B014393 HN in Business L4 - Iss2 - Edwardes Collegeedwardes.wikispaces.com/file/view/Marketing+Specialist+Units.pdf · 1 Buyer behaviour and the purchase decision-making process

B014393 – Guidance and units – Edexcel Level 4 BTEC Higher Nationals in Business – Issue 2 – September 2004

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Marketing


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Unit 17: Marketing Intelligence

Learning hours: 60

NQF level 4: BTEC Higher National — H1

Description of unit

The aim of this unit is to enable learners to understand the purchase decision-making process and to recognise the variables and situations that influence buying behaviour. The learner will explore the marketing research process and assess the importance of different types of information and marketing research requirements needed for effective marketing management in a competitive environment. This unit will also provide learners with the specialist knowledge and skills to prepare and present a research proposal.

Summary of learning outcomes

To achieve this unit a learner must:

1 Explore and evaluate buyer behaviour and the purchase decision-making process

2 Identify the nature and purpose of marketing information and marketing research requirements

3 Assess current and potential market size and demand

4 Discuss the importance of customer satisfaction and feedback.


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Content

1 Buyer behaviour and the purchase decision-making process

Customers and markets: purchase decision-making process, buying situations and types of buying decision, dimensions of buyer behaviour

Buyer behaviour: influences on buyer behaviour, stimulus response models, models of purchase behaviour, diffusion and innovation, model unitary and decision-making units

Buying motives: psychological factors, socio-psychological factors, sociological factors, economic factors and cultural factors influencing customer behaviour, lifestyle and lifecycle factors, customer and prospect profiling

Branding: relationship between brand loyalty, company image and repeat purchase

2 Marketing information and marketing research techniques

Market research: role and importance of marketing research, research process, objectives, issues relating to the use of primary and secondary data sources and methods, existing sources of primary and secondary market research, internal sources, external sources, competitor data and sources and customer data, ethics

Market research companies: benefits and limitations of use, cost, reliability and types

Research techniques: stages of the market research process, research proposals, use of qualitative and quantitative methods, use of surveys, sources of information, value and interpretation of data

Types: face-to-face, telephone/postal, electronic, focus groups, depth interviews, omnibus surveys, psychological research, mystery shoppers, sales, price and distribution research

Reliability of research: validity, sampling process, sample size, sample and interviewer bias, methods of recruitment

Researching developing and established markets: issues associated with researching developing as well as the established consumer, industrial and service markets

Use of research data: research data supporting marketing planning, producing actionable recommendations, evaluating research findings for business decision making

3 Market size and demand

Measuring: defining the market, estimating total market size, value and volume, growth and trends, forecasting future demand

Competitive analysis: competitor analysis — market/product profiles of competition, brand and market share, characteristics of the competition — market innovator/follower, objectives of the competition, strategies of the competition, strengths and weakness of competition, future behaviour of the competition and their strategic intent


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4 Customer satisfaction and feedback

Measuring customer satisfaction: post-sale surveys, guarantees, complaint handling and suggestion systems, ‘mystery’ shopping, product placement, service agreements, customer follow-up

Customer care: customer care programmes, objectives, use and value in data collection, customer care as a means of adding value and influencing purchase/repeat purchase behaviour, customer retention


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Outcomes and assessment criteria

Outcomes Assessment criteria for pass

To achieve each outcome a learner must demonstrate the ability to:

1 Explore and evaluate buyer behaviour and the purchase decision-making process

• describe the main stages of the purchase decision-making process

• identify approaches and theories of buyer behaviour in terms of individuals and markets

• explain the factors that affect buyer behaviour

• evaluate the relationship between brand loyalty, corporate image and repeat purchasing

2 Identify the nature and purpose of marketing information and marketing research requirements

• review and evaluate different types of market research techniques

• identify and use sources of secondary data in two marketing contexts

• assess the validity and reliability of market research findings

• propose a marketing research plan to obtain information in a given situation

3 Assess current and potential market size and demand

• identify market size growth and trends within a given market

• plan and carry out a competitor analysis for a given organisation

• evaluate an organisation’s opportunities and threats for a given product or service

