OPERATIONS ON THE MARKETING MIX

THE MARKETING MIX

A set of controllables, tactical marketing tools that work together to achieve companys objectives. Controllables because they are tool the business uses determine its offering to customers. Often called the four (4Ps)

 Place- it represents the location where a product can be purchased. Often referred to as channel of distribution. Eg store, virtual stores like ebay on the internet Promotion. This involve all tools that the marketer uses to get its product known to the custommer. Eg. Ads, personal selling, sales promotion, PR, and direct marketing

FOUR Ps
A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. It includes physical objects, services, persons, organisations and the like Kotler et al (2002). Price is the amount of money charged for products or the sum of the values that consumers exchange for the benefits of having or using the product or service.

EXTENDED MARKETING MIX

People- this includes all who directly or indirectly who influence the perceived value of the product or service. People are important in the management of services because of their role as performers of service and customers Why are people as performers important to the organisation?

 They are direct contact with customers and customers see a company through its employees, particularly front line staff. The marketing manager should improve the quality and performance of front line staff through: Proper selection and training Providing rules and regulation to control their relationship with customers Ensuring consistent appearance

 Customers should be well managed because of the potency of word of mouth WOM could be positive or negative WOM depends on comparison between the customers expectation and service performance Performance = expectation satisfaction Performance < expectation dissatisfied Performance > expectation delighted

 Process. The system through which a service is delivered. Process can fall into any of these: Line operations- eg. Self service restaurants, shops. Job shop operations- hospitals, educational institution Intermittent operations- advertising agencies, consultancy

 These are the physical, tangible and controllable aspect of a service organisation It is made up of : Peripheral evidence possessed as part of the purchase of a service but by itself is of no value Essential evidence-the essential evidence cannot be possessed by the customer. Physical evidence should be well managed to create the ideal environment for your service Make the service more tangible and make it easier for the customer to understand the service offering.

PART V: PRODUCT OPERATIONS

Product
What is a product? A product is anything that can be offered to marketing for attention, acquisition, and use that may satisfy a need. Product are goods and services Consumers do not just buy products, they are interested in the benefits. The product must meet customer expectation by providing the expected benefits.

Basic feature and Aspect- Auxilliary Dimensions

Features- are physical characteristics of a product sold and marketed by the company. It includes qualities or variables such as shapes, size, colour, weight, speed, durability, and maintainability. Auxilliary Dimensions- include product package, warranty, repair service, brand name, inset, reputation etc.

Product Concept
The product concept holds that consumers will favour those products that offer quality or performance. Managers in these productoriented organisations focus their energy on making good products and improving them over time.

Task of the Marketing Manager

The MG has to select and blend the products primary characteristics and auxilliary dimensions into a basic idea or concept emphasising a particular set of consumer benefits. It involves the brands benefits and attributes.

Product Strategy
Planning and Developing a unified mix of product attributes is called product strategy. For effective strategy marketers use three terms to evaluate competitors.

 Product Class- use to identify groupd of items that may differ from each other while performing more or less the same function,eg pepsodent, closeup parazone, mr. muscle etc. Product category- subsets of product types contained with product class. They however, take different form or subdivided, eg. Liquids, powder, and spray. Product Brand- brands identify and distinguish one product from another. eg. Coca cola, fanta ,amstel malt, malta guiness etc

Types of products
Generally products are divided into: Consumer products-for immediate consumption Industrial products-for further processing or service rendering

Classification of Consumer Goods

Consumer goods include the following: Convenience goods purchased regular without any though. Less expensive Shopping goods- effort is made to make comparison, make few findings,before buying Consumer durables- last longer,eg refrigerator, TV, etc Non-durables

 Specialty products are goods for which consumers are willing to spend more time and purchase effort. E.g. Designer perfume Unsought products are those of which the consumer is unaware or knows but normally does not think of buying.

