Strategic Sales and Marketing Synergy in Global Markets

The Emirates Group stands as a prominent global entity in aviation, requiring sophisticated sales and marketing strategies tailored to diverse international markets. This analysis seeks to elucidate these strategies by integrating insights from key literature on leadership development, goal orientation, consumer behavior, and public relations management. Notably, it examines how personal leadership within the Emirates Group influences strategic decision-making, leveraging Armstrong's guidelines for human resource practices. Moreover, the assignment explores how sales agents' goal orientations affect performance in Middle Eastern markets, drawing on Chakrabarti et al.'s study. It also considers consumer psychology, particularly regarding social media influence as per Hajli, and integrates a discussion of self-determination theory related to motivation and well-being from Gunnell et al. The synthesis of these perspectives aims to provide a holistic understanding of the strategic imperatives that drive Emirates Group's success in sales and marketing management, ultimately contributing to its robust positioning within the competitive international business landscape.

Running head: SALES PLANNING AND OPERATIONS
Sales Planning and Operations
Name of Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Content
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Background of the organization.......................................................................................................2
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................2
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................6
Task 4.............................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
The following report is based on marketing strategies and sales plans of the organization
Emirates Airline. In order to expand business in a global market and increase customer base,
the organization is in the need of making some strategic changes in the operation. In addition to
this, the achievement of the sales target will help the firm to strengthen its position in the market.
The following report presents the information about how personal selling practices help the
organization to reach the wide market. The report also provides a discussion on buyer behavior
and decision making process of the organization.
Background of the organization
Emirates airline is one of the largest airline service providers located in UAE but serving the
international market. For decades, the organization has been serving people with its high quality
and innovative services. In addition to this, the organization has gained a strong market
appearance both in domestic and international market. However, the organization presently is in
the need of increasing its revenue stream. Therefore, the company is determined to implement
innovation in its strategies to lead the operation towards the desired direction.
Task 1
It is important to understand the role of personal selling which is embedded within the
overall marketing strategy of the organization.
How personal selling supports the promotion mix?

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The promotion mix is one of the most important components of the marketing mix. The
promotion is one of the most vital activities of the organization which comprises of various
elements such as advertising, public relations, sales promotion, direct selling, personal selling
and others(Austin and Pinkleton 2015). The marketers mix a blend of the promotional variables
that help the firm to reach their goals. The advertisement is considered to be any form of the
interpersonal paid communication in which there is identification of the company and its
objectives (Fennis and Stroebe 2015). This would help the company to reach out to a large
number of audience in a limited span of time. There are several modes of advertisements such as
social media, internet ads, newspaper, radio and others(Odom, McKee and Dunn 2017). The
public relation is considered as the main tool for the promotion of the positive public image of
the company (Austin and Pinkleton 2015). The sales promotion of the companies comprises of
the application of various methods for the stimulation of the consumer purchases and they are
usually based on immediate goals.
The personal selling can be defined as the tactics where the sales force is employed to
make sales after they have a face-to-face meeting with the customers. The sellers do tend to
promote their products through the process of appearance, attitude as well as specialist
knowledge of the concerned products (Aggarwal and Goodell 2014). The personal selling is
important since it can lead to the sale of otherwise complex products through conventional retail
stores. The sales representatives are able to demonstrate the products to the customers in a
logical manner, which can lead to a better sales pitch (Odom, McKee and Dunn 2017). The sales
representatives do offer specific solutions to the customers and satisfy them in a more precise
manner.

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The personal selling is one of the most personalized form of promotion, which is
considered as one of the most important element of the promotional mix(Odom, McKee and
Dunn 2017). The promotional mix relies heavily on the identification of unique characteristics of
the products to the customers and personal selling can be one of the best ways of doing so. It
leads to the projection of the products to the potential buyers.
Comparison of buyer behavior and the decision-making process in different situations
The buyer behavior of the consumers is defined as the overall effect of the preferences,
attitudes, decisions and intentions of an individual purchaser towards the products or services of
a particular company or group of companies(Solomon 2014).. It is important to study the groups,
individuals and entities for securing, selecting and disposal of the products so that the consumer
needs are fulfilled. An individual buyerwould make instant purchase decision while the same is
pre-planned for a business buyer(Solomon 2014). Thedecision-making process of the individual
buyers are dependent only on the individual buyers. The business buyers engage in the decision-
making process through a formal approval process.
There is a significant variation in the behavior of the individual buyers and the business
buyers in Emirates Airlines. For example, a business who aims to host a dinner party, has to plan
their menu in advance and give particular instructions to the caterers. On the other hand, when an
individual decides to visit a restaurant for having lunch, it happens in an instant manner and does
not need to be planned before (Jiménez-Parra, Rubio and Vicente-Molina 2014). When the
employees decide to purchase a new item for themselves, then can do so at any point of time.

