that a product is at the stage of maturity or saturation, then efforts must be made to develop a new product to replace the product that has exhausted itself.
Other life cycle curve options are also possible. Appendix B
Despite product life cycle theory, there is no supporting evidence that most products go through a typical 4-phase cycle and have standard life cycle curves. But it also cannot be said that the turning points of various phases of the life cycle are to one degree or another predictable.
In addition, depending on the level of aggregation at which a product is considered, different types of life cycle curves can be considered.
It should be remembered that market research begins not with the product, but with the needs of consumers. For example, consumers have a need for transportation. Appendix D
Such needs may remain constant, grow from century to century, and may never reach a decline phase.
The need for transport is concretized into the demand for certain technological methods of satisfying it (from primitive vehicles, from horse-drawn carriages to cars and other modern vehicles).
The life cycle of technological methods is shorter than the needs, but can be extremely long.
Technological methods are implemented using various specific technical and technological solutions. For example, cars can use steam, piston, turbine, and electric engines, which also have their own life cycle. Radio transmitting devices consistently used vacuum tubes, semiconductors, and integrated circuits. Hidden under each curve is a series of life cycle curves for individual technical and technological innovations. Such life cycle curves can be very short and certainly tend to shorten.
The nature of the life cycle curve is the result of management actions and is not due to external reasons. Executives believe that every product inevitably follows its own life cycle curve. When sales volume stabilizes, instead of updating the technology and looking for new market opportunities, managers classify the product as a “cash cow” and begin to look for other business.
The main concept of marketing is to focus on consumer needs rather than focusing on selling products. The life cycle concept has a product rather than a marketing orientation.
The product of a particular organization will “die” if needs change, if a competitor makes a better offer, if new technologies allow us to offer something new to consumers. Therefore, it is better to focus your efforts on identifying the causes of change rather than studying their consequences using a life cycle curve.
Identifying the reasons for changes will allow us to anticipate changes and develop a product policy that is maximally adapted to them.
When developing and implementing product policy, it is necessary to take into account that the same products in different markets may be at different stages of the life cycle.
In practice, most companies sell multiple products in different markets. In this case, the concept of “product portfolio” is used, which refers to the totality of products produced by the company. It must be balanced and include products at different stages of the cycle, which ensures continuity of the organization’s production and sales activities, constant profit generation, and reduces the risk of not receiving the expected amount of profit from the sale of products at the initial stages of the life cycle.
Sales promotion is the activity of implementing commercial and creative ideas that stimulate sales of advertiser’s products or services, often in a short time. In particular, it is implemented through product packaging, which contains various sales promotion tools (for example, portraits of famous people, cartoon characters, expensive car brands), as well as through specialized events at the point of sale. The long-term goal is to create in the consumer’s perception a greater value of branded goods marked with a specific trademark; short-term - creating additional value of the product for the consumer. Activities in the field of sales promotion are paid based on the time spent by experts, fees for creative work and tariffs for technical work.
Sales promotion is carried out using packaged goods, when sales promotion elements are placed on or inside the packaging, as well as through special events at the point of sale.
The use of sales promotion events is especially justified at the stage of introducing a product to the market, as well as at the turn of the stages of maturity and exit from the market.
The goals achieved by sales promotion techniques are determined by the company's marketing objectives and the characteristics of the target audience to which they are directed.
There are two goals of sales promotion:
- - short-term goal - creating additional attractiveness or value of the product for the consumer, for example, a discount on the price, durable, beautiful and functional packaging, the opportunity to win a prize;
- - the long-term goal is to create in the minds of consumers a feeling of greater value of certain branded products.
There are usually three types of sales promotion recipients:
- - consumers;
- - trade intermediaries;
- - own sales staff.
The main tasks and techniques of sales promotion depending on the type of target audience.
Sales promotion activities aimed at consumption. Their main goal is to introduce the consumer to a new product; “push” him to buy; increase the number of product units purchased by one buyer; encourage adherents of a particular brand and regular customers; reduce temporary fluctuations in sales (seasonal, by day of the week, during the day), etc. For this, various discounts, distribution of coupons, bonuses, free product samples, lotteries and competitions, credit, and incentive packaging are used.
Sales promotion activities aimed at intermediaries. When influencing sales intermediaries with sales promotion techniques, the following main tasks are solved: to encourage an increase in sales volume; stimulate orders of maximum volumes of goods for sale; encourage the exchange of best practices in the sale of a specific product; reduce temporary fluctuations in the receipt of orders from intermediaries, etc.
Among the most common methods of stimulating intermediaries are the following:
- - discounts on prices for a specified volume of goods;
- - provision of a specified number of units of goods to the intermediary free of charge, subject to the purchase of a certain quantity;
- - “pusher” bonuses paid to dealers when selling goods in excess of the agreed quantity for a certain period of time;
- - participation of the selling company in a joint advertising campaign with the intermediary with appropriate compensation for the intermediary’s advertising costs (i.e. “advertising credit”). Providing retailers with free branded advertising media (posters, pennants, stickers, etc.);
- - organization of competitions and congresses of dealers with awarding of winners;
- - a manufacturing company can provide a “sales offset”, in which the intermediary receives a certain discount for including the company’s products in its product range, which compensates for part of its additional sales costs;
- - the manufacturer of the product (especially for complex technical products) can provide free advanced training for intermediary personnel.
