Strategizing Promotions
Module 8
Module 08: Strategizing Promotions
Course: MK11x Marketing Fundamentals, IIM Bangalore. Instructor: Prof. Ashis Mishra.
Promotions are the most visible part of marketing. Advertisements, discounts, the Great Indian Sale, Republic Day and Independence Day sales, Holi and Diwali sales, influencer campaigns. That visibility is exactly why the module opens with a warning.
8.1 Introduction to Promotion
What promotion actually is
Promotion is the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade and remind consumers about the products and brands they sell. That is the whole definition, and each of those three verbs belongs to a different stage of the product life cycle.
Promotion mapped onto the product life cycle
This mapping is the framing of the entire clip, and it is the single most useful thing to carry out of it.
| PLC stage | What promotion does | The message |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | Inform | We exist. This product is here |
| Growth | Persuade | Here is why we are better than the competitor, and why more people should buy |
| Maturity | Remind | We are still here, and our value proposition still holds |
| Decline | Little promotion at all | Spend is withdrawn |
Memory hook: Inform, persuade, remind, withdraw. Promotion is not one activity, it is four different jobs done at four different points in a product's life.
Where promotion sits in everything taught so far
The professor deliberately reconstructs the whole course before starting, because promotion is the last P and the easiest to mistake for the whole subject.
- Marketing is providing value to the customer, where value is benefit per cost. If what you pay is less than the benefit you receive, you find value in it.
- Different customers find value in different things, so you must identify the customer. That is STP: segmentation, targeting, positioning.
- Then you follow the consumer decision journey: need recognition, pre-purchase information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, post-purchase.
- All of that serves an organizational objective: sales, market share, profit, customer satisfaction or loyalty.
- You reach it through marketing strategy: the 5Cs (company, customers, competitors, collaborators, context) and the 4Ps.
- Three Ps are done. Promotion is the fourth.
Common trap: "Advertising or any kind of promotion, even though it is the most visible part of marketing, is not marketing." Promotion is the part of the strategy where you communicate, connect and engage with a customer you have already identified and understood.
The two communication models
| Model | What it describes |
|---|---|
| Macro model | The interaction between sender and recipient. How the message travels from marketer to consumer |
| Micro model | How the consumer reacts to the communication |
8.2 Marketing Communications
8.2.1 Macro communication
Note: this diagram is a generic communication-process illustration rather than a lecture slide.
The chain: Sender → Encoding → Message → Media → Decoding → Receiver → Feedback, with noise present throughout.
| Element | What it is |
|---|---|
| Sender | The company or marketer |
| Encoding | Turning the intended meaning into a story, image or line |
| Message | What is actually being said |
| Media | TV, newspaper, magazine, outdoor, social media |
| Decoding | The consumer's interpretation of what they received |
| Receiver | The consumer |
| Feedback | What comes back: sales, attitudes, preference |
| Noise | Everything competing for and distorting the signal |
Memory hook: The whole model exists to answer one question: did the receiver get the message the sender was sending? The value of the process is exactly how solid, accurate and precise that transfer is.
Ad analysis: Center Fruit
The Center Fruit toffee ad decomposed against the macro model.
| Element | In this ad |
|---|---|
| Sender | Center Fruit, the company |
| Encoding | The message of irresistible taste is encoded as a humorous story: a man dispenses money like an ATM, and he is enticed with a Center Fruit so that his tongue moves and activates the money release |
| Message | Center Fruit is tasty and irresistible |
| Media | Audiovisual advertisement |
| Decoding | The viewer must join the chain: tasty toffee, salivating, tongue movement, money coming out |
| Receiver | Target consumers, anyone who likes or might like the product |
| Feedback | Increased sales, positive brand attitudes, preference |
8.2.2 Micro communication
The micro model asks what the customer's reaction to the communication is.
The two named response models
| Model | Stages |
|---|---|
| AIDA | Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action |
| Hierarchy of Effects | Awareness, Knowledge, Liking, Preference, Conviction, Purchase |
Why the model matters practically. It tells you what role your communication is playing. Is it to build awareness, provide knowledge, generate liking, create preference, strengthen conviction, or drive purchase? Only when you have named the role can you judge whether the communication succeeded.