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However, when the company decides to purchase a new equipment, there should be requisition
made to the purchase department of the organization.
There are three factors that have an impact on the consumer buying behavior and
organizational buying behavior. The socio-cultural factors are concerned with thelanguage,
beliefs, belongings, type of geographical climate, eating habits, style of dressing and the learning
methods (Cheng and Huang 2013).The psychosocial factors are concerned with the family
circle, people, friends and others during leisure and work. The individual is influenced by the
various ways of life which occur around him. There are also personal factorsthat are considered
as the popular characteristics of the individuals such as family, age, personality and profession,
which influence the buying decisions(Austin and Pinkleton 2015).
Role of sales teams within the marketing strategy
The sales team of Emirates Airlinesis responsible for selling of the organizational
offerings such as servings(Austin and Pinkleton 2015). The sales team is responsible for working
together so that the organizational goal is being achieved. The main responsibilities of the sales
team are as follows-
 Conversion of sales lead- The sales team is required to bridge the gap between the
product/services of the company and the fulfillment of the customer needs(Thompson
and Prendergast 2015). They deal with the warmed-up prospects that have an existing
awareness of the company though the process of advertising and marketing efforts.
 Customer Retention- The sales team strives to create a long-lasting impact on the various
categories of the customers. They are responsible for long term relationships with their

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target markets(Austin and Pinkleton 2015). They are also responsible for sales follow-ups
and create positive relationship with the customers.
 Business growth-The sales team are responsible for the creation of trust and loyalty
between the business and the customers. This would enable the customers to come back
to the company and it also lead to referrals from the friends or family of the existing
customers.
The sales team plays an important role in the marketing strategy of the organization. The
marketing strategy of the organization focusses on the needs of the target market and this would
not be possible with the help of sales team(Hajli 2014). The sales team helps in transferring the
product details to the customers and they are also responsible for creating a good projection of
them in the minds of the customers. They are also responsible for the increased purchases of the
customers by fulfilling their preferences. They also design the nature of the promotional
campaigns and take care of the final pricing parameters.
Task 3
Linkage of sales objectives and corporate objectives
The sales strategies are aligned with the various corporate objectives of the organizations.
The corporate objectives of Emiratesinclude the strong and stable leadership which focuses on
the creation of corporate citizenship (http://www.theemiratesgroup.com). The company aims to
maintain competitive edge and extend its operations in the global market. The company puts
high importance on the welfare of the employees and hence the Emirates Group is often
considered as the largest employer of UAE(Austin and Pinkleton 2015). The sales strategies of
the organization are based on the segmentation of the target markets into two categories such as

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the profitable categories and the non-profitable one(Arnett and Wittmann 2014). The business
class consumers considered to be profitable market segment for the company and the economy
classes are considered as the less profitable ones. Emirates positioning strategy is concerned with
the benefit oriented and providing luxury and comfort to the employees. The company aims to
build competitive edge in their corporate strategies and hence they channelize their sales
strategies in such a manner that these objectives are fulfilled(Austin and Pinkleton 2015). The
creation of value in the luxury and business class customers ensues that the company gains
competitive edge.
Importance of recruitment & selection procedures
The recruitment and the selection process is important for increasing the overall profit
of the organization. It is important to recruit the right candidates for the right position in the
organization so that they can carry on with the duties of the organization in a perfect
manner(Austin and Pinkleton 2015). The HR department of the organization is important for the
fulfillment of the hiring needs of the organization(Mullin, Hardy and Sutton 2014). The
recruitment and selection process should be done in such a manner that it does not exceed the
actual need. If there is an excess of manpower, then there would be higher cost of maintenance
of the organization(Mullin, Hardy and Sutton 2014). When there is the selection of the right
people in the organization, then there would be production of the higher output and there would
be low employee turnover rate. If there is improper selection process, then there would be more
mistakes by the employees, which would lead to a greater financial loss (Chakrabarti et al.
2014). The selection of the right candidate would lead to an increase in the operational efficiency
of the firm, which leads to more fulfillment of the organizational goals(Mullin, Hardy and Sutton
2014).

