Business to Business Marketing-SPSL Case Study Essay

Business to Business Marketing-SPSL Case Study - Essay Example Yet at the same time, personal selling is expensive. It costs a company much more to make a face-to-face sales call than it does to contact customers through a call centre or the web (Zoltners, Sinha & Lorimer, 2009.p.6). Consequently a sales force is most appropriately deployed to select customers, products and selling activities; specifically, those for which the benefit is worth the cost. When deployed to the right opportunities, an effective sales force is an invaluable asset for a B2B company; a powerful customer-facing force that can be a source of considerable competitive advantage. In Saxons case, the sales force will be by far the most relied upon department within the organization. This is mainly because they are required to deal directly with the customers and every other department within the organization relies on them to bring in the business. Typically, they are the only department which brings in money; everything else generates costs (Blythe & Zimmerman, 2005.p.252). It has been observed that a very good sales force, one that has talented salespeople who engage in the right selling activities produces at least 10 percent more revenues in the short term than an average sales force of the same force. In the long term, the revenue impact can be much greater: 50 percent or more. However, it is not a guarantee that everything will go well with Saxon once a sales force in place. Due to the criticalness and power of the sales force they become difficult to control, direct and manage. The fact that they are dominated by motivated people who bring in capabilities and values it also means that they bring egos and the need for security and meaning (Lilien & Grewal, 2012.p.522). Unlike advertising, salespeople cannot be turned on and off. Unlike a...Because the purchase is for the company; rather that for own use, the value presented in the merchandise must be seen as actual and functional as opposed to conceptual and representative (Wright, 2006.p.455). N ot all benefits associated with the brand name are emotional benefits and B2B buyers will be interested in corporate branding as this can be a sign of reliance and worth, service and extensive value when associating with a respectable and established organisation. Lastly, there is the issue of competition. In most B2B markets competition is as intense as is in B2C markets but, because consumers want different benefits than business buyers, it tends to be of a different kind, Competition in B2C markets is just as likely to be on the product and service brands as it is on price, while in B2B it is more likely to be on functional benefits offered and after-sales-service as it is on the brand or the price (Davis, 2010.p.8). Although price is important in the latter market, functionality and reliability can be crucial as a dysfunction in some way would be catastrophic in terms of lost production or disrupted services. Rivalry in B2B markets emanate from comparatively small number of organizations and organisational behaviour will be founded on such aspects as key partnerships. On the other hand, rivalry in B2C markets will emanate from multiple retailers and a variety of diverse merchandise and brands based on the consumer’s continuously var ying demands.