Description
It details the customers and competitors of the company and the problem they are currently facing and the recommendations to overcome them.
Hi-Tech System Distributors Ltd.
About the Company
? Distribution ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
house dealing in hi-tech electronic analytical instruments Represents manufacturers from all over the world The firm itself lacks manufacturing culture Well managed inventory system Good customer service support system with trained and qualified system engineers Conducted training courses and held seminars for customers Advance payment before installation Lead time of about 8 to 10 weeks Occasional advertising
Customers ? Organizations that require precision weighing and complex analytical tests ? Chemical, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, bulk drug manufacturer, pesticides, fertilizers, oil companies, government testing and research labs ? Required interaction of sales force with technocrats Competitors ? Global players from USA, Japan and Switzerland ? No difference in technology, service support and financial clauses
Problem
? Sales force does not have any knowledge about the ? ?
?
?
customer and competitors that he can approach Issue of knowing both the customers’ needs as well as problems Situation 1: sales force demeaning competitors; in a way losing opportunity to sell its own advantages sales force not able to identify the correct client contact Situation 2: poor after sales service left a long term impact on the customer relationship which the sales force was unaware of Situation 3: poor understanding of customer requirements; thus negotiating on inappropriate terms
Recommendations
? Studying past customer behavior (both for repeat and
new purchase) ? Maintaining a marketing information system for better knowledge management ? Closely analyzing the role of personnel in different departments in purchase decisions
? To approach the right people ? To understand what feature to sell to whom ? Annexure 1 and 2 to be studied to recognize the role
and importance of initiators, influencers, buyers and the actual users in the purchase decision
? Training the sales force on the technical aspects of
the products and their competitive advantages
Drifting Dealmakers
Case facts
• Carlo India is an office automation and office •
• •
•
furniture company Deepak Sahi has just joined the company as a sales executive eight months back. Shekhar Munim is his boss Munim is known to be a cut throat salesman and a target obsessed boss He did not give much thought to developing his salesmen and never praised them for any of their successes but always pointed out any failure He also bullied the customer and berated hos fellow salesmen in front of the customers
Case Facts (Contd.)
? Munim also picked on salesmen who failed to strike
a deal. ? He made sales without understanding the needs of the customer.
? What business is the company in?
Ans. The company was in the office automation solutions business ? What is the product? Ans. The product is office automation products like printers, fax machines, modems, telephone systems, etc. ? What is the sales strategy? Ans. The company had two divisions:
- Active Accounts - Sour Accounts
? The active accounts division handled new accounts
and continuation of ongoing or current accounts ? The sour accounts section typically handled customers who had defected to competition in the past year and a half ? Salespersons engaged in direct selling to customers as well as cold calling
? Who are the likely customers?
Ans. Likely customers are firms who are setting up new offices and who will be in need of office furniture, stationery, automation and communication equipment. There are also the existing customers who would want to replace their equipment and stationery.
STP
? Segmentation:
? No specific segmentation on the basis of size of
customer or his needs has been done
? Targeting:
? No targeting strategy adopted to select which
segments to serve
? Positioning:
? The products are not positioned as solutions to the
customers needs. Hard selling was done to maximize sales volumes without understanding the customer requirement
? Problem Definition:
? No well defined segmentation, positioning and
targeting strategy in place ? No reward or recognition for sales made ? Too much pressure on salespersons ? No background study of customer in terms of requirements or financial capability
Solutions and Alternatives
? The sales force should be motivated by way of
incentives and recognition of their work ? A background study of customers to know more about their needs as well as their financial capability to pay should be checked ? The company should act more as a consultant and office automation service provider rather than just a fax, xerox machine vendor.
STP strategy
? Segmentation:
? The customers should be segmented according to their
size as large or small customers as per their expected order size. More efforts can then be channeled to the bigger accounts.
? Targeting:
? The bigger accounts once identified, should be handled
by concentrated efforts and more personalized service. ? The smaller accounts can be handled by a separate team of salespersons.
? Positioning:
? The company should position itself as a consultant in
office automation, more than a just a vendor of office equipment.