4 Discuss the importance of customer satisfaction and feedback

• identify and evaluate techniques of assessing customer response

• design and complete a customer satisfaction survey


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Guidance

Delivery

This unit builds on Unit 6: Business Decision Making and is designed to enable learners to apply quantitative methods and research techniques in developing marketing research. It can be delivered as a stand-alone package or in combination with the marketing planning unit. Wherever possible a practical approach should be adopted with the use of case studies or the collection and evaluation of primary and secondary data for a given organisation, product or service. The use of outside speakers and visits to organisations could be used where appropriate to support delivery. Efforts should be made to ensure that learners gain a good understanding of the marketing knowledge they gain and can apply it to real-life situations and case studies.

Assessment

Evidence of outcomes may be in the form of written or oral assignments or tests. The assignments may focus on real problems or case studies. Learning and assessment can be across units, at unit level or at outcome level. Evidence could be at outcome level, although opportunities exist for covering more than one outcome in an assignment.

Assessment may consist of a combination of formative and summative assessments.

Links

This unit is part of the marketing pathway and forms a direct link with the other marketing units in the programme. The unit is also linked with Unit 1: Marketing, Unit 6: Business Decision Making, Unit 18: Advertising and Promotion, Unit 19: Marketing Planning and Unit 20: Sales Planning and Operations.

Resources

Access should be available to a learning resource centre with a wide range of marketing texts. Texts should be supported by use of the newspaper business sections, as well as trade journals, company reports and government statistics. Case studies, videos and documented examples of current issues should illustrate the topical nature of this unit.

Support materials

Textbooks

Sufficient library resources should be available to enable learners to achieve this unit. Particularly relevant texts are:

Burns A C and Bush R F — Marketing Research: Online Research Applications 3rd Edition (Prentice Hall, 2000) ISBN: 0130351350

Chisnall P — Marketing Research 6th Edition (McGraw Hill, 2001) ISBN: 0077097513

Crouch S and Housden M — Marketing Research for Managers 3rd Edition (Butterworth Heinemann, 2002) ISBN: 0750604883

Wilson A — Marketing Research: An Integrated Approach (FT/Prentice Hall, 2002)


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Journals and newspapers

Campaign

The Financial Times and other daily newspapers which contain a business section and market reports

International Journal of Market Research

Marketing

Marketing Business

Marketing Review

Marketing Week

Videos

What is Market Research? (TV Choice, 1996)

Websites

www.acnielsen.co.uk website of A E Nielsen, marketing information company

www.cim.co.uk The Chartered Institute of Marketing

www.eiu.com The Economist Intelligence Unit

www.euromonitor.com Euromonitor International, provides market analysis


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Unit 18: Advertising and Promotion

Learning hours: 60


Description of unit

This unit is designed to provide learners with a comprehensive understanding of the key areas of advertising and promotion as part of an integrated approach to marketing communications. Learners will develop the ability to determine specific promotional activities in response to target audience and other stakeholders’ characteristics, and to apply and justify appropriate promotional mixes within a strategic and tactical framework.



1 Explore the scope of marketing communications

2 Investigate the role and importance of advertising

3 Assess the role of below-the-line techniques and how they are used

4 Prepare an integrated promotional strategy.


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Content

1 Marketing communications

Communication process: nature and components of marketing communications, model of communication process, adoption process and adoption categories, consumer buying decision-making process, influences on consumer behaviour — personal, psychological, social; response-hierarchy models, integration of marketing communications

Organisation of the industry: structure and roles of marketing communications agencies, advertising agencies, media owners, advertisers, triangle of dependence, types of agency — full service, à la carte, media independents, hot shops, concentration in buying and selling, media sales houses; other supporting services — PR, sales promotion, marketing research

Regulation of promotion: Sale of Goods Act, Trade Descriptions Act, Consumer Credit Act, Data Protection Act; Statutory authority — Independent Television Commission and Radio Authority; self-regulation — Advertising Standards Authority; consumerism, ethics and public opinion as a constraint

Current trends: media fragmentation, micro-marketing, brand proliferation, media costs, increasing use of sales promotion techniques at the expense of advertising and their effect on branding and awareness, new media, eg payslips, till receipts, petrol pumps, increased sophistication and use of marketing research; the role of marketing communications in globalisation eg media availability, culture, religion, education and literacy

