Deck 13: Personal Selling and Sales Promotion

Question 1

In a small group, design a sales promotion campaign using online, social media, and mobile marketing for a small business or organization in your community. Develop a presentation to pitch your campaign to the business or organization and incorporate what you've learned about the selling process. (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking)

Answer 1

Not Answer

Question 2

More than 300 billion coupons are distributed each year, with more than 90 percent of them printed on paper. Consumers re-deem only about 1 percent of coupons distributed, often because they clip them but forget to use them in the store. SnipSnap has a solution for consumers. Hailed as the Best Shopping App by About.com and winning Media Post's Apply Awards for Best Finance App, this app has mobilized those paper coupons for consumers. SnipSnap now boasts 4 million users and more than 50 national retail partners. The app allows consumers to snap a photo of retailers' paper coupons and redeem them at the store. Users can share with friends on Facebook and Twitter and follow others' couponing. SnipSnap is the first mobile app that scans the text, images, logos, and barcodes in printed coupons and creates a mobile coupon. It also sends expiration date reminders and location-based notifications. Retailer Lord Taylor installed iBeacon technology and partnered with SnipSnap to send shoppers targeted coupons based on where they are in the store. So if you want a good deal on a Michael Kors purse, it knows you are looking at the item and might send you a coupon through the app.
SnipSnap employees noticed consumers were snapping pictures of "coupons" they created to send to friends and family that were good for some special treatment, so the company created a spin-off app called GoodFor. Now, if you want to send a special some-one a coupon good for a 30-minute massage or your kid a "get out of chores free" coupon, GoodFor allows you to do it!
Research other types of apps that rely on smartphone cameras to redeem a sales promotion offer. Explain how they work and how they are similar to and different from SnipSnap. (AACSB: Communication; Use of IT; Reflective Thinking)

Answer 2

GQ is similar app just like SS that relies on Smartphone cameras for redeeming sales promotion offer. GQ also converts all the images, text and bar codes into an optimized offer of mobile. Just like SS, GQ also mobilizes all the coupons in minutes. With this app user can pull up the promo code, or photograph, then they can present them to cashier for redeeming it.
Similarity between GQ and SS are as follows:
• It also provides in-store reminders.
• It also scans all the coupons.
• It also provides alerts of expiry dates.
• It evaluates success rating of the store.
The dissimilarity between GQ and SS are as follows:
• GQ provides online coupon but SS does not provide.
• In GQ app user can redeem their coupons by simply showing promo code of the coupon or image, but SS user has to show barcode or image for it.

Question 3

More than 300 billion coupons are distributed each year, with more than 90 percent of them printed on paper. Consumers re-deem only about 1 percent of coupons distributed, often because they clip them but forget to use them in the store. SnipSnap has a solution for consumers. Hailed as the Best Shopping App by About.com and winning Media Post's Apply Awards for Best Finance App, this app has mobilized those paper coupons for consumers. SnipSnap now boasts 4 million users and more than 50 national retail partners. The app allows consumers to snap a photo of retailers' paper coupons and redeem them at the store. Users can share with friends on Facebook and Twitter and follow others' couponing. SnipSnap is the first mobile app that scans the text, images, logos, and barcodes in printed coupons and creates a mobile coupon. It also sends expiration date reminders and location-based notifications. Retailer Lord Taylor installed iBeacon technology and partnered with SnipSnap to send shoppers targeted coupons based on where they are in the store. So if you want a good deal on a Michael Kors purse, it knows you are looking at the item and might send you a coupon through the app.
SnipSnap employees noticed consumers were snapping pictures of "coupons" they created to send to friends and family that were good for some special treatment, so the company created a spin-off app called GoodFor. Now, if you want to send a special some-one a coupon good for a 30-minute massage or your kid a "get out of chores free" coupon, GoodFor allows you to do it!
The profitable growth potential for SnipSnap is in the enterprise market where it provides mobile promotion services to retailers. SnipSnap is working with retailers to create and manage geo-conquesting campaigns. Research what this is and create a presentation explaining how it works. (AACSB: Communication; Use of IT; Reflective Thinking)

