Marketing Skills

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Finishing School Course Plan ACD

2511: Marketing & Selling Skills

BizMentors Pvt. Ltd.

7/16/2013 1 BizMentors Pvt. Ltd.

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The Objectives of This Session

To provide insights to the participants, about the supreme role of

Marketing & Selling for success in any business or profession.

To expose participants to likely challenges of Marketing & Selling,

and help them develop their own strategies for marketing

themselves effectively.

To thereby help participants develop convictions about the

importance of developing into good marketers for success.


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Marketing Management

Marketing Management Estimating Business Potential

and its challenges

Understanding market needs

Market sizing.

Market segmentation

Product differentiation

Branding: Advertising and Communication Management.

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Understanding the customer: Market

Research

The work of understanding the customer is foundational

for the venture.

Understanding customer needs and preferences is the

basis for deciding whether the venture is worth

undertaking at all.

The quantitative understanding defines the scale and

scope of the venture.

Understanding customer processes dictates the selling

and sales fulfillment plans of the venture.

Understanding customer decision making is the

foundation for the marketing activities of the venture.

7/16/2013 BizMentors Pvt. Ltd. 4

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Market Sizing & Forecasting

Key issues that should be considered include:

Identifying current & potential customers by company size & type

Identifying competing offerings and how they may impact your own

market

Placing specific offerings at the appropriate place along their life

cycle curve, and identifying the structure (i.e. how quickly do similar

products ramp up? how long do they sustain high growth rates?)

and time span of the curve

Identifying specific obstacles to success (usually related to specific

customer categories) that will or may limit the market potential

Considering bandwidth or resource issues such as too few

distributors or an insufficient number of salespeople


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Market segmentation

The process of splitting customers, or potential customers, in a

market into different groups, or segments, within which customers

share a similar level of interest in the same or comparable set of

needs satisfied by a distinct marketing proposition

A customer's view of segmentation meet my needs!

When choosing between competing products and services,

customers select the proposition that meets their needs better than

any other. To win market share, therefore, a company must ensure

that their offers meet these needs better than any other at a price

they perceive as providing superior value for money (which does not

necessarily mean it has to be the cheapest). As this is how

customers operate in a market, then a segmentation project should

have these as its segmentation criteria.


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Product Differentiation

The process of segmentation leads us to the next mandatory step

Differentiation.

Unless our product / service is clearly differentiated, its presence will

be lost in the chaos of the market place with so many competing

offers.

The basis of differentiation lies in what is known as its USP (Unique

Selling Proposition).

The USP consists of those set of features or properties of our

solution that sets it apart from the competition.

Usually the USP is based on technology or unique insights into

customer usage behavior that is unique.

However, given the quick rise of ME-TOO solutions in a

competitive market, the USP needs to keep continuously changing /

improving to keep ahead of the competition.


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Branding Advertizing & Communication - 1

Today's customers aren't just buying what you are

selling; they are buying who you are. -- Michael Drew

The purchase decisions of customers are heavily

influenced by their perception of the BRAND of product /

service.

Brand building therefore becomes the foremost

determinant of marketing success.

The Brand then embodies all the promises made to the

customer, and the expectations generated in the

customers mind which must necessarily be satisfied by

the product / service offered.


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Branding Advertizing & Communication - 2

The Brand is a personality generated by advertisement

and marketing communication.

The latter therefore need to be designed with adequate

preparation, so as to ensure

That the Brand characteristics match the solution offered.

There is no over- or under-promise, and that expectations

generated are exactly met by the solution offered.

The process of communication over time generates a clear

brand image in the minds of consumers which gives it a unique

and unassailable position in the market and differentiates it form

the competing offers in the market.

The Brand thus determines the longevity of the product /

service in the market.


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Sales Management

Sales Management Business Acquisition and its

challenges

The 4 Ps of Sales Management.

Innovative salesmanship.

Pricing Power.

Promotional tactics.

Distribution Management.

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The 4 Ps of Sales Management.

The 4Ps are:

Product (or Service)

Place

Price

Promotion


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Innovative Salesmanship.

Perception is everything.

Tell a compelling story.

Create more value than you capture.

Everyone has one goal growth

Content is king for creativity.

Be gentle and constructive with your feedback.

Help others create meaning.


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Pricing Power.


Define your positioning

Match your pricing strategy to your

value proposition

Understand your cost structure and

profitability goals.

Analyze your competitors prices

Determine price sensitivity

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Promotional tactics.

Promotional Offers: Discounts, Freebies, Interest

Waivers, etc.

Point of Purchase Communications (POP): Placards,

Cut-Outs, Banners, Videos, Events, etc.

Promotional Events: Sponsored Movie shows, Musical

Shows, Demos, Free Service Camps, etc.

Public Relations initiatives: Endorsements by Famous

personalities, TV Shows, Press Meets, Product

Launches, Deployment of any mass media channel for

getting the attention of wide range of public.


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Distribution Management - 1

The focus here is the 4th P - Place.

It is all about making the product / service available with in

easy reach of customers.

It is obvious that customers can never buy something that is

not available for purchase.

The key to this is to have a wide network of distributors /

sales agents who will stock your product and display it well

for customers to see and buy, or deploy the people with the

necessary skills to deliver the service within quick time to

the customer.


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Distribution Management - 2

The network of such distributors then have to be constantly

monitored and supplied with the necessary inputs to enable

sales of the solution from their counters.

The focus of this activity is therefore Efficient Supply

Logistics, Effective Inventory Management and Constant

Monitoring of the Sales at the counters.


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Exercise.

Make one min commercial about yourself?

What is the purpose?

What is the Business opportunity?

Where do you have occasion?

How will you ensure effective solution

delivery and satisfaction of the target

customers? (Use the 4P approach).


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Marketing Skills