The impact of ICT: role of IT, internet and on channels of communication, cyber consumers, global media reach, computerised home shopping — interdependence, disintermediation, and reintermediation; the ability to develop relationships through ICT, business-to-business and business-to-consumer communications

2 Advertising

Role of advertising: definition, purpose, and objectives of advertising, functions of advertising — remind, inform, persuade, sell; advantages and disadvantages of advertising, advertising process, role of advertising within marketing mix, within promotional mix, characteristics of advertising media — press, TV, radio, cinema, posters/outdoor, advertising objectives

Branding: definition, purpose, objectives and dimensions of branding, benefits, concepts, branding strategies — blanket, family, individual, multi-branding, brand extension, own brands, situations when branding is inappropriate, brand image, personality and equity, brand evaluation techniques

Creative aspects of advertising: positioning, messages, message-appeals, advertisement design and testing, copy writing, visuals, creative briefs, creative strategies and tactics, impact of IT on advertisement design, measuring advertising effectiveness; key media concepts (reach, duplication, frequency, GRPs, flighting); principles in measuring media effectiveness

Working with advertising agencies: agency structures, role of account handler and account planner, process and methods of agency selection, agency appointment including contracts and best practice guidelines, agency/client relationships, remuneration — commission, fee, results, media planning; key account management and the stages in developing key account relationships


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3 Below-the-line techniques

Primary techniques: sales promotion, public relations, sponsorship and product placement, direct marketing, packaging and merchandising; for each of the above techniques detailed consideration of role, characteristics, objectives, advantages/disadvantages, appropriate uses, evaluation measures

Other techniques: an overview of the role and uses of corporate communications, image and identity, exhibitions, word-of-mouth, personal selling, miscellaneous and new media

4 Integrated promotional strategy

Budget formulation: methods — percentage of sales, per unit, marginal analysis, competitive parity, task, executive judgement, overview of media costs, budget determination process, guidelines for budget allocation, relative costs of various promotional techniques and low- and high-budget campaigns, new product considerations

Developing a promotional plan: communication goals — AIDA, DAGMAR — SOSTT + 4Ms, SOSTAC, situation analysis, objectives, target audiences, creative strategy, promotional strategy and tactics, media selection, scheduling, budget allocation, evaluation measures, inter and intra-media decisions, burst versus drip

Integration of promotional techniques: benefits, methods, role of positioning, positioning strategies, push and pull strategies, importance of PR, corporate identity and packaging in aiding integration, barriers to integration — eg company and agency organisation structures, cost, methods of overcoming these barriers, levels of integration, award-winning campaigns

Measuring campaign effectiveness: customer response, recall, attitude surveys, sales levels, repeat purchases, loyalty, cost-effectiveness, degree of integration, creativity, quantitative and qualitative measures


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1 Explore the scope of marketing communications

• explain the structure, role and relationships between parties in the communications industry

• identify current trends in advertising and promotion and evaluate their impact

• use models to assess the impact of advertising and promotion on customer behaviour

2 Investigate the role and importance of advertising

• explain and demonstrate how advertising can be designed to differentiate, remind, inform and persuade

• evaluate appropriate uses and applications for advertising in two given situations

• evaluate the role, organisation and functions of agencies in the advertising process

3 Assess the role of below-the-line techniques and how they are used

• differentiate between the characteristics and objectives of the various below-the-line promotional techniques

• recommend the use of individual techniques in two commercial situations

4 Prepare an integrated promotional strategy

• explain the principles and process of campaign management

• combine appropriate techniques into an integrated and cost-effective campaign

• present promotion recommendations in the form of a promotion plan

• suggest appropriate measures for assessing campaign effectiveness


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Guidance

Delivery

This unit can be delivered as a stand-alone unit or as part of the marketing pathway. Wherever possible, an integrated approach of academic and practical skills should be delivered. Emphasis in this unit should be towards an observational approach to promotional practice necessitating involvement in documentary and analytical studies based on current or case study marketing activities and the practical application of the communications mix for a given product or service.