Answer 3

Geo-conquesting is a new mobile based advertising that makes use of the user's location to provide advertising and directs the consumers towards a specific business. It allows marketers to hyper-target consumers on the go and pulls their business away from competitors.
In the given case, it is required to make a presentation on Geo-conquesting, which is as shown below:
SLIDE 1
In the first slide, Geo-conquesting is discussed. It is a new mobile based advertising that makes use of the user's location to provide advertising and directs the consumers towards a specific business.
SLIDE 2
In the second slide it is discussed how Geo-conquesting is helpful. It helps to increase the brand-awareness of the particular brand among consumers, currently engaged in similar product from a competitor. This makes geo-conquesting a very attractive option for new business trying to carve out a space among the other established brands.
SLIDE 3
In the third slide, it is discussed how Geo-conquesting works. In this a perimeter is set around the vicinity of the competitors and then the ads are served to mobile users. It is a variation of geo-fencing.

Question 4

The pharmaceutical industry is innovating at a dizzying pace, but it is getting more difficult for pharmaceutical sales reps to reach doctors to inform them of new or improved products. One option is to host educational seminars. However, many educational seminars are held at lavish restaurants or destinations underwritten by pharmaceutical companies, and doctors providing the education are paid consulting and speaking fees to the tune of more than $2 billion since 2009. In some cases, speakers are given scripts developed by the pharmaceutical company, leading to the criticism that this is company-scripted marketing and the distinguished speaker is merely a "paid parrot" selling drugs for the company. Critics also claim that such promotion results in needlessly increased prescriptions for expensive branded drugs that are no better than generic alternatives. Many drug makers are reducing expenditures for such product promotions because of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, a provision of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Pro Publica has a "Dollars for Docs" searchable database, and as part of the Sunshine Act, a searchable government Web site is available to the public to shed light on pharmaceutical sales practices.
Is it wrong for pharmaceutical companies to explain the benefits of their products to physicians this way? Suggest other alternatives for reaching doctors to inform them of the benefits of a company's products. (AACSB: Communication; Ethical Reasoning; Reflective Thinking)

Question 5

The pharmaceutical industry is innovating at a dizzying pace, but it is getting more difficult for pharmaceutical sales reps to reach doctors to inform them of new or improved products. One option is to host educational seminars. However, many educational seminars are held at lavish restaurants or destinations underwritten by pharmaceutical companies, and doctors providing the education are paid consulting and speaking fees to the tune of more than $2 billion since 2009. In some cases, speakers are given scripts developed by the pharmaceutical company, leading to the criticism that this is company-scripted marketing and the distinguished speaker is merely a "paid parrot" selling drugs for the company. Critics also claim that such promotion results in needlessly increased prescriptions for expensive branded drugs that are no better than generic alternatives. Many drug makers are reducing expenditures for such product promotions because of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, a provision of the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Pro Publica has a "Dollars for Docs" searchable database, and as part of the Sunshine Act, a searchable government Web site is available to the public to shed light on pharmaceutical sales practices.
Learn about the Physician Payment Sunshine Act. Search Pro Publica's "Dollars for Does" database (http://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/) for local physicians to see if they have received payments from pharmaceutical companies. Search the government's Web site (https:// openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/) and compare your findings with those of Pro Publica's database. Write a report on what you found. (AACSB: Communication; Use of IT; Reflective Thinking)

Question 6

Wheels, Inc. manufactures bicycles sold through retail bicycle shops in the southeastern United States. The company has two salespeople that do more than just sell the products they manage relationships with the bicycle shops to enable them to better meet consumers' needs. The company's sales reps visit the shops several times per year, often for hours at a time. The owner of Wheels is considering expanding to the rest of the country and would like to have distribution through 1,000 bicycle shops. To do so, however, the company would have to hire more salespeople. Each salesperson earns $40,000 plus 2 percent commission on all sales annually. Another alternative is to use the services of sales agents instead of its own sales force. Sales agents would be paid 5 percent of sales.
Refer to Appendix 3 to answer this question. Deter-mine the number of salespeople Wheels needs if it has 1,000 bicycle shop accounts that need to be called on four times per year. Each sales call lasts approximately 2.5 hours, and each sales rep has approximately 1,250 hours per year to devote to customers. (AACSB: Communication; Analytical Reasoning)