Memory hook: "An enjoyable communication is not necessarily a successful communication. To be successful, a communication has to be enjoyable, but every enjoyable communication need not be successful."
Applied to Center Fruit: the objective might partly be awareness, that it is available even in remote areas, but it is mainly liking and preference, moving to conviction.
The three response sequences
This is the most commonly examined grid in the module, and it is easy to get the cells the wrong way round.
| Sequence | Applies when | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Learn, Feel, Do | High involvement AND high differentiation | Automobiles, Godiva chocolate |
| Do, Feel, Learn | High involvement BUT no real differentiation | Center Fruit toffee, airline tickets, laptops |
| Learn, Do, Feel | Low involvement AND little perceived differentiation | Salt, batteries, toffees, and the diabetic toffee |
Learn, Feel, Do worked through. Buying a car: you research the brand extensively, the parameters, the interior, customer feedback, availability, service, the company's responsiveness, looks, speed, mileage. Then you take a test drive, which is the feel. Then you arrange the finance and buy.
Do, Feel, Learn worked through. Center Fruit: you do not gather information and then taste it and then buy. You just buy it, then discover how it tastes, then perhaps learn who makes it and where it is sold. The sequence runs in reverse.
Learn, Do, Feel worked through: the diabetic toffee. Suppose you launch a sugar-free toffee for diabetics that tastes exactly like a normal one. Because of the extra processing it is higher priced, say ₹20 against ₹10. Do, Feel, Learn cannot work: nobody picks up a ₹20 toffee on impulse. The consumer must first learn that such a product exists and that a diabetic can eat it, then buy it, then enjoy it and become a customer. Godiva chocolate, by contrast, at ₹3,000 or ₹5,000 a box, is Learn, Feel, Do: you learn about it, you check who eats it and what they say, and only then do you buy and taste it.
Common trap: Center Fruit, diabetic toffee and Godiva are all in the chocolate and confectionery category and all three take different communication strategies. Category does not determine sequence; involvement and perceived differentiation do.
8.2.3 The promotion mix: tools and techniques
The promotion mix is a bouquet of tools. Which flowers you pick depends on the product or service, the target audience and the marketing objective. A clearance sale needs a different bouquet from building a premium brand image.
Advertising
Definition: a paid, non-personal presentation of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor. Every word carries weight:
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Paid | The sponsor pays for the space or time |
| Non-personal | Mass media, not one-to-one communication |
| Identified sponsor | The company paying for it is clearly known |
Forms: TV, print, radio, online, billboards, brochures, in-store displays, logos, even product placement in films.
Sales promotions
Definition: short-term incentives that encourage sales. Anything by which sales are promoted.
The distinction the note must carry: consumer promotions versus trade promotions.
| Consumer promotions | Trade promotions | |
|---|---|---|
| Aimed at | The end consumer | Distributors, dealers and retailers |
| Instruments | Discounts, contests, games and sweepstakes, premiums (gifts with purchase), sampling, coupons, rebates, bundling and buy-one-get-one offers | Trade shows and exhibitions (auto expos, B2B expos), trade discounts, display allowances |
| Purpose | Raise trial, clear stock, and lift sales and revenue over a short period | Get the channel to stock the brand and push it. The company gets distributors and dealers to see the product, give feedback and commit to stocking it |
Why do sales promotion at all: increase sales for a defined period, create awareness, clear stock, and lift revenue quickly.
Common trap: Sales promotion is a short-term instrument. It is not a route to market share or long-term growth.
Events and experiences
Engaging customers through interactive experience.
| Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Festivals and fairs | Chitra Santhe in Bangalore, where a whole street is blocked and artists from across the country and neighbouring countries display their work |
| Factory tours | Letting students and adults see how products are made |
| Company museums | The Coca-Cola museum, showing the journey of the brand, the historic bottles, bottling and manufacturing, posters, hoardings and mannequins |
| Sponsorships | Sports and entertainment events |
The strategic value: an art and craft fair delivers art and craft lovers, a discerning audience you would otherwise find very hard to reach.