Assessment

Evidence of outcomes may be in the form of written or oral assignments or tests. The assignments may be on real problems or case studies. Evidence produced at outcome level can maximise flexibility of delivery although tutors may find implementation of the unit using the framework of a promotion plan, as a total package, better suited to the needs of learners. A portfolio of evidence generated through work placement could provide evidence against outcomes, although it is more likely that evidence will be generated by a combination of tutor-led assignments or tests.

Evidence could include:

• a group brand tracking study conducted across the academic year, which observes records and analyses campaign techniques used by a major brand

• individual assignment which appraises and compares individual advertisements to evaluate their likely impact, audience and effectiveness

• time-constrained assessment which requires a learner to devise a promotion plan against a case study scenario.

Links

This unit forms a direct link with the other marketing units in the HN Business programme: Unit 1: Marketing, Unit 17: Marketing Intelligence, Unit 19: Marketing Planning and Unit 20: Sales Planning and Operations.

Resources

Access should be available to a learning resource centre with a wide range of marketing texts and companions. Texts should be supported by tracking of latest developments within the communications industry from trade journals (Campaign, Marketing Week, Marketing, Incentive and Marketing Business could be used) and Trade Association Monthly Bulletins (ASA). Case studies, videos and documented examples of current practice should illustrate the topical nature of this unit. Access to media statistics and cost information, BRAD and media research reports eg JICNARS is desirable. Where appropriate, guest speakers from the industry should be invited to contribute.


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Support materials

Textbooks


Fill C — Marketing Communications: Contexts, Strategies and Applications 3rd Edition (FT/Prentice Hall, 2002) ISBN: 0273655000

Smith P R and Taylor J — Marketing Communications, An Integrated Approach (Kogan Page, 2001) ISBN: 0749436697

Yeshin T — Integrated Marketing Communications: The Holistic Approach (CIM/Butterworth Heinemann, 1998) ISBN: 0750659637


BRAD

Campaign


International Journal of Advertising

International Journal of Corporate Communications

Journal of Product and Brand Management

Marketing

Marketing Business

Marketing Incentive

Marketing Review

Marketing Week

Videos

Lucozade and Lara Croft (1998, TV Choice) — TV advertisement for a revamped product

The Marketing Mix at Cadbury’s (1998, TV Choice) — the thinking, planning and advertising behind the launch of the ‘Fuse’ chocolate bar

What Is Marketing? (2001, TV Choice) — covers 4Ps and branding

Websites

www.bized.ac.uk provides case studies appropriate for educational purposes

www.cim.co.uk The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s site contains a useful Knowledge Centre

www.marketing.haynet.com Marketing magazine

www.revolution.haynet.com Revolution magazine

www.thetimes100.co.uk multimedia resources


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Unit 19: Marketing Planning

Learning hours: 60


Description of unit

This unit will consolidate and integrate previous knowledge and understanding of marketing and enable the learner to apply and evaluate analytical tools in the development of marketing plans. Upon completion, learners will be able to understand the planning needs of organisations, present a marketing plan to meet target market needs, and achieve specified strategic marketing objectives.



1 Compile marketing audits

2 Examine the main barriers to marketing planning

3 Formulate a marketing plan for a product or service

4 Examine ethical issues in marketing.


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Content

1 Marketing audits

Changing perspectives: changing perspectives in marketing planning, market-led strategic change

Assessment of capability: evaluate issues relating to the aspects of competing for the future and balancing strategic intent and strategic reality

Organisational auditing: evaluating and coming to terms with organisational capability: balancing strategic intent and strategic reality, the determinants of capability, managerial, financial, operational, human resource and intangible (brand) capability, approaches to leveraging capability, aspects of competitive advantage

Environmental auditing: approaches to environmental analysis, the identification and evaluation of key forces using the PEST framework, the implications for marketing planning of different environmental types, Porter’s five forces, identifying the organisation’s competitive position and relating this to the principal opportunities and threats, market, product and brand life-cycles

2 Barriers to marketing planning

Barriers: objective/strategy/tactics confusion, isolation of marketing function, organisational barriers, organisational culture, change management, ethical issues, McDonald’s ‘Ten S’ approach