The Product Line and the Product Mix Product item- refers to a specific product or a brand. Product Line- a group of products which are closely related as satisfying a class of need. Product Depth- the number of different product items offered in a productline. Product Width- is used to identify the extent of product line associated with one organisation, no matter how diverse or narrow they may be Product Mix- consist of all offerings made available by the organisation - related/unrelated

Branding
a brand is a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. Brand Mark- a unique symbol on a brand. Trade Mark- a legally protected brand or brand mark Manufactured Brand- brand name owned by a manufacturer

 Distributor/private brand- owned by intermediate organisations. Brand image- the symbolic value associated with a brand. Brand extension- an existing brand name extended to new areas. Family branding- using a single brand name over an entire line of products

Principles for Selecting a Brand Name

A brand should reflect directly or indirectly some aspects of the product, viz. benefit, function, etc eg Desprin connotes that the product has to do with headache A brand should be distinctive, especially if the product requires such distinction, e.g., Printex A brand name should be easy to pronounce and remembered. Example Lux, Tigo etc It should be such that it can be legally protected, if necessary.

Branding: Advantages & Disadvantages Buyer. 1. A brand name denotes uniform quality. 2. It makes shopping easier. 3. Competition among brands can, over a period of time, lead to quality improvements. 4. Purchasing socially visible brand can give psychological satisfaction to the buyer.

 Sellers - Advantages 1. It helps in product identification. 2. In a highly competitive market, it can carve out a niche for itself through product differentiation. 3. If brand loyalty can be developed through successful promotion, the firm will be able to exert quazi-monopoly power.

PACKAGING
Kotler defines packaging as all activities of designing and producing the container for a product. It involves making decisions about labels, inserts, instructions for product use, graphic design, and shipping cartons, as well as decisions about the sizes and types of physical containers for individual product items within the outer package.

Basic functions of Packaging

Protect/Containment product from the environment and physical hazards the product can be exposed to. Eg., breakages, climatic conditions etc Appeal/Promotion Perform or Usage Offer convenience to end-users and Be cost effective

Labelling
this has to do with the paper or plastic sticker incorporated into the protective aspects of the package

Warranty
A written guarantee of a products integrity and the manufacturers responsibility for repairing or replacing defective parts within certain time frame.

The Product Life Cycle

Introduction: The basic premise of the PLC is that products go through several stages of life with each stage presenting the marketer with different challenges that must be met with different marketing approaches.

Stages of the PLC

Development Introduction Growth Maturity Decline

Development
This occurs before the product is released to the market and is principally a time for honing the product offering and preparing the market for product introduction.

Introduction
Product is released to the market and sale begin though often gradually as the market becomes aware of the product. Characteristics 1. Slow sales 2. Non existence of profit Marketing Objective 1. Is to create awareness and trial among consumers.

Market Strategy 1. Offer basic product 2. Charge cost-plus 3. Build selective distribution and 4. Use heavy sales promotion

Maturity
The product has reach its highest peak and may stay there longer. Characteristics 1. Slowdown in sales growth because of acceptance by majority of customers 2. Profits stabilizes or starts to decline because of increased promotion Marketing objective: Maximize profit whiles defend market share.

 Strategies to adopt: diversify brands and items models Price to beat or match best competitors Build more intensive distribution Pursue advert that stress on brand unique attributes and benefits Increase sales promotion to encourage brand switching

Decline
At this stage all products eventually see demand decline as customers no longer see value in purchasing the product. Characteristics Sales slow downward drift and profit erode Cost is low per customer Profit declines Some competitors withdraw

 Marketing Objective: To reduce expenditure and milk the brand Strategy: - Phase out weak brands - Cut down price - Do selective distribution and phase out unprofitable outlets - Advertise only to retain hard-core loyal customers - Reduce sales promotion to cut down expenditure.