Publicity versus public relations
Most people use these interchangeably. They are not the same thing.
| Publicity | Public Relations | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free. It happens on its own | Undertaken and paid for by the company |
| Control | None. The company ideally has no control | Controlled by the PR department |
| Valence | Can be positive or negative | Managed to be positive |
| Source | A newspaper article, a seminar or symposium, an author writing about the brand, a celebrity mentioning it | Press kits and interviews, speeches by the CEO or CFO, seminars, annual reports, charitable donations, publications and white papers, community relations |
The PR worked example: a film release. A movie is announced. News articles appear. The director or producer gives an interview. The star cast is revealed, creating curiosity. Snippets from the shoot appear on social media. Then teaser one, teaser two, teaser three. Then the music release. Then multiple trailers. Then the stars travel and give interviews. By the time the film releases, you have been engaged with it for six months to a year, entirely through PR.
Community relations at scale: Tata Nagar (Jamshedpur). Nominally a steel plant, but the Tata Group built the city around it, runs or facilitates the hospitals, schools and colleges, and handles public administration, electricity, water, maintenance and hygiene.
Personal selling
Direct, one-to-one communication between salespeople and customers. Essential where a demonstration is required.
The professor's historic example is Eureka Forbes and Aquaguard. When it launched, nobody had the idea of cleaning water with a machine; everyone boiled, strained and stored it in a matka. You cannot advertise your way into a behaviour change like that, and the same was true of the vacuum cleaner when people simply swept and mopped. You have to go to the home and show them. All B2B transactions rest on personal selling for the same reason.
Tools: sales presentations, sales meetings, sampling, incentives, and participation in fairs and trade shows.
Memory hook: From Module 1, marketing is customer focused and selling is company focused. That does not make selling inferior. Selling is a tool used inside marketing.
Direct marketing
Reaching individual customers directly: catalogues, email, telemarketing (credit cards, holiday packages, home loans), websites, blogs, and social media such as Instagram, Facebook and X.
8.2.4 Characteristics of the communication mix
Each tool has a distinct profile. This table is the natural summary of 8.2.3.
| Tool | Characteristics |
|---|---|
| Advertising | Pervasive (reaches many), amplified (high impact), expressive, controllable |
| Sales promotion | Attention-drawing, provides an incentive, acts as an invitation, produces a short-term sales spike |
| Public relations | High credibility, large reach, and reaches even hard-to-find, sceptical buyers who dismiss paid campaigns as untrustworthy |
| Events and experiences | Relevant, engaging, implicit, and reaches discerning customers with a specific interest |
| Direct marketing | Customised, up to date, interactive, influential, personal, timely |
| Personal selling | Personal interaction, cultivates a relationship, gives an immediate response that you can respond to in turn |
8.2.5 Developing effective ad campaigns
Definition of an ideal ad campaign: one where the right consumer is exposed to the message at the right time and place, and the ad causes the consumer to pay attention.
The six characteristics of an ideal ad campaign
They form a journey, in order.
| # | Characteristic | What the ad must achieve |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Attention | Win attention first, because so many campaigns compete for the same sensory bandwidth. Achieved either by the unconventional (newspaper text printed bottom to top so you must turn the page, a completely blank page, two to ten seconds of blank screen on TV that makes you wonder whether the power has gone) or by the conventional trigger (a telephone ringing, a doorbell, a big celebrity appearing) |
| 2 | Understanding | The ad reflects the consumer's actual level of understanding of, and behaviour with, the product |
| 3 | Superiority | The ad correctly positions the brand in terms of POD and POP, so the consumer understands how it beats the competitor |
| 4 | Predisposition | It creates a positive predisposition towards the product or service |
| 5 | Purchasing the product | It motivates the consumer to consider purchasing the brand |
| 6 | Brand association | It builds strong brand associations for the future |
Common trap: No single campaign does all six. It takes a series of campaigns, which is exactly what the Santoor sequence in Module 6 demonstrates, moving the customer step by step until they are a loyal customer and finally a brand advocate.