3 Marketing plan

The role of marketing planning in the strategic planning process: the relationship between corporate objectives, business objectives and marketing objectives at operational level; the planning gap and its impact on operational decisions

The strategic alternatives for new product development: an overview of the marketing planning process, SWOT, objectives in differing markets, products and services, product modification through to innovation, evaluation of product and market match, use of Ansoff matrix in NPD and meeting customer needs, product failure rates and implications for screening ideas against company capabilities and the market, product testing, test marketing, organisational arrangements for managing new product development, unit costs, encouraging and entrepreneurial environment, the importance of celebrating failure

Pricing policy: price taking versus price making, the dimensions of price, approaches to adding value, pricing techniques — cost-based versus market-oriented pricing; the significance of cash flow, the inter-relationships between price and the other elements of the marketing mix, taking price out of the competitive equation

Distribution: distribution methods, transport methods, hub locations and distribution centres, choice of distribution medium to point-of-sale, distribution and competitive advantage

Communication mix: evaluation of promotional mix to influence purchasing behaviour, media planning and cost, advertising and promotional campaigns and changes over the PLC, field sales planning


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Implementation: factors affecting the effective implementation of marketing plans, barriers to implementation and how to overcome them, timing, performance measures — financial, non-financial, quantitative, qualitative; determining marketing budgets for mix decisions included in the marketing plan; methods of evaluating and controlling the marketing plan; how marketing plans and activities vary in organisations that operate in virtual marketplace

4 Ethical issues

Ethical issues in marketing: ethics and the development of the competitive stance, different perspectives on ethics across nations, ethical trade-offs and ethics and managerial cultures

Ethics of the marketing mix: management of the individual elements of the marketing mix

Product: gathering market research on products, identification of product problems and levels of customer communication, product safety and product recall

Price: price fixing, predatory pricing, deceptive pricing, price discrimination

Promotion: media message impact, sales promotion, personal selling, hidden persuaders and corporate sponsorship

Distribution: abuse of power — restriction of supply

Counterfeiting: imitation, faking, pre-emption, prior registration

Consumer ethics: warranty deception, misredemption of vouchers, returns of merchandise, recording of music and videos, software copying, false insurance claims


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1 Compile marketing audits • appraise the processes and techniques used for auditing the marketing environments

• apply organisational and environmental auditing techniques in a given situation

2 Examine the main barriers to marketing planning

• identify the main barriers to marketing planning

• suggest how organisations may overcome barriers to marketing planning

3 Formulate a marketing plan for a product or service

• explain the need to be innovative in the market or services

• identify and assess techniques for developing products

• make recommendations for pricing, distributing and communicating a product or service

• specify measures to monitor and review marketing performance

• present a marketing plan for a product or service

4 Examine ethical issues in marketing

• investigate two different organisations’ responses to ethics in marketing

• identify ethical issues in marketing

• describe the implications of ethical issues on the marketing mix for an organisation


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Guidance

Delivery

This unit can be delivered as a stand-alone unit or as a component of the marketing pathway. It is designed to be linked to the Unit 1: Marketing and Unit 17: Marketing Intelligence and can be delivered and assessed in the form of an integrated case study on a real or tutor-devised organisation, product or service. Efforts should be made to ensure that learners gain a good understanding of the theoretical underpinning and practical application of marketing planning and produce credible responses

Assessment

Evidence of outcomes may be in the form of written or oral assignments or tests. The assignments may focus on real problems or case studies. Learning and assessment can be at unit level as an integrated unit or at outcome level. Evidence could be at outcome level although opportunities exist for covering more than one outcome in an assignment

Links

This unit is a part of the marketing pathway and forms a direct link with the marketing units in the HN Business programmes: Unit 1: Marketing, Unit 17 Marketing Intelligence, Unit 18: Advertising and Promotion and Unit 20: Sales Planning and Operations. The unit is also linked with Unit 4: Business Environment and Unit 7: Business Strategy.

Resources

Access should be available to a learning resource centre with a wide range of marketing texts and companions. Texts should be supported by use of journals, company reports and government statistics. Case studies, videos and documented examples of organisations and their marketing, auditing and planning techniques should illustrate the topical nature of this unit.