Question 7

Wheels, Inc. manufactures bicycles sold through retail bicycle shops in the southeastern United States. The company has two salespeople that do more than just sell the products they manage relationships with the bicycle shops to enable them to better meet consumers' needs. The company's sales reps visit the shops several times per year, often for hours at a time. The owner of Wheels is considering expanding to the rest of the country and would like to have distribution through 1,000 bicycle shops. To do so, however, the company would have to hire more salespeople. Each salesperson earns $40,000 plus 2 percent commission on all sales annually. Another alternative is to use the services of sales agents instead of its own sales force. Sales agents would be paid 5 percent of sales.
At what level of sales would it be more cost efficient for Wheels to use to sales agents compared with its own sales force? To determine this, consider the fixed and variable costs for each alternative. What are the pros and cons of using a company's own sales force versus independent sales agents? (AACSB: Communication; Analytical Reasoning; Reflective Thinking)

Question 8

First Flavor is a start-up company with a unique product. It manufactures great-tasting edible film that can replicate the flavor of just about anything, from an eight-topping pizza to an alcoholic beverage. If you're wondering why a company would make such a product, think of the endless possibilities it allows for consumers to sample the taste of a food or beverage before purchasing it. Although First Flavor first replicated flavors on thin film in order to market the product as a new method for product sampling, the company is now evaluating many other applications of the technology. This video demonstrates how one product can be marketed in multiple ways.
After viewing the video featuring First Flavor, answer the following questions:
Classify First Flavor's core business as a sales promotion element.

Question 9

First Flavor is a start-up company with a unique product. It manufactures great-tasting edible film that can replicate the flavor of just about anything, from an eight-topping pizza to an alcoholic beverage. If you're wondering why a company would make such a product, think of the endless possibilities it allows for consumers to sample the taste of a food or beverage before purchasing it. Although First Flavor first replicated flavors on thin film in order to market the product as a new method for product sampling, the company is now evaluating many other applications of the technology. This video demonstrates how one product can be marketed in multiple ways.
After viewing the video featuring First Flavor, answer the following questions:
Brainstorm a list of the ways that First Flavor's edible film might be used to sample products.

Question 10

Describe the roles a salesperson and the sales force perform in marketing. (AACSB: Written and Oral Communication; Reflective Thinking)

Question 11

First Flavor is a start-up company with a unique product. It manufactures great-tasting edible film that can replicate the flavor of just about anything, from an eight-topping pizza to an alcoholic beverage. If you're wondering why a company would make such a product, think of the endless possibilities it allows for consumers to sample the taste of a food or beverage before purchasing it. Although First Flavor first replicated flavors on thin film in order to market the product as a new method for product sampling, the company is now evaluating many other applications of the technology. This video demonstrates how one product can be marketed in multiple ways.
After viewing the video featuring First Flavor, answer the following questions:
Can First Flavor successfully in pursue consumer prod-uct opportunities in addition to its promotional services? Explain.

Question 12

What traits and behaviors should an ethical salesperson possess? What role does the sales manager play in ethical selling behavior? (AACSB: Ethical Understanding and Reasoning)

Question 13

If assigned by your instructor, complete these writing sections from your Assignments in the MyLab.
What is social selling, and how is it affecting the sales function in organizations? (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking)

Question 14

Name and describe the four sales compensation elements. What are the various compensation combinations, and how can they be used to achieve the company's marketing objectives? (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking)

Question 15

If assigned by your instructor, complete these writing sections from your Assignments in the MyLab.
What is team selling, and why has it become more important? Are there any pitfalls to this approach? (AACSB: Communication; Reflective Thinking)

Question 16

Define sales promotion and discuss its objectives. (AACSB: Written and Oral Communication)

Question 17

Discuss the different types of trade sales promotions and distinguish these types of promotions from business promotions. (AACSB: Written and Oral Communication)

Question 18

There are considerable free sales training resources available on the Internet. Search "free sales training" to find some of these resources and access one of them. Create a presentation highlighting what you learned. (AACSB: Communication; Use of IT; Reflective Thinking)

Question 19

Select a product or service and role-play a sales call- from the approach to the close-with another student. Have one member of the team act as the salesperson with the other member acting as the customer, raising at least three objections. Select another product or service and perform this exercise again with your roles reversed. (AACSB: Written and Oral Communication; Reflective Thinking)