The seven-step campaign design process
| # | Step | Content |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identify the target audience | Every strategy in product, price, place and promotion begins here, because it is all about finding value for a defined target audience |
| 2 | Define the objectives | The marketing objective (ROI, market share, growth) cascades into the promotion objective (awareness, establishing superiority over a competitor, communicating value, or reminding the customer that the value is still relevant) |
| 3 | Design the communication | The campaign, the messaging and the story |
| 4 | Select the channels | TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, outdoor, point of purchase, events, PR |
| 5 | Establish the budget | Every channel costs differently. TV advertising, as the IPL figures show, is very expensive; social media is much cheaper; email is almost free |
| 6 | Determine the media mix | One channel or several, one message type or several. TV plus radio plus newspaper, or Facebook plus Instagram plus X plus YouTube |
| 7 | Measure the results | Set benchmarks and metrics in advance |
Why step 7 matters, with the professor's funnel
A marketing objective is usually set for a financial year, but you cannot wait a year to find out.
Given a plan for month one: 10,000 queries, of which 5,000 people come to know more and physically visit the store, of which 2,000 buy.
Answer: you know immediately that something is seriously wrong. You only know it because you built the funnel in advance. Without it, you would have planned 10,000 in month one, 15,000 in month two, 5,000 in month three, targeted 1 lakh units for the year, and discovered at year end that you had sold 500. The cost is not just the money; it is the opportunity cost of the year you lost.
8.2.6 Objectives of ad communication
Four distinct communication objectives, escalating from the category to the transaction.
| # | Objective | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Category need | Establishes the need for a product category in general, not for any brand. Builds positive attitudes towards the whole category by appealing to shared customer values and multiple consumer values | The Piyo Glassful campaign, which promotes drinking milk, not any brand of milk |
| 2 | Brand awareness | Increases recognition and recall of a specific brand within the category. Connects a specific brand to the general category values | The Amul ad, building awareness for Amul milk |
| 3 | Brand attitude | Shapes perceptions of the brand's ability to meet the need. Shows why this brand satisfies the target market's category need | The Pepsodent ad on the importance of oral hygiene and Pepsodent's role in it |
| 4 | Purchase intention | Motivates the consumer to buy or take a purchase-related action, typically by creating urgency through a promotional event | The Amazon Great Indian Festival ad, with discounts and use cases |
Memory hook: Category need is the only one that does not mention a brand. It grows the pie; the other three fight over slices.
8.2.7 Designing marketing communications
Three questions: what to say, how to say it, and who should say it.
1. Message strategy: what to say
The marketer searches for the appeals, themes or ideas that tie into the brand and establish the POP and POD. The message exists to communicate the positioning.
The core choice: do you talk about the product, its features and attributes, or about the associations of the product? In the Coca-Cola case, do you talk about the taste of Coca-Cola, or about the occasions and situations in which it is drunk and the happiness that came with them?
The four rewards buyers expect
Worked through consistently on a motorcycle.
| Reward | Definition | Motorcycle example |
|---|---|---|
| Rational | Logical, practical benefit | Kilometres per litre. Mileage |
| Sensory | Experiential, bodily, pleasure-based | The comfort of the ride, style, fashion, how good it feels on long rides |
| Social | Belonging. Others like you use it | Your friends and relatives ride it, so you are part of that group |
| Ego satisfaction | Uniqueness, prestige, status | My bike is unique, my bike is different, the macho image |
The three modes of delivery
Any of the four rewards can be delivered in any of three ways.
| Mode | Definition | Motorcycle example |
|---|---|---|
| Result of use | You got the reward because you used it | You reached your sister's wedding on time; you reached a remote location and finished the job; you got to the exam hall despite the traffic |
| Product in use | You get the reward while using it | The thrill, the exhilaration, the comfort, feeling macho while riding |
| Incidental to use | A reward that is not the primary use at all | You park the bike outside a dhaba, an ad crew notices you and the bike, photographs you, and you end up in a campaign |
The two canonical worked examples
These are the most exam-shaped items in the clip, because they pair a reward type with a delivery mode.
