Personal Selling Essay

This essay analyzes the marketing mix of TransSprech, a new cellular and phone service provider, and recommends a focus on personal selling over advertising. It explores the importance of relationship-based selling and provides recommendations for Mr. Wursching, the company's CEO, to build customer loyalty and optimize sales strategies.

PERSONAL SELLING

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
QUESTIONS...................................................................................................................................1
1. TransSprech’s strategy in context of marketing mix elements ...............................................1
2. Stating whether TransSprech should focus on personal selling or advertising ......................1
3. Recommendations to Mr. Wursching regarding relationship-based selling .........................2
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Personal selling is done when a sales representative conducts a meeting with clients or
customer of the company with the purpose of promoting sale. In the present report, it covers a
case study of TransSprech as a newly established cellular and phone service provider. In this
report, key elements of marketing mix are highlighted and had shed light on current marketing
strategies of company. This report will develop understanding about relationship based selling.
QUESTIONS
1. TransSprech’s strategy in context of marketing mix elements
TransSprech a newly established cellular and phone service provider has a very simple and
basic strategy with respect to each of the four elements of marketing mix i.e. product,
distribution, price and promotion. If the first element of marketing mix is considered,
TransSprech has cellular phone services and cellular phones as product to its customers.
Company provides customers with 4 cost plans in cellular phone services and 5 different variants
for cellular phones based in Stuttgart, Germany. Distribution; second element of marketing mix
of company includes, coverage in Europe and The United States as well as in most of the
developed countries across world. This company maintains its corporate offices in numerous
cities around the world (The Marketing Mix 4P’s and 7P’s Explained, 2018).
Thus, customer service outlets and retail sales are conducted through the company’s
official website by licensed electronic retailers (Shahhosseini and Ardahaey, 2011). But the
company does not maintain its own customer service or retail locations. For promotions,
TransSprech has retained a Berlin based publicity and public relations agency to develop a
worldwide promotion campaigns. TransSprech had saturated with TV and print advertisements
in European markets as well. As price of work rendered by company is concerned about, there is
a premium that customers have to pay to get worldwide coverage of services. Price and plans are
negotiable in case of variations within the established options available to corporate customers.
2. Stating whether TransSprech should focus on personal selling or advertising
According to current strategies of the company, focus of a firm should be on personal
selling. As company has already retained a Berlin based advertising and public relations agency
to promote their services and products in the European markets through TV and print media.
Now the company's focus should be on personal advertising, because TransSprech is not
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maintaining its own customer services or retail locations. Company should constitute a sales
force to encourage personal trade (Kunz and et.al., 2011). This can be done by advertising
campaigns on streets through which attention of customers can be drawn towards company’s
product.
Many promotional schemes should be launched by the company to attract customers for
buying company's product and services. Personal trade can result in achievement of company's
goal of 10000 customers in the present year. To enhance customer’s experience, proper services
and products should be sold on retail locations where customers can easily get what they want
and enquire about. The final solution is that company should now focus on personal selling
rather than advertising it. Because only advertising the product would not make it happen in the
right way.
3. Recommendations to Mr. Wursching regarding relationship-based selling
Questions that I would like to ask Mr. Wursching to lead his company towards more
relationship based business are:
 what is the tyoe of culture company is following?: In order to know culture and policies
of company by examining further about micro environment of firm.
 What are the criteria to measure success in an enterprise?: I would ask this question to
know the tools and techniques used by TransSprech to measure success of business and
on what parameters company is being judged for succession by the CEO.
 Can you explain briefly about the outline of your sales cycle? How do you manage churn
rate? From this question, I will come to know how long it takes company to turn a lead
into a customer and what organization is doing to retain those customers. Moreover, I
will be able to know how firm manages customer churn which is an important factor of
company's health.
After analysing all answers to these questions, I will guide him to optimize sales cycle to
make it a faster one with more efficiency to maximise the quality of leads and to increase brand
equity among customers for their retention. Further, I will ask questions about their management
style, marketing automation, relationship between marketing and sales. To enquire more about
smart working techniques to save time of marketing team by providing them proper measures to
work smartly (Damirchi and Shafai, 2011). As sales relationship with marketing in this company
is being ignored both have to work more efficiently together for faster lead that can be turned
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into a sale. These are some questions that I will ask to Mr. Wursching about their company to put
the efforts of all employees and management towards one direction i.e. relationship based
business.
As long term customer relationship can boost company's sale, increase in the number of
customers can improve the overall business potential aspect. It is much more cost effective and
comfortable to sell company's product to existing customers than to bring new one as a first then
sell to them. So I will recommend Mr. Wursching to adopt the thinking procedure of a customer.
It is very important for him as an entrepreneur to know and feel how customers think. I will
suggest him to build long term strategic plan to build customer loyalty.
Great customer relationship in any business can be gained by building the loyalty of
customers. I will suggest Mr. Wursching to start implementing plans and strategies and work
continuously on them for improvements. Further, I would recommend him not to construct a
static offer rather give options to customers to choose plans of their choice and to implement
two-way communication channels in all respective tools used by his company (Sheau- Ting,
Mohammed and Weng- Wai, 2013). Adding to it, I would suggest him to use social media to talk
with potential customers and ask for ideas for possible improvements to your products and
services. And to use feedback form or contact details on your company website to get
recommendations from customers about the product quality and services.
These are some important recommendations I would give to Mr. Wursching for better
growth opportunities of their company.
 To implement needed changes required in the company for establishing better
relationship based business.
 To achieve organizational goals of their company easily and quickly in a more
efficient manner by optimum utilisation of resources such as time
(Brinckmann, Grichnik and Kapsa, 2010).
 Implementing all the above recommendations, Mr. Wursching will surely be
able to make relationship based selling as a focal point of TransSprech's
organizational policy and culture.
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CONCLUSION
From the present study, has been concluded that TransSprech should give more emphasis
to personal selling than advertising. It can be assessed that Mr. Wursching can move towards
relationship based selling. It can be seen in report that after implementing the given
recommendations, Mr. Wursching can promote personal selling as well as relationship based
selling too. Moreover, reports provide detailed summary of strategies of Trans Sprench, their
marketing mix and recommendations for making future strategies.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Brinckmann, J. Grichnik, D. and Kapsa, D. 2010. Should entrepreneurs plan or just storm the
castle. A meta-analysis on contextual factors impacting the business planning–
performance relationship in small firms. Journal of business Venturing. 25(1). pp.24-40.
Damirchi, G. V. and Shafai, J. 2011. A guideline to Islamic marketing mix. Interdisciplinary
Journal of Contemporary Research in Business. 3(3). pp.1339-1347.
Kunz, M. B. and et.al., 2011. Fans, friends, and followers: Social media in the retailers’
marketing mix. Journal of Applied Business and Economics. 12(3). pp.61-68.
Shahhosseini, A. and Ardahaey, F. T., 2011. Marketing mix practices in the cultural
industry. International Journal of Business and Management. 6(8). p.230.
Sheau- Ting, L. Mohammed, A. H. and Weng- Wai, C. 2013. What is the optimum social
marketing mix to market energy conservation behaviour: an empirical study. Journal of
environmental management. 131. pp.196-205.
Online:
The Marketing Mix 4P’s and 7P’s Explained. 2018. [online]. available through
<http://marketingmix.co.uk/>
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