MARK-1120-012: Personal Shopping Program Case Study Analysis

This case study examines the personal shopping program of the HBC Company, focusing on its marketing approach and the challenges it faces. The analysis begins with an introduction to personal selling and its significance in promoting products. The case highlights the company's current reliance on online and smartphone applications for personal shopping services and the limitations of this approach in engaging customers. The study then delves into the seven steps of personal selling, from prospecting and pre-approach to presentation, negotiation, and follow-up. Recommendations are provided to improve customer relationships, emphasizing the need for actual personal shopping experiences and the importance of building long-lasting customer connections. The case stresses that the marketing strategy should prioritize customer needs and engagement to achieve sustainable sales and customer loyalty, offering insights into how to make the personal selling strategy more effective.

PERSONAL SHOPPING PROGRAM 1
To:
From:
Date:
Re: Personal Shopping Program
Introduction
Marketing helps companies promote buying and selling, and various ways can be used.
HBC Company uses a personal selling marketing approach, which requires face to face meetings
with customers to promote products through appearance, attitudes, and product knowledge.1 The
firm has not moved far with personal shopping since its announcement in 2015. The sellers focus
much on providing personal shopping type services online and through Smartphone applications
and failing to provide actual physical shopping to the clients making it hard to engage online. So,
to resolve and help the firm yield more from personal selling, the improvement in the process of
personal selling and upholding the principles are the key to the program.
Personal selling has seven significant steps in ensuring a successful marketing execution.
First, it starts with prospecting and qualifying that which involves identifying the needs and
attributes that customers want in a product.1 Personal shoppers need to examine data from
various sources and understand market trends. The information, particularly on trends and
change of preferences by customers, is essential. Secondly, it is pre approach which involves
getting to the client. In this case, the company is using a Smartphone application and online
1 Rippé, Cindy B., and Alan J. Dubinsky. "Trust me, I’ma physician using sales skills: Enhancing
physician–patient communication through the personal selling process." Health marketing
quarterly 35, no. 4 (2018): 245-265.

PERSONAL SHOPPING PROGRAM 2
platforms to get to customers. They create awareness through personal shopping services that
help customers get to their physical particular shopping outlets. These online platforms are
currently used due to low costs and comprehensive and fast approach to potential customers. The
actual method happens through the understanding of customers' needs. Focus much on the
customer and open relationships with positive statements. That gives the need to continue with
the buying process.
Then the sale person moves to the presentation and demonstration of personal shopping
services to customers. This is the stage where the actual personal shopping starts. Sales
representatives must hold a high level of sale professionalism changes room passive order takers
and become active order getter.2Increasing the level of activeness is the key to improving
engagement with customers. Professionally demonstrate the features, benefits, advantages, and
value they will get in using different products and services. It is from this point that a positive
customer relationship begins and improve the level of loyalty to the business.2The need-
satisfaction approach can be used since, at that time, the seller acts as a consultant who
profoundly understands the clients' needs. In case of any objections, offer negotiation rooms that
allow the person to give their views, interests, and concerns.3 Customers also want to gain in the
process, and that is why they pose objections. In this process, it opens up for negotiations where
they get into a conclusion about the price and other terms of sales.4 The negotiation process
should be a win-win approach where the seller does not impose everything on the buyer.
2 Rippé, Cindy B., and Alan J. Dubinsky
3 Alavi, Sascha, Johannes Habel, Paolo Guenzi, and Jan Wieseke. "The role of leadership in
salespeople’s price negotiation behavior." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 46, no.
4 (2018): 703-724.
4 Firmansyah, Fani, S. Margono, Fatchur Rohman, and Nur Khusniyah. "The Concept and Steps
of Personal Selling." In 2018 International Conference on Islamic Economics and Business
(ICONIES 2018). Atlantis Press, 2019.

PERSONAL SHOPPING PROGRAM 3
Lastly, after concluding, the buyer proceeds and guide to the process to buy. It is essential
to understand that there is more to just selling a product1. The seller then makes a follow-up and
maintenance. Relationship marketing is vital than transactional marketing. The relationship with
the customer determines their desire to buy later into the future. Firms lose in personal selling
since they do not concentrate on enhancing customer relationships after a transaction. The ability
to maintain customers is essential due to the trends currently observed in shopping behavior,
particularly by HBC and competitors.
Recommendations
The major recommendation for the HBC Company is to focus on create a positive customer
relationship. The marketing strategy should not be meant only to make sales but to have a long
lasting relation. The personal selling marketing needs to be improved to ensure that actual
personal shopping are offered. The use of online platforms just brings the attention of the
customer into the product.5 The way they are handled by the sales representatives can determine
the actual buying. There is need to set a mission and break it to achievable goals. Focus on the
needs of customers and create favorable attention. Ask, listen to customers and act for their
needs.
5 Alavi, Sascha, Johannes Habel, Christian Schmitz, Bianca Richter, and Jan Wieseke. "The risky
side of inspirational appeals in personal selling: when do customers infer ulterior salesperson
motives?." Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management 38, no. 3 (2018): 323-343.

PERSONAL SHOPPING PROGRAM 4
Bibliography
Rippé, Cindy B., and Alan J. Dubinsky. "Trust me, I’ma physician using sales skills: Enhancing
physician–patient communication through the personal selling process." Health marketing
quarterly 35, no. 4 (2018): 245-265.

PERSONAL SHOPPING PROGRAM 5
Firmansyah, Fani, S. Margono, Fatchur Rohman, and Nur Khusniyah. "The Concept and Steps of
Personal Selling." In 2018 International Conference on Islamic Economics and Business
(ICONIES 2018). Atlantis Press, 2019.
Alavi, Sascha, Johannes Habel, Christian Schmitz, Bianca Richter, and Jan Wieseke. "The risky
side of inspirational appeals in personal selling: when do customers infer ulterior salesperson
motives?." Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management 38, no. 3 (2018): 323-343.
Alavi, Sascha, Johannes Habel, Paolo Guenzi, and Jan Wieseke. "The role of leadership in
salespeople’s price negotiation behavior." Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 46, no.
4 (2018): 703-724.