Sales promotion in relation to its own sales personnel aims to increase sales volumes in the divisions of the company itself; reward the most efficient workers; additionally motivate their work; promote the exchange of experience between sellers, etc.
The main means of this area of sales promotion are:
- - awards for the best sales employees;
- - providing the best sellers with additional vacation days;
- - organizing recreational trips for frontline workers at the expense of the company;
- - sales competitions with awarding of winners;
- - expanding the participation of leading workers in the company’s profits;
- - holding conferences for sellers;
- - all kinds of moral incentives.
Thus, the possibilities and forms of sales promotion events are diverse. When implemented thoughtfully, consumers, intermediaries and employees receive additional free benefits, which is always perceived positively. This increases the attractiveness of the product and accelerates sales or increases sales volumes.
The use of sales promotion techniques often involves their support by other types of marketing communications, such as advertising and direct marketing. For example, holding a lottery and various competitions requires mandatory information to a large target audience. Most often this problem is solved by means of advertising.
Mainly confined to the sales department.
Analysis of manager's activities
In recent years, sales manager has become widespread among the most in-demand and popular professions. Another name for this specialist is sales manager.
A sales specialist is a professional whose associations are associated with the sale of something tangible (household appliances or real estate). However, modern representatives of this profession find effective application in the service sector (for example, the financial market or banking).
Methods for determining sales key competencies
To understand what sales is, it is necessary to define basic competencies. To do this, it is advisable to use some standard methods: repertory grids (J. Kelly), interviews or critical incidents. An auxiliary method such as a questionnaire, which includes six blocks of questions aimed at the working profile of a business entity, can also be used quite successfully. The results obtained after such a survey can be used in further analysis.
Sales Manager Profile
This profile consists of four main blocks. Each of them includes two competencies. The first block is called “Personal characteristics” and includes such components as creative thinking and determination.
Creative is used when presenting a business or individual services to potential clients. Flexibility refers to certain characteristics of a person that are necessary to perform certain tasks: establishing cooperation with consumers, determining the reasons for receiving refusals to cooperate, agreeing on price, quantity and delivery conditions. A component such as determination is necessary for a sales manager when agreeing on terms of cooperation or promoting product items.
The second block of the profile is “Communications”, which constitute the main vectors of interaction in the field of general communication activity, team influence and customer focus.
Specifics of the service market
In this market segment, sales specialists are the most common professions. Indeed, the market is saturated with such specialists. They are responsible for sales of various categories, products and services. Difficulties in availability are associated with the peculiarities of sales and the specifics of goods. Education is not important in this case.
Here it is important to understand the principles of goods turnover, monitor the needs of customers and business partners, as well as demand formation. Specialists with a basic economic education can make a fairly successful career in this area.
However, both doctors and drivers can achieve high performance indicators. It is only necessary to take into account that in connection with representing the company in different regions, sales managers often have business trips (sometimes taking up to 80% of their time). Therefore, only flexible and mobile people can understand what sales is and what its benefits are.
Features of sales assistance and sales promotion activities
These activities are aimed at the effective use of packaged goods. Sales promotion is carried out when there is a need to obtain a strong and immediate reaction. In this case, the product must be considered from the perspective of its life cycle.
This concept has become widespread in the field of marketing and reflects the stages of development of product items from the moment of their development until their departure from the market.
Sales promotion is considered justified not only at the stage of introducing a new product to the market, but also at the stage of its departure from the same market.
The goals that are achieved using sales promotion techniques are determined by the company's objectives and the characteristics of the target audience they are targeting. is the formation of a certain attractiveness or value of the product for a potential consumer (examples are the use of various discounts, durable and functional packaging). The long-term goal is to create in the consumer mind a feeling of greater value for certain products.
There are three main recipients of this sales format: consumers, intermediaries and sales personnel. The following examples can be given as the main techniques and tasks of sales promotion:
- Discounts on price for a specified volume of goods. In this case, we are talking about a certain quantity of goods to the intermediary for a lower price, if he purchases a specific (agreed) quantity.
- The so-called “pusher” bonuses, which are paid to dealers for the sale of products in excess of the previously agreed upon quantity for a certain period of time.
What is a sales presenter?
It’s safe to say that this concept is associated with tools for increasing sales efficiency. Often, a sales presenter is associated with a retail sales network. However, this format of providing data is quite effective at professional levels.
What does a sales presenter do? He is responsible for implementing activities aimed at increasing the company's sales efficiency. If this format is competently and efficiently developed, then the sales representative ensures a dominant position for his company in retail outlets, thanks to which it will be possible to achieve a successful increase in sales volume.