Support materials

Textbooks


Dibb S et al — Marketing: Concepts and Strategies 4th Edition (Houghton Mifflin, 2001) ISBN: 0395962447

Fifield P — Marketing Strategy 2nd Edition (Butterworth Heinemann, 1998) ISBN: 075063284

Hatton A — The Definitive Guide to Marketing Planning (FT/Prentice Hall, 2000) ISBN: 0273649329

McDonald M — Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them 5th Edition (Butterworth Heinemann, 2002) ISBN: 0434912301


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Campaign


Harvard Business Review

Journal of Marketing

Journal of Marketing Management

Journal of Services Marketing

Marketing

Marketing Business

Marketing Review

Marketing Week

Videos

Marketing Decisions (1998, TV Choice) — marketing problems faced by three companies

The Marketing Mix at Cadbury’s (1998, TV Choice) — the thinking, planning and advertising behind the launch of the ‘Fuse’ chocolate bar

Websites


www.cim.co.uk The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s site contains a useful knowledge centre

www.ft.com The Financial Times business sections

www.marketing.haynet.com Marketing magazine



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Unit 20: Sales Planning and Operations

Learning hours: 60


Description of unit

The aim of this unit is to develop a critical awareness of sales planning and operations. Learners will analyse the stages involved in the selling process, and evaluate the role of personal selling in creating value and developing customer relationships in a variety of contexts and environments. The unit will also consider the management and organisation of the sales force to achieve sales objectives.



1 Explore the role of personal selling within the overall marketing of organisations

2 Identify and evaluate the stages in the selling process

3 Analyse the role and objectives of sales management

4 Examine the implications of operating in different sales environments and contexts.


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Content

1 Personal selling

Promotion mix: personal and impersonal communication, objectives of promotional activity, push-pull strategies, integrating sales with other promotional activities, evaluating promotion, allocation of promotion budget

Understanding buyer behaviour: consumer and organisational purchase decision-making processes, personal, psychological and social influences on consumer purchase behaviour, environmental, organisational, interpersonal and individual influences on organisational buyer behaviour, purchase occasion, buying interests and motives, buyer moods, level of involvement, importance and structure of the DMU, finding the decision-taker, distinction between customers and users

Role of sales force: definition and role of personal selling, types of selling, characteristics for personal selling, product and competitor knowledge, sales force responsibilities, information gathering, customer and competitor intelligence, customer databases, prospecting, stock allocation, sales reports and records, liaison with sales office, sales force communications and the role of IT in improving communications

2 Selling process

Principles: customer-oriented approach, preparation and objective setting, opening remarks, techniques and personal presentation, need for identification and stimulation, presentation, demonstration and use of visual aids, handling and pre-empting objections, techniques and proposals for negotiation, buying signals and closing techniques, post sale follow-up, relationship marketing

3 Sales management

Sales strategy: setting sales objectives, relationship of sales, marketing and corporate objectives, importance of selling in the marketing plan, sources, collection and use of marketing information for planning and decision-making, role of sales forecasts in planning, quantitative and qualitative sales forecasting techniques, strategies for selling

Recruitment and selection: importance of selection, preparing job descriptions and personnel specifications, sources of recruitment, interview preparation and techniques, selection and appointment

Motivation, remuneration and training: motivation theory and practice — financial and non-financial incentives, salary and commission-based remuneration, induction and ongoing training, training methods, preparation of training programmes, the sales manual

Organisation and structure: organisation of sales activities by product, customer, area, estimation of call frequency, territory design, journey planning, allocation of workload, team building, creating and maintaining effective working relationships, sales meetings and conferences

Controlling sales output: purpose and role of the sales budget, performance standards, appraisals, self-development plans, customer care


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Database management: importance of database building, sources of information, updating the database, use of database to generate incremental business and stimulate repeat purchase, use of database control mechanisms, importance of IT methods in database management

4 Sales environments and contexts

Sales settings: sales channels — retailers, wholesalers, agents, importance of segmentation, industrial selling, selling to public authorities, selling for resale, telephone selling, selling services, pioneer selling, systems selling, selling to project teams or groups