THANK YOU!!
doc_846561446.ppt
It details the customers and competitors of the company and the problem they are currently facing and the recommendations to overcome them.
Hi-Tech System Distributors Ltd.
About the Company
? Distribution ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
house dealing in hi-tech electronic analytical instruments Represents manufacturers from all over the world The firm itself lacks manufacturing culture Well managed inventory system Good customer service support system with trained and qualified system engineers Conducted training courses and held seminars for customers Advance payment before installation Lead time of about 8 to 10 weeks Occasional advertising
Customers ? Organizations that require precision weighing and complex analytical tests ? Chemical, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, bulk drug manufacturer, pesticides, fertilizers, oil companies, government testing and research labs ? Required interaction of sales force with technocrats Competitors ? Global players from USA, Japan and Switzerland ? No difference in technology, service support and financial clauses
Problem
? Sales force does not have any knowledge about the ? ?
?
?
customer and competitors that he can approach Issue of knowing both the customers’ needs as well as problems Situation 1: sales force demeaning competitors; in a way losing opportunity to sell its own advantages sales force not able to identify the correct client contact Situation 2: poor after sales service left a long term impact on the customer relationship which the sales force was unaware of Situation 3: poor understanding of customer requirements; thus negotiating on inappropriate terms
Recommendations
? Studying past customer behavior (both for repeat and
new purchase) ? Maintaining a marketing information system for better knowledge management ? Closely analyzing the role of personnel in different departments in purchase decisions
? To approach the right people ? To understand what feature to sell to whom ? Annexure 1 and 2 to be studied to recognize the role
and importance of initiators, influencers, buyers and the actual users in the purchase decision
? Training the sales force on the technical aspects of
the products and their competitive advantages
Drifting Dealmakers
Case facts
• Carlo India is an office automation and office •
• •
•
furniture company Deepak Sahi has just joined the company as a sales executive eight months back. Shekhar Munim is his boss Munim is known to be a cut throat salesman and a target obsessed boss He did not give much thought to developing his salesmen and never praised them for any of their successes but always pointed out any failure He also bullied the customer and berated hos fellow salesmen in front of the customers
Case Facts (Contd.)
? Munim also picked on salesmen who failed to strike
a deal. ? He made sales without understanding the needs of the customer.
? What business is the company in?
Ans. The company was in the office automation solutions business ? What is the product? Ans. The product is office automation products like printers, fax machines, modems, telephone systems, etc. ? What is the sales strategy? Ans. The company had two divisions:
- Active Accounts - Sour Accounts
? The active accounts division handled new accounts
and continuation of ongoing or current accounts ? The sour accounts section typically handled customers who had defected to competition in the past year and a half ? Salespersons engaged in direct selling to customers as well as cold calling
? Who are the likely customers?
Ans. Likely customers are firms who are setting up new offices and who will be in need of office furniture, stationery, automation and communication equipment. There are also the existing customers who would want to replace their equipment and stationery.
STP
? Segmentation:
? No specific segmentation on the basis of size of
customer or his needs has been done
? Targeting:
? No targeting strategy adopted to select which
segments to serve
? Positioning:
? The products are not positioned as solutions to the
customers needs. Hard selling was done to maximize sales volumes without understanding the customer requirement
? Problem Definition:
? No well defined segmentation, positioning and
targeting strategy in place ? No reward or recognition for sales made ? Too much pressure on salespersons ? No background study of customer in terms of requirements or financial capability
Solutions and Alternatives
? The sales force should be motivated by way of
incentives and recognition of their work ? A background study of customers to know more about their needs as well as their financial capability to pay should be checked ? The company should act more as a consultant and office automation service provider rather than just a fax, xerox machine vendor.
STP strategy
? Segmentation:
? The customers should be segmented according to their
size as large or small customers as per their expected order size. More efforts can then be channeled to the bigger accounts.
? Targeting:
? The bigger accounts once identified, should be handled
by concentrated efforts and more personalized service. ? The smaller accounts can be handled by a separate team of salespersons.
? Positioning:
? The company should position itself as a consultant in
office automation, more than a just a vendor of office equipment.
THANK YOU!!
doc_846561446.ppt