Growth Stage
Acceptance: if the product is accepted it may reach a stage of rapid growth in sales and in profits. Characteristics: 1. Rapid market acceptance 2. Rising sales and profit 3. Growing number of competitors. Marketing Objective: To maximize more market share

 Strategy: marketing strategy at this stage include: 1. Offer product extensions 2. Add value services such as warranty 3. Price to penetrate the market 4. Build intensive distribution 5. Embark on aggressive advertisement 6. Reduce sales promotion to take advantage of heavy consumer demand.

Market Evolution
Definition: Four stages a market goes through during a product's life cycle : emergence, growth, maturity, and decline).

 Stage 1 Emergence the market exist as latent market. Only one or few products or brands exist in the market. Sellers enjoy positive economic profit. Market may take the form of monopoly

 Growth Market experience growth in profit as new product receive good patronage. Potential firms are attracted Sellers enjoy profits Profit begins to stabilize due to new entrants There is increase in supply forcing price to fall

 Maturity The market is saturated with many sellers serving all segments. There fierce competition Almost all firms breakeven- normal profits

 Decline Demand for goods generally begins to fall Smaller firms leave the market (industry) Only firms with substantial loyal customers may stay and probably make negative economic profit

Diffusion and Innovation

The PLC is tied to closely to the concept of diffusion of innovation. The concept explains how information and acceptance of a new products spread through a market. Customers differ in their readiness and willingness to adopt a new product. Innovative products, ideas normally spread (diffuse) among the people or market. The concept is as well associated with adopter categories into which customers are likely to fall.

Categories of Adopters
Innovators: Represent a small percentage of the market They are enthusiast who will like to try new things without regard to price. These however, do not remain loyal as they continue to seek new products. Early Adopters: Contain more members than the innovator category. They share innovators enthusiasm they are more practical in their decisions

They communicate their experience with early majority. They act as opinion leaders.
Early Majority: this represent the beginning of entry into mass market They constitute for up to one-third of the overall market. Their entry is key if a new product is to be profitable

 Late Majority: They exhibit wait- and-see attitude before trying something new. Marketers are likely to see their highest profies once this group start to purchase. Laggards: the last group to adopt something new. They do so when thy have no other choice.

Product Portfolio Planning (Strategy)

The business portfolio is a collection of businesses that make up the company. the best business portfolio is one that fits the companys strenghts and helps exploit the most attractive opportunities.

Methods of Portfolio Planning

The two best known portfolio methods are from Boston Consulting Group and by General Electric. Our concern will on the BCG The first step in the planning is to identifythe various Strategic Business Units SBUs in a company portfolio.

SBU
An SBU is a unit of the company that has a separate mission and objectives and that can be planned independently from the other businesses. An SBU can be a company division, a product line, or even individual brands.

The Boston Consulting Group

The BCG provides a firm an opportunity to assess how well its business units work together. Each business unit is evaluated in terms of two factors; market share market growth. On the horizontal axis: relative market share- this serves as a measure of SBU strenght in the market. On the vertical axis: market growth rate- this provides a measure of market attracriveness. By dividing the matrix into four areas, four SBU can be distinguished:

 Stars- stars are high growth business or products competing in markets where they are relatively strong compared with the competition. They need heavy investment to sustain growth. As growth slow and relative market share is maintained, they turn to cash cows Cash Cows- Cash cows are low-growth business or products with relatively high market share. These are mature, successful business with relatively little need for investment. They need to be managed for continued profit- so that they continue to generate the strong cash flows that the company needs for its stars.

 Question Marks (problem child) these are businesses or products with low market share but operate in higher growth markets. they have potential and therefore will require substantial investment in order to grow market share at the expense at the expense of more powerful competitors. Dogs- the term dogs refers to businesses or products that have low relative share in unattractive ,low-growth markets. Dogs may generate enough cash to break-even, but they are rarely. If ever investing in.

PRICING OPERATIONS
Introduction: Pricing is important for new business owners because it impacts the success or failure of any business. How much profit you generate from your business, customer satisfaction, marketing, repeat business. (Daphne Mallory).

