Marketing  & Sales

 

Working to ensure that your best marketing practices at home, are carried into the international arena.

 

Marketing creates customer satisfaction and helps to anticipate and satisfy customer needs profitably, including:

v      Customer service and care (customer relations)

v      Sales and after-sales

v      Supply chain management

 

We emphasise Pan-Company Marketing:

v      Redesigning business processes for a “customer focus

v      Creates customer culture across functions

 

Creating a customer-awareness culture across functions includes redesigning business processes for a “customer focus”.

 

To gain new markets, raise competitiveness & create wealth.  By incorporating a sound communications strategy we help you achieve effective marketing across borders

 

Your expectations

v      Are your objectives sustainable in practice?

v      Which markets are you really in?

v      Do you have a competitive advantage?

 

Customer profile

v      How well do you understand your customers?

v      Are you receiving inputs from customers accurately?

v      Do you really understand their needs?

v      Do you meet local needs or does “1 size fit all”?

 

Pricing compatibility with the market

v      How do you assess local values and costs?

v      Do you recognise all the costs to get to market?

v      Are you getting the optimum price?

 

Research

v      Does it validate your opinions?

v      Is your research of the right quality?

v      Relevance – are you looking at the right areas of the market?

 

Communications

v      Are your promotions adapted to local expectations or just translated?

v      Are you getting local inputs?

v      Are you certain that you are represented in the right places?

 

 

Reality check?

ü            How confident are you of your answers?

ü            Would you know how to check them out?

ü            What is being communicated to the market?

 

 

Stages to Sales – Our Marketing Approach

 

Part I:  Market Analysis and Marketing Plan

 

Before we can undertake any marketing and sales activity we need to have clear targets in terms of clients, sales, channels, markets, volumes, product mix and so on.  We need to develop a clear strategy.  The first part of our work, therefore, is a marketing analysis leading to a pro-active plan.  This may require varying degrees of research according to circumstances, which we or athird party can undertake on your behalf.

 

Typical  Market  Research

 

Market overview of typical clients and current requirements.  This will include a small sampling of customer surveys exploring current usage (frequency, type, budget, specifications etc.), ordering/purchasing channels, satisfaction level with current suppliers with a focus on what they would really like (i.e. what would make them convert to different supplier)

                                                                                      

Future Trends and Requirements:  A brief look at trends in terms of upcoming legislations and future requirements, both from customer, legal and industry points of view.  Growth inhibitors.  Identification of potential opportunities and threats.

 

Product Perception Profile:  How is proposed service received and perceived by potential clients, associations, regulatory bodies; major objections and obstacles. What amendments are required to make the service sellable - establish key benefits.

 

Competitor Profile:  Who are main competitors, what do they offer (product portfolio, prices), strengths and weaknesses, how well are they received by customers.  Their future plans. Selling and distribution range and approaches, 'sales force', promotional tools .

 

Initial Potential Client List:  A basic start up list of potential leads and clients to 'attack' initially. Both multinationals and SMEs, well established companies and start-ups.  Cold approach and referrals.

 

Promotional Methods and Recommendations:  Current practice and options, advertisement and articles, advertorials, direct approaches (telemarketing), mail-, fax- or email shots, conferences and networking, web-site creation and promotion, journals and publications, referral plan.  Recommended Strategy.

 

Sales Approach and Recommendations: Ideal form of sales representation, direct marketing, reps, agent, liaison office, licensee, partnerships. Logistics, customer care and support, liaison with regulatory and R&D bodies (EC regulations), delivery and invoicing.  Recommended Strategy.

 

 

Part II:   Sales Activity / Implementation of Plan

 

Once we have a clear, focussed marketing and sales plan, it has to be put into action.  A plan without action is useless.  Often enterprises do not have the necessary skills or resources to do this cost effectively.  Supplementing a client’s existing sales force, or acting as representatives on behalf of the client, we implement the plan with a view of achieving substantially increased sales for the customer. We provide practical support in a wide variety of functions from recruiting local representation and maximising sales opportunities, to export credit and insurance. 

 

Part III:   Marketing Review

 

Periodically we would review the sales and Marketing activities by repeating Part I with a new market analysis and a revised marketing strategy, taking particular note of successes and failures as well as changing conditions of the markets and competitors’ strategies.  This will redefine the marketing plan in light of changed circumstances, both internal and external.  Long-term this should be done in the context of the company’s overall strategic plan.

 

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