| Campaign | Reward type | Delivery mode | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surf, "daag acche hain" | Rational | Result of use | It says: get as dirty as you like, enjoy your life, the stains will come out. The promise is that the clothes get cleaner, which is a functional, rational benefit arising from having used the detergent |
| Amul butter, "utterly butterly delicious" and Melody, "Melody itni chocolatey kyun hai" | Sensory | Product in use | The reward is taste. You receive it while you are consuming the product, not afterwards |
2. Creative strategy: how to say it
| Appeal | Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Informational | Elaborates the product's attributes or benefits, assuming strictly rational processing by the consumer | Problem-solution: Saridon stops headaches quickly. Product demonstration: a Godrej washing machine that also brushes clothes. Product comparison: engine power, fuel efficiency or space in automobiles. Testimonials from unknown people or celebrity endorsers |
| Transformational | Non-product-related benefits or images. Depicts what kind of person uses the brand, or what experience results from it. Attempts to stir emotions through association | Royal Enfield for those seeking adventure, thrill and a macho identity. Fiama Di Wills bathing bars, promising skin care and that you look gorgeous afterwards |
Both types can be framed positively or negatively. The professor's example of a negative frame: "Smoking reduces your weight, one lung at a time." It is a subtle way of saying that smoking destroys the lungs.
3. Message source: who should say it
| Attribute | When it matters | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Expertise | Technical or health claims | A doctor endorsing a toothpaste |
| Trustworthiness | Everyday claims about everyday products | A homemaker talking about a detergent that makes clothes white. You may not think of her as an expert, but you believe her |
| Likeability | Attention and appeal | A celebrity |
Common trap: Celebrities are likeable but not necessarily trustworthy. When a superstar endorses a hair oil, a toothpaste, a car and a drink, you know they probably do not use any of them. Different product categories need different spokespersons.
8.2.8 Designing marketing communications using ads: the Asian Paints trio
Three campaigns from one brand, each decomposed into message strategy, creative strategy and message source.
| Campaign | Message strategy (what) | Creative strategy (how) | Message source (who) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian Paints, Interiors | Associate Asian Paints with positive life events: marriage, childbirth | Emotional, through relatable family situations. The father's initial hesitation about his daughter's marriage, the joy of a new family member and a new home | The story is told from the daughter's perspective |
| Asian Paints, Exterior Emulsion | Highlight the long-lasting, time-proof quality of the paint | Humour. Everything changes over time except the house painted with Asian Paints | A nosy neighbour observing the changes across the years |
| Asian Paints, Tractor Emulsion | Position Tractor Emulsion as the smart choice for the average middle-class consumer: value with a touch of luxury | Humour. The protagonist's smart paint choice leads neighbours to consult him on every problem, ending in an absurd bomb-disposal scene | The protagonist, the homeowner who chose Tractor Emulsion |
Memory hook: One brand, three products, three completely different combinations of message, creative and source. A well-chosen narrative and protagonist is what makes the communication land, which is why the design triad is a design decision and not a creative accident.
8.3 Budgeting
There is no single correct way to set a promotional budget. Four methods.
| Method | How it works | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Affordable method | Spend whatever is left after everything else | Startups and young establishments with no established practice and few resources. Explicitly not the ideal way |
| Percentage of sales | Allocate a fixed percentage of revenue, say 5, 10 or 15 percent | Established firms. The professor calls this the ideal of the simple methods |
| Competitive parity | Match the competitor's spend. Competitor spends 20 percent, you spend 20 percent | Established firms staying competitive |
| Objective and task | Define the communication objective, work out the tasks needed to achieve it, and cost those tasks. Links the budget directly to the desired outcome | The rigorous method, and the one worked below |
The objective-and-task method
The method is mathematical in a simple way: you put numbers on each stage of a funnel and read the budget off the bottom.
The six-step procedure
| # | Step |
|---|---|
| 1 | Establish the market share goal |
| 2 | Determine the percentage of the market that should be reached by the advertising |
| 3 | Determine the percentage of aware prospects that should be persuaded to try the brand |
| 4 | Determine the number of advertising impressions per one percent trial rate |
| 5 | Determine the number of gross rating points (GRPs) that must be purchased |
| 6 | Determine the budget from the average cost of buying a GRP |
One GRP is one exposure to one percent of the target population.
Worked example: Cloud Nine's "Sunburst" energy drink
Given:
- The brand is Cloud Nine, launching a new natural energy drink called Sunburst, targeted at the casual athlete.