Why Pricing Decisions

Reasons include: - Pricing is the only part of the marketing mix which brings in revenue. - Once a price has been set, consumers will often show a great deal of resistance to any attempts to change it. - Pricing frequently has important implications for the positioning of a product. - Price is the marketing mix variable for which a competitive response can be most quickly implemented

Conceptualizing Price
A logical examination suggests that price should be defined as Price = resources goods received That is, we need to consider the quantity you received as well as the amount of money you have to fork out. To say that petrol cost GhC4. 29 is meaningless outside the context that this cost is per gallon.

Ways to change Price

Increasing or decreasing the sticker price of a product. Increasing or decreasing the quantity of received. Changing the quality of a product. Firms may cut back on services or dilute products more, possibly reducing or cutting out expensive ingredients. Change the terms of a sale. Firms may begin charging for previously free delivery.

PRICING STRATEGIES
Price Skimming- charging price relatively high four a short time. - takes place when a product is launched, - objective is to skim off customers who are willing to pay more to have the product. - success depend on the inelasticity of demand Advantages: Allow returns on set up cost Build a high-quality image for itself. Its able to reduce price to ward off competitors. High price brings high returns

 A strategy to segment price A pricing strategy to sell prestigeous goods Price penetration: A strategy of entering a market with low initial price in order to capture a large market. Works where there exist no elite market and demand seems elastic over the entire demand curve Examples of penetration price: -restrained prices applied to maintain price in times of inflation.

- Elimination price- to wipe out smaller market - Promotional prices to sell products from a company outlets - Keep-out prices to prevent competitors from entering the market. Predatory pricing: Setting a very low price to knock out all the other competition. Competitor pricing: setting price based on competitors prices. Price discrimination: setting different prices for the same good, but to different markets.

 Cost-plus pricing: setting price to cover operational cost including fixed cost plus a certain level of profits Target return pricing: set to achieve a target returnon-investment(ROI). Valued-based pricing: based solely on the value derived from the product. Psychological pricing: setting a price just below a large number to make it seem smaller.

PROMOTION OPERATIONS
Promotion or communication marketing represents all of the communications that a marketer may use in the market place. Elements of Promotion: 1. Advertising, 2. Personal selling, 3. Sales promotion, 4. Publicity, 5. Direct marketing, 6. Sponsorship.

 Advertising: any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor. It includes the use of such media as magazines, newspapers, outdoor posters, direct mail, novelties, radio, television, bus posters, catalogues, directories ,programmers and circulars. Personal selling: oral presentation in a conversation with one or more prospective purchasers for the purpose of making sales. Sales promotion: those marketing activities other than personal selling, advertising, and publicity that stimulate consumer purchasing and dealer

Effectiveness such as displays, shows, and exhibitions, demonstrations, coupons, contests, and other nonroutine selling efforts. These are usually short term activities. Publicity (public relations): paid intimate stimulation of supply for a product, service, or business unit by planting significant news about it or a favourable presentation of it in the media. eg. newspapers and magazines, articles/reports, TVs and radio presentations, charitable contributions, speeches, issue advertising, and seminars. Direct marketing: this often listed as the fifth part of the marketing mix. Sponsorship.

Role of Promotional Mix

This is usually summarized into the acronym DRIP D- differentiate an organizational product from those of competitors. R- remind customer about the existence of a product. I- inform customers and the general public about what the organization is doing. P- persuade customers to patronise the organisatons products.

Promotional Mix Cont

Introduction: marketers use one or more methods to accomplish promotion and marketing objectives. The use of one or more tools to promote a product constitute the promotional mix for the product. Determinants of Promotional Mix - Type of product - Nature of Market - Stage of product in its life-cycle - Available budget - Company policy

Promotional or Communicational Mix cont

Advertising
Planning the advert message: a. Analyse your marketing objective b. Determine the target audience who are they? where are they located? what is their level of education? what media are they exposed to? c. Set advertising objectives - AIDA

Using such people to endorse a product will influence the target market and likely to trust and patronise the product. Opinion formers- they are people of expertise in the area of they have endorse.