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The recruitment and selection process in Emirates Airlines is inclined towards the
competitive advantage in terms of offerings by other similar airline companies. There have been
new and advanced features in the recruitment process of the cabin crew members. Earlier the
recruitment process was Open Day now there has been additional component added to their
recruitment process(Palinkas et al. 2015). The applicants are being shortlisted from the online
application pool and they are being undergone the video interview.
Role of motivation, remuneration and training in sales management
The motivation is an important process in sales management. The sales team would be
able to perform better if there is enough motivation and they find the actual reason of working in
the organization. It is important for the organization to find new tactics of motivating the
employees(Mullin, Hardy and Sutton 2014). If the employees are being regularly motivated by
number of tactics such as good remuneration or good training program, then there would be a
subsequent increase in the productivity of the firm (Armstrong and Taylor 2014). A proper
remuneration gives the employees an increased satisfaction level and they are naturally inclined
to work more. There is a subsequent increase in their dedication towards work, which helps them
to attain the sales target or the organizational goals.
Emirates has applied the three needs theory in their organization. The employees are
motivated based on their need for achievement, need for affiliation and the need for power. The
organization has given adequate training to the human resource managers so that they can
successfully motivate the employees (Lapoule and Colla 2016). The benefits of this motivation
are that the sales team feels that they are being valued and the organization do think about their
wellbeing.

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The remunerationprocess followed in Emirates is very strict and fulfills the industry
standards. The package is being designed by taking into account the complexities, skills and the
various accountabilities of the particular job role (Mullin, Hardy and Sutton 2014). The
organization also engages in proper evaluation of the job parameters and decides the
compensation package accordingly. The organization also gives importance to the compensation
being provided by the competitors and decides packages accordingly. The training process is
being formulated after the organization believes that there is a skill gap among the employees.
This makes the way for effective training process and the main content of the training area also
decided(Mullin, Hardy and Sutton 2014). This process of training delivery is highly effective and
helps the organization to reach its goals within a limited time frame.
Organization of sales activity and control of the sales output
Thefunctional sales organizationis the one followed in Emirates. It can be considered as
on the most suitable form of sales organization in the modern times (Gunnell et al. 2014). In
these type, the sales process is designed according to the main duties carried by the employees.
In this organization, the sales staffs ae able to take orders from all their supervisors who have
higher shares of the functional ability.
The organization makes sure that there is systematic execution of the various sales
activities and the how to fulfill them in the right manner. This would ensure the retention of the
old customers without losing their satisfaction level. One of the most important functions of the
company is to focus on the financial aspect related to various kinds of sales activities(Mullin,
Hardy and Sutton 2014). The sales activities are organized in such a manner that there is
maximum return on investment. The sales budget can be defined as the preliminary section of

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the original master budget, which gives a representation of the expected price to be charged for
one unit (Keszey and Biemans 2016). This also gives a fair idea regarding expected sales units
and the same of pricing. Emirates makes sure that they check the performance of their sales
campaigns so that they desire the pre-determined standard.
Use of databases in effective sales management
It is important that the company has adequate databases on which the actual purchase
would be based on. The marketing activities are usually based on the type of databases of the
companyGunnell et al. 2014). A database would not only be helping the finding of new
customers but would also retain the old ones. Emirates tries their best to create, update and
develop the database and store them in a safe location. The company has installed the mechanism
in which they can determine the exact usage of the consumers regarding site usage.
Task 4
Development of a sales plan for a product or service
Objective of sales plan- The implementation of the sales plans will certainly help to create a
strong awareness in the market. The sales plans must include some particular criteria such as
meeting the sales target, meeting the expected profit margin, increasing the customer base and
other related goals. However, the key objective of the sales plans is to maximize the sales and
profit margin. By meeting all these objectives, the organization must expand its market share
both in international and domestic market. In addition to this, another significant objective is to
create a strong presence in the international market. If the sales target is achieved, the