- Estimated potential market: 50 million users.
- Target market share: 8 percent.
- The advertising is expected to reach 80 percent of the market.
- 25 percent of aware prospects are expected to try Sunburst.
- 40 percent of triers are expected to become loyal users.
- 40 advertising impressions per one percent of the population produce that 25 percent trial rate.
- Cost of one GRP: $10,000.
Answer: the objective is 4 million loyal users.
Answer: 40 million people must see the advertising.
Answer: 10 million must try the product.
Answer: 4 million loyal users, which matches the objective set in step 1. The funnel is consistent.
Step 5. The gross rating points required.
Answer: 3,200 GRPs must be purchased.
Step 6. The budget.
Answer: the first-year introduction budget is $32 million.
The funnel in one view
| Stage | Number | Conversion applied |
|---|---|---|
| Total potential market | 50 million | |
| Reached by advertising | 40 million | 80% reach |
| Tried the product | 10 million | 25% trial |
| Became loyal users | 4 million | 40% conversion |
| As a share of the market | 8 percent | The original objective |
Memory hook: The funnel runs 50, 40, 10, 4. Reach 80 percent, convert a quarter of those to trial, convert 40 percent of triers to loyalty, and you land exactly on the 8 percent share you set out to win. The task is derived backwards from the objective, which is what distinguishes this method from the other three.
8.4 Personal Selling
8.4.1 Personal selling
Definition: direct interaction with prospective buyers to make presentations, answer questions and procure orders. It is a promotional tool because it builds relationships, addresses concerns and positions the product, ultimately driving sales. Unlike every other tool in the mix, which uses mass media, personal selling is highly personalised and customised.
| Advantages | Customisation, relationship building, targeted communication. Best for complex, high-value products needing explanation and demonstration, and for B2B |
| Disadvantages | Expensive and cannot reach a large audience. Not cost-effective for low-value, simple products |
The six steps in personal selling
| # | Step | Content | Named framework |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prospecting | Identifying potential customers | BANT: Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline |
| 2 | Pre-approach | Researching the customer and company, understanding their needs and purchase process, planning the approach and the first contact method | |
| 3 | Presentation and demonstration | Presenting the offer. Demonstration is often essential for complex or new products | FABV: Features, Advantages, Benefits, Value |
| 4 | Persuasion | Addressing concerns and overcoming logical or psychological resistance. Building trust and rapport matters more than expertise in many selling situations. Ethical practice builds long-term relationships | |
| 5 | Closing | Finalising the sale and securing the order. Far more complex than a normal purchase: financial terms, agreement and paperwork | |
| 6 | Servicing | Post-sale follow-up, support and relationship building, opening future business |
The SPIN approach can be used alongside: ask Situation, Problem, Implication and Need-payoff questions to gather everything needed for effective conversion.
Memory hook: BANT qualifies the prospect. FABV structures the pitch. SPIN structures the questions.
8.4.2 The sales process in a B2B market
Worked through a software sales representative selling to small businesses.
| # | Step | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prospecting | Research small businesses. Determine the ideal customer size, their current tools, challenges, goals and pain points. Like all selling, it starts with segmenting, targeting and positioning |
| 2 | Preparation | Gather information to tailor the approach: their needs, current software, challenges and goals. This is resonating focus from Module 5 |
| 3 | Approach | Initial contact by phone or email. In B2B this sometimes begins with the company requesting a quote |
| 4 | Presentation and demonstration | Show how the product solves specific pain points, using case studies, demos and testimonials. Tangibilize the intangible: quantify cost savings, time savings and revenue increases |
| 5 | Handling objections | Cost, ease of use, compatibility. Active listening plus concrete reassurance |
| 6 | Closing | Pricing, terms and contract signature |
| 7 | Follow-up and servicing | Ensure satisfaction, answer questions, build the long-term relationship for upselling and referrals |
8.4.3 The sales process in a B2C market
Worked through a luxury car dealership.