Awareness Interest Desire Action : eg. To create 5% awareness by the end of 2012 or to increase 10% awareness by the end of 2013 NB. Marketing objectives is about creating or increasing marketing shares, profitability and the amount of customers you wish to gain, etc d. Design advertise message: Credibility- trustworthiness of the message credibility in advertising usually achieve by using optimum leader and opinion leaders. These are individuals who have influence over other people.

Using such people to endorse a product will influence the target market and likely to trust and patronise the product. Opinion formers- they are people of expertise in the area of they have endorse.

Advertising Strategies and Messages

Messages Based on Likeability Using emotional and rational based message to create likeability. Emotional based message- they are used to capture the attention of the target audience. a. humour- this involves creating a funny scene that maks the target audiences always want to see or hear between it put them in a good mode. b. Fear- the message seeks to put fear to the target market audience so that they will feel if they dont use the product or they apply it wrongly. Something negative will happen to them.

c. music- they use ginles and lyrics that target audience like such that when music starts playing they are tempted to listen and so get the message alongside. d. fantasy- the message is linked to an activity that the target audience have, such that when they see the activity it immediately capture their attention. e. animation- using cartoons to create imaginative and captivating scene that attracts the target audience attention f. sex- research has proven that the use of sexual

Rational Based messages

The actual message that the advertiser wants to give to the target audience. a. Factual- where you state the benefits to be derived, features and any other thing about the product that you want the target audience to know. b. Demonstration- you demonstrate to the target audience how the product is used, how it is preserved and how it works. c. Comparison- indirectly comparing your product to your competitors product to the target audience telling them the superiority of your product and the benefits that the audience will get by purchasing and using it.

Advertising Media
Print media- News paper/Magazines Electronic- T.V., Radio, Internet, Cinema Outdoor- Billboard, Poster, Transit

Factors Influencing The Choice of Ad Media

a. The target audience- the location of the target audience and the media to which they are exposed is crucial to the success of an ad message. This is one of the major things that will guide the advertiser in choosing appropriate media. b. Cost- the amount of financial resources to be committed into buying the media to place the advertisement also determines the kind of media to use.

c. The nature of the message- whether the message is visual and or sound based will help determine what media to use. d. The amount of desired exposure- the frequency that the advertisement needs to achieve and the urgency of the message is a major determinant of what media are to use. e. Resources available in-house- the amount of money the organisation is ready to spend on the ad message

Client-Agency Relationship in Advertising

Advertising agencies are companies that specialize in carrying out advertising programmes on behalf of client organizations who wish to pursue such activities. Traditionally, advertising agencies have been structured around two main areas of activity, creative development in copy writing and art direction, and media planning and buying. Account managers or directors have responsibility for client liaison which includes research and strategic development.

 Introduction Advertising agencies come in different forms based on what kind and level of activities they perform for their clients. The typical types include the ff. 1. Full Service Agencies- an agency that provides a complete range of services for their client. It is usually referred to as a one-stop-shop for all advertising activities; these services include creative, strategic planning, production, media planning and buying, and market research. Examples of full service agencies in Ghana include Origin 8, H.B. Lintas, etc

Types of Agencies

There are a number of advantages to a full service provisions: - Working with full service agency will see a huge pool of skills under one roof that can be drawn on as needed; - new and different perspectives on the communication problem may be gained, which ultimately will contribute towards the corporate and the marketing objectives of the organisation being achieved. Therefore, in a full service agency, it is critical to have a relationship built around quality, trust and understanding. This is imperative for the successful implementation of the marketing strategy

 Limited Service Agencies- these agencies tend to specialize in particular elements of the marketing communication process. Eg. An advertising agency may specialize in art and creative skill and therefore focus on the design and development of advertisements. They will then rely on significant information being provided by their client to enable them to meet the brief. Another agency may specialize in media buying and therefore be able to achieve a high level of competitive advantage to enable a more effective use of the advertising budget.