International selling: role of agents and distributors, sources, selection and appointment of agents/distributors, agency contracts, training and motivating agents/distributors, use of expatriate versus local sales personnel, role, duties and characteristics of the export sales force, coping in different cultural environments

Exhibitions and trade fairs: role, types and locations of trade fairs and exhibitions, principles of stand design, setting objectives for exhibition attendance, audience profile and measurement, qualification and follow-up of exhibition leads, evaluation of exhibition attendance, financial assistance for exhibition attendance


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1 Explore the role of personal selling within the overall marketing of organisations

• provide two examples of objectives from different elements in the communication mix and explain their roles and the relationship between them

• illustrate how an understanding of buyer behaviour can be used in personal selling

• identify the environmental and managerial forces affecting personal selling

• describe the main types of personal selling

2 Identify and evaluate the stages in the selling process

• discuss the principles of personal selling

• analyse the stages in the personal selling process

3 Analyse the role and objectives of sales management

• explain how sales strategies are revised in line with corporate objectives

• devise appropriate recruitment and selection procedures

• evaluate the role of motivation, remuneration and training in enhancing sales performance

• describe two techniques used to co-ordinate and control sales output

• use given information to recommend appropriate organisation structures and procedures

4 Examine the implications of operating in different sales environments and contexts

• identify and give three examples of the differences in the nature of sales tasks and skills in a variety of contexts

• explain the role of sales staff operating in an international environment

• explain the purpose of trade fairs and evaluate their contribution


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Guidance

Delivery

This unit is designed to have a variety of theoretical and practical delivery mechanisms. The use of case studies and sales organisation evaluation could be used to develop theoretical knowledge. A data-bank of sales figures relating to number of customers, number of sales visits and number and value of orders for a number of sales staff could be analysed to evaluate sales force performance against a variety of criteria such as profitability or new business generation. The use of outside speakers and visits to organisations could be used where appropriate to support delivery. Efforts should be made to ensure that learners gain a good understanding of the marketing knowledge they gain and can apply it to real life situations and case studies.

Assessment

Evidence of outcomes may be in the form of written or oral assignments or tests. The assignments may focus on real problems or case studies. Learning and assessment can be at unit level as an integrated unit or at outcome level. Evidence could be at outcome level although opportunities exist for covering more than one outcome in an assignment.

Links

This unit forms a direct link with the other marketing units in the HN Business programme: Unit 1: Marketing, Unit 17: Marketing Intelligence, Unit 18: Advertising and Promotion and Unit 19: Marketing Planning.

Resources

There are numerous textbooks covering sales planning and operations. It is important that learners are directed to a balance of comprehensive theoretical texts and the more readable ‘how to’ books which exist and provide an excellent source of practical exercises.

Marketing and sales journals are a good topical source of personal selling and sales management activities. Over the years a number of videos have been produced demonstrating good (and bad) sales techniques. Many of these form part of sales training programmes which can be purchased. Throughout the course of an academic year, topical programmes often appear on television.

Support materials

Textbooks


Jobber D and Lancaster G — Selling and Sales Management (FT/Prentice Hall, 2000) ISBN: 0273674153

Johns T — Perfect Customer Care: All You Need to Get It Right (Random House, 1999) ISBN: 0099406217

Noonan C — Sales Management (Butterworth Heinemann, 1998) ISBN: 0750633611


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Campaign


Harvard Business Review

Journal of Marketing Management

Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management

Marketing

Marketing Business

Marketing Review

Videos

Over the years a number of videos have been produced demonstrating good (and bad) sales techniques. Many of these form part of sales training programmes which can be purchased. Throughout the course of an academic year, topical programmes often appear on television.

There is also a good source of topical video material available from:

The Open University Broadcasting Office P O Box 953 Walton Hall Milton Keynes MK7 6EB

Telephone: 01908 652777

Websites


www.cim.co.uk The Chartered Institute of Marketing’s site contains a useful Knowledge Centre

www.ft.com The Financial Times business sections

www.iops.co.uk Institute of Professional Sales


Documents

B014393 HN in Business L4 - Iss2 - Edwardes Collegeedwardes.wikispaces.com/file/view/Marketing+Specialist+Units.pdf · 1 Buyer behaviour and the purchase decision-making process