The concept of “sales presenter” is associated not only with human activity, but also with the organization of the work of a sales manager. For example, this could be a handy folder with inserts included.
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Sales promotion - sales stimulation.
Sales promotion as a form of marketing communications is a system of short-term incentive measures and techniques aimed at encouraging the purchase or sale of a product and taking the form of additional benefits, convenience, savings, etc. In other words, customers or other target audiences targeted by sales promotions get something for free, or at a lower cost, or with greater convenience. Moreover, all this is received by the addressee additionally, in addition to what is stipulated in the main, standard agreement with the seller.
The subjects (communicators) of sales promotion events can be manufacturing companies and resellers. The goals achieved by sales promotion techniques are determined by the company's marketing objectives and the characteristics of the target audience to which they are directed.
There are usually three types of sales promotion recipients:
1.Consumers.
2.Resellers.
3.Own sales staff.
Sales promotion activities aimed at consumers most often pursue the following marketing goals:
Introduce the consumer to the new product;
- “push” him to buy;
Increase the number of product units purchased by one buyer;
Reduce temporary fluctuations in sales (seasonal, by day of the week, throughout the day);
Encourage adherents and regular customers of a particular brand, promote the formation of brand loyalty.
When using sales promotion techniques to influence resellers, the following main tasks are solved:
Encourage increased sales volume;
Stimulate orders for maximum volumes of goods;
Encourage the exchange of best practices in the sale of a specific product;
Reduce temporary fluctuations in the receipt of orders and payments from intermediaries, etc.
Sales promotion in relation to our own sales personnel pursues the following goals:
Increase sales volume in the divisions of the company itself;
Encourage the most active workers;
Additionally motivate their work;
Promote the exchange of experience between sellers, etc.
Let's consider the most general classification of sales promotion techniques and means.
1. Numerous sales promotion techniques aimed at end consumers can be combined into several groups.
1.1. Price discounts are one of the most numerous and frequently used techniques.
1.2.As a development of discount tools in modern conditions, we can consider the use of discount payment cards by communicators.
1.3. In combination with the provision of discounts, it is necessary to consider such a sales promotion technique as the distribution of coupons.
A coupon is a kind of certificate issued by a company to the buyer and giving him the right to certain savings (discount) when purchasing a specific product.
1.4. In sales practice, all kinds of bonuses are widely used, often provided in real form.
1.5. To introduce new products to the market, a company can provide potential buyers with free samples of these products. This technique is sometimes called “sampling”.
1.6. If the product whose sales are being stimulated is a food product, then tasting can be one of the promotion tools.
1.7.Sometimes the promoted product is not given as a gift, but is exchanged for competitors’ products. In this case, the acquisition of a new client is combined with the “selection” of a consumer from a competitor.
1.8. Some new products, which due to the significant cost of a commodity unit cannot be distributed, are transferred free of charge to potential buyers for temporary use, “for testing”.
1.9.Sometimes sales promotion techniques take the form of a game: a company can announce a competition, lottery or quiz.
1.10. As sales promotion techniques aimed at consumers, it is necessary to consider some types of “reinforcement” of the product: provision of consumer credit, free related services, various guarantees.
1.11. Some types of packaging used by the buyer after consuming their contents are also a means of sales promotion.
1.12. In relation to high-ranking clients, communicators can provide free services, the nature of which emphasizes the high social status of the consumer.
2. Among the most common methods of stimulating intermediaries are the following:
2.1. Discounts on prices for the agreed volume of goods.
2.2.Providing a specified number of units of goods to the intermediary free of charge, subject to the purchase of a certain quantity.
2.3. “Pusher” bonuses paid by dealers when selling goods in excess of the agreed quantity for a certain period of time.
2.4.Organization of dealer competitions.
2.5. Participation of the selling company in a joint advertising campaign with the intermediary with appropriate compensation for the intermediary’s advertising costs.
2.6.Organization of dealer conventions and entertainment trips for them.
2.7. The manufacturing company can provide a “sales offset”.
2.8. The manufacturer of the product can provide free advanced training for intermediary personnel.
2.9. As a means of sales promotion, the provision by the supplier to the intermediary of the trade inventory and equipment necessary for the sale of the supplied goods can also be considered.
3.Sales promotion in relation to our own sales personnel involves the following fixed assets:
3.1. Prizes for the best sales employees.
3.2.Providing the best sellers with additional vacation days.
3.3.Organization of entertainment trips for frontline workers at the expense of the company.
3.4. Seller competitions with awarding of winners.
3.5.Expanding the participation of leading workers in the company’s profits.
3.6.Conducting conferences for sellers.
3.7. All possible moral incentives.
The main features of the sales promotion system as a whole as a form of marketing communications should be called:
Attractiveness;
Information content;
Many sales promotion techniques take the form of an invitation to purchase;
A variety of means and techniques of sales promotion;
The short-term nature of the effect in sales growth.
Related information.
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