 The advantage to using limited service agencies is that an organization can shop around to get the best skills to suit a range of marketing communication needs. A la Carte Agency Many organisations now want greater flexibility and choice in the way in which communications are managed. To do this they need to have a broad range of options, which do not necessarily come from a full service approach, rather they want to select a range of services from a range of specialist agencies.

Issuing a Brief to an Agency

Current situation Promotional objectives Target markets Product/Service Budget Competitors Timescale

Agency Selection Process

Search Short listing Credentials presentation Briefing Pitching Final Selection

Criteria for Selecting and Agency

Issues to be considered. Their track record of what the works they have done. The level of experience they have in communications campaigns The expertise (calibre of personnel) they have inhouse. The king of resources and equipments they posses Their ability to translate the brief into a workable proposal The amount demanded for the campaign

Agency Remuneration
Fee payment Commission Payment by Results combination

Sales Promotion
Roles of sales promotion: Move of stock Reward customers To gain enough shelf space at retail shops Sales Promotion Techniques: Buy one get one free Quantity discount- percentage off for bulk purchase Price discount percentage of the normal and for any quantity you buy Loyalty bonus- customers are rewarded for frequeny purchase.

 Competition- coupon for draws for customers to enter and an one for free Bonus packs- buy a number of products and get an extra one for Thin packs- a different product of lower value of product is added when you buy the product Free gifts- when you buy the products and you get a free gift Merchandise- give free materials to retailers to support their business. This is usually done over a period of time, the retailers must sell a certain amount of quantity in order to qualify for mechandise.

Direct Marketing
Directing marketing involves communicating directly with customers without necessarily coming into face-to-face with the customer. Roles of direct marketing: - Primary differentiation usually to communicate with business (BCB) and service based customers. - Communication effectiveness- used to give more where advertising and other tools cannot explain the issue in detail.

Direct Marketing(DM) methods

Direct mail (e-mail, post mail) Telemarketing Mail shots Door drops Direct Response T.V. add

Evaluating the effectiveness of DM

Sales levels Number of enquires Number of response to mail Customer based ( especial service organisation)

Personal Selling
When to use personal selling? i. For technically complex products ii. Industrial (B2B) selling iii. Service marketing iv. Channel network supply Evaluating Personal selling Sales levels Customer base Enquires Amount of sales ma

Public Relations
It is a planned and sustained effort made to creat a good relationship between the organisation and public and maintained the organisation and the good will of the organisation. The role of public relation (PR) Press statement release Press conference Corporate social responsibility Media relation Sponsorship- mgt contract between two parties that bring benefits to both parties

 Lobbying Companys open days Companys durbars Crisis management

Evaluating the Effectiveness of PR

Sales level Awareness survey Customer base Corporate image Corporate personality

Place Operations
The Importance of distributors (wholesalers/retailer 1. Breaking bulk ( solve dd/ss discrepancy) 2. Consolidating and distribution (reduce assortment discrepancy) 3. Carrying inventory (temporal discrepancy) 4. Financing

NB various channels of distribution.

 Manufacturer Distribution Preferences Distribution Interest: Retailers Vs. Mfgs Parallel distribution structures Diversion

Internet Marketing (Electronic Commerce Online marketing can serve several purposes: Actual sales of products- eg., Amazon.com, Ebay Promotional advertising: eg the use of search engine, web address Customer service: the site may contain information for those who no longer have their manuals handy and for electronic products, provide updated drivers and software patches. Market research: data can be collected relatively inexpensive on the net

Service Mix and Experiential Service

The extended mix is an integral part of service blueprint design. The service marketing mix assumes the service as a product itself. The characteristics of service include the following: Intangibility, inseparability, Perishability Heterogeneity, Ownership.