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organization gains the ability of having access to the international market. Thus, the organization
must ensure that the sales target is achieved.
Target market- The target market of Emirates Airline for the sales plans involves the global
market. The firm needs to cover its existing domestic and the international market. In addition to
this, the organization Emirate Airlines already has a strong market presence in the global market.
Thus, the implementation of the sales plans will certainly return a positive and expected
outcome. To sales its products and services, Emirates should focus on the economically
developed market where the disposable income is high. In addition to this, the organization needs
to pay attention to both Tier I and Tier II cities where the population is more than 10 million.
Time Frame-The implementation of sales plans might take more than 6 months. From
developing objectives to the stage of monitoring the plan can be accomplished within the given
time period. However, it is also expected that international platform is a broad market, therefore,
the sales plan might take more than six months. Nonetheless, the accomplishment of the entire
plan might be done within 6 to 8 months.
Sales activities-In order to implement the sales plan, the organization needs to develop certain
marketing objectives such as researching the market, recording the customer demands, the
responding to the customers’ queries and making further plans. The organization needs to focus
on its human resources, which means sales team of Emirates should be divided into several
groups. Hence, the sales personnel being in a team will work to meet the individual team goals.
Activities Years
Catalog marketing $32,2000,00
E-mail marketing $6, 100,000

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Paid Search $5, 000, 000
Natural Search $3 9000, 000
Banner Ads $1, 400,000
Online Demand $52,000,000
Overall Demand
Evaluation
After implementing the entire sales plans, the management of the organization needs to develop
an evaluation team, where the employees in the team will monitor and control the performance
of each team. The performance of the teams will be measured on the basis of key performance
indicators. In addition to this, the organization also needs to make contingency plans where the
firm could identify the possible challenges and issues that could damage the sales plans.
Likewise, based on the issues found, the strategies will be developed.
Investigation of opportunities for selling internationally
Emirates have included the expansion strategy as a part of a business model of the
organization. The organization has been focused on investing in services and products so that
they can improve the customer experience. The organization is using the strategy of organic
growth which will enable them to expand their business to other dynamically developing
countries. The organization has been investing in the infrastructure and have added 36 new
aircrafts to their fleet, which includes 20 A380s and 16 Boeing 777-300ERs. Emirates has also
moved ahead and retired 29 of their older aircrafts, ending the year with approximately 255
aircrafts in service, which on a whole has an average age of around 5.0 years, lower than the
industry average of over 11 years. In April 2016, emirates had already placed the order for

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additional two A380 aircrafts, which took the total of A380 order bookings to 142 aircrafts,
which in turn transformed the airline as the largest airline operator among the double-decker
aircrafts. Emirates, the world’s biggest long-haul airline also started taking delivery of the latest
generation Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A380 aircraft. The features of the latest Airbus A380s
contains a higher ceiling in the Business Class Cabin and an enhanced seat configuration in the
Economy Class. The new Boeing 777-300ERs of Emirates that got delivered in November even
featured the airline’s new Business Class seat. In the context of routes, Emirates opened seven
new different passenger points and a single cargo destination, which took the round figure of the
years’ destinations in the global network to 154. The new passenger services in 2016 of emirates
were: Yinchuan and Zhengzhou in China, Cebu and Clark in the Philippines,Yangon in
Myanmar,Fort Lauderdale in the US,Hanoi in Vietnam, and Phnom Penh in Cambodia as the
cargo-only destination.
Investigation of the opportunities for using exhibitions or trade fairs
Emirates have the opportunity of using exhibitions and trade fairs to expand their
business in the market. This is a strategy which has been included in the business model of the
organization so that the organization is able to demonstrate the different types of airlines. It is
very natural for various organization to be a part of this trade shows which will help in the to
explore new parts for their airlines. This will help to improve the trade relations with other
companies in the market. This will also help in gaining investors from the market which will
help in gaining more amount of capital. The organization will have the opportunity of using
latest technologies and collaborate with other major companies. Merger is one of the ways of
making expansion and trade fairs will help to make new connections. Thus, we can say that the

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organization has the opportunity of expanding their business with the help of exhibitions and
trade fair. Asia consist of one of the largest trade fairs in the country which will help in making
changes to the organization. These trade fairs will present the organization with the opportunity
of expanding in the market. Thus, the organization is making expansion in their infrastructure
which could be used for the exhibitions and trade fairs which will help in the growth of the
organization. Thus, the inference that can be concluded from the analysis is that the organization
will have to make use of their aircrafts to attract the attention of the investors which will help in
the development of trade relations with other companies in the market.

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