The Service Mix

This include: People, Process, Physical Evidence

people
Very crucial to the success of the business. The need to recruit the appropriate staff and giving them the appropriate training to perform to expectation. They play frontline role in the delivery of service. Customers perception of the service (organisation) is based on the behaviour of employees. Employees need to exhibit appropriate interpersonal skills and aptitude and srvice knowledge to provide the service that consumers are paying for.

Process
Refers to the systems used to assist the organisation in delivering the service. Discuss: Hospital Bank, Polytechnic etc.

Physical Evidence
These are the physical, tangible and controllable aspect of a service organisation It is made up of : Peripheral evidence possessed as part of the purchase of a service but by itself is of no value Essential evidence-the essential evidence cannot be possessed by the customer. Physical evidence should be well managed to create the ideal environment for your service Make the service more tangible and make it easier for the customer to understand the service offering.

Experiential Service Operations

Experiential services are defined as services where the focus is on the experience of the customer when interacting with the organization, rather than just the functional benefits following from the products and services delivered (Voss & Zomerdijk, 2007. This means that the customer experience has become the key feature in the delivery of said services.

 Every service has its beginning and where it ends. The service delivery must be design in a sequence that will allow all characters in the service delivery to know what to do at a time. A flow chart which shows how every needed to create and to deliver a service is called blueprint.

 Service blueprint: It is a picture or map that portrays the service system so that the different people involved in providing it can understand and deal with it objectively regardless of their roles or individual points of view. It displays the service by simultaneously depicting the process of service delivery, the point of customer contact, the roles of customers and employees and the visible elements of the service.

Components of the Service Experience

There are five major components namely: Physical environment (stage), Service employees (actors), Service delivery process (script), Fellow customers (audience), Back office support (back stage).

 Roles of the environment: -accommodating customers and employees, Guiding behavioural actions eg. Where to queue Managers of services consider the design of the physical environment eg restaurants, church, mosque, cruise ship, shopping centre aircraft interior etc.

Service Employees
Service employees actions influence customer experiences. Service Quality has link with employee behaviour: responsiveness, assurance, inspiring confidence and trust, empathy etc. Managers should pay attention to employees especially, the front line employees.

Service Delivery Process

A service delivery process is a series of actions or events that takes place to deliver the service. The service should be designed to manage start, end and peak processes. The end should leave a better lasting impression on the customer.

Fellow Customers
Customers experience is not with service providers only, but with fellow customer. These are referred to as audience. Some of such people can be unruly or can exhibit unanticipated behaviour thereby destroying service performance.

Back office
The physical setting, service employees, service delivery process, and fellow customers directly influence a customers experience and this takes place at the front stage. Those at the back stage are employees who do not interact directly with customer. Their activities however, are connected to the frontline employees thus, influencing their performance.

Sales Management

Task of sales force

a. Order Takers: the people who take customer orders at the point of sales. Shop attendance ticketing officers. b. Order Getters: they are the people who usually go to the field to meet customers and tries to convincing them to liaise orders for the organisation products or service. c. Order collectors: they are basically office based sales staff who communicate with customers and prospective customers through the telephone in trying to convince them to place orders.

a. Order Supporters: those people who process customer orders and see to it that the orders are supplied at the right time.

Types of Selling
a. Industrial /B2B selling: industrial selling means selling the products to business entities who need your finished product as their raw material or office assistance eg. Plant and machinery, office accessories. b. Individual /B2C selling: selling product to final user consumers, e.g. fast moving consumer goods such as cars. c. Professional selling: it involves negotiating with some professionals who will need your product as part of their work in order to wholly execute their work,eg. Building contractors, electricians, etc

Designing Sales Territories

It is the grouping of customers and prospects that can be called upon conveniently and economically by the individual sales persons to serve their needs. Evaluating the attractiveness of sales territories a. Accessibility- the sales person should be able to reach the market and serve the market and their needs without incurring cost more than the benefits they gain. b. Substantial- the market should be large enough for the organization to make profit out of it.