| # | Step | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prospecting | Identify luxury car buyers through events, networking and past enquiries. Target people who have bought from the same segment before. Dealers maintain extensive databases |
| 2 | Preparation | Research models, features and financing. Prepare materials emphasising intangible benefits such as status and prestige, and what differentiates this vehicle from immediate competitors |
| 3 | Pre-approach and approach | Mass media, calls, emails and brochures bring the customer to the showroom. The customer arriving at the showroom is the final approach stage. The salesperson greets them and uses open-ended questions |
| 4 | Presentation | The test drive. Performance, comfort and unique features aligned to lifestyle. Technical detail where relevant, design and aesthetics where they appeal more, plus testimonials to build desire |
| 5 | Handling objections | Price and maintenance concerns met with financing options, warranties and investment value |
| 6 | Closing | A limited-time promotion or arranged finance, creating urgency and managing anxiety |
| 7 | Follow-up | Post-sale contact, invitations to exclusive events, fostering referrals and brand advocacy |
Memory hook: Both processes have the same seven steps. What changes is who initiates the approach: in B2B the seller reaches out or the buyer issues an RFQ; in B2C the marketing brings the customer to you and the approach begins when they walk in.
8.5 Sales Force Management
8.5.1 Designing an effective sales force
Five steps, running from what the sales force is for down to how it is paid.
Step 1: define the objectives
What tasks will the sales force actually perform?
- Gather market information.
- Identify and target customers.
- Communicate with the target market.
- Generate sales.
- Provide service and support.
- Allocate resources such as merchandise and promotions.
Step 2: sales force strategy
| Direct sales force | Contractual sales force | |
|---|---|---|
| Who they are | Company employees | Independent contractors and agents |
| Control | Greater | Less |
| Alignment with company goals | Better | Weaker, though good contracting reduces the gap |
| Cost and effort | More in-house effort to recruit, train and support | More flexible, potentially lower cost |
Step 3: sales force structure
| Structure | Basis | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Geographic | Region, territory or city | The default |
| Product | Specialisation by product or service line | Broad, technical portfolios |
| Customer | Customer type or industry | Service industries. Hospitals run specialised teams for different medical areas; financial services split by lending, insurance and credit |
Step 4: sales force size
Determined by sales volume, number of customers, frequency of contact and geographic coverage, using workload analysis: the effort required to reach each customer, counting contacts and travel time, and allowing for the sales cycle, product complexity and individual salesperson ability. Past conversion-rate data and projections turn that into realistic hiring targets.
Common trap: The lecturer deliberately declines to give a formal workload formula. Workload analysis here is a structured judgement, not an equation, so do not invent one.
Step 5: sales force compensation
The plan must attract and retain talent while balancing:
- Fixed components (salary) against variable ones (commission, bonuses).
- Expenses, benefits and other incentives, adjustable against performance targets.
- Stability against performance-based incentive.
Direct salespeople are typically more salary focused; independent contractors emphasise variable commission. Aligning the right incentive to the right task is what raises motivation across different sales forces.
8.5.2 Managing the sales force
Designing the sales force is a one-off. Managing it is continuous, and it has seven distinct elements.
| # | Element | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recruiting | Getting the right salespeople in, not merely filling headcount |
| 2 | Training | Product knowledge, sales technique and process discipline |
| 3 | Supervising | Day-to-day direction and oversight of the field force |
| 4 | Productivity | Establishing benchmarks and metrics so you know the effectiveness and efficiency of the sales force, rather than guessing |
| 5 | Technology and aids | What tools, systems and sales aids the force is given. Productivity is computed off these, and the computation must be linked to compensation, because this is a business |
| 6 | Motivation | The monetary part is a requirement, not an option. Beyond it sits the non-monetary part. Different types of salespeople respond to different mixes of monetary, non-monetary and other benefits, and the manager's job is to keep them going |
| 7 | Evaluation | Formal assessment against the metrics |
How sales force productivity is actually structured
The professor gives the mechanism explicitly, and it is the part most often lost.
| Component | What it is |
|---|---|
| Activity plans | What each salesperson is expected to do, planned in advance |
| Written activity results | What they actually did, recorded |
| Territory-wise marketing plan | The plan held centrally for each territory |
| The reconciliation | When the sales force submit their own reports, you match those against the territory plan and check whether they are moving in the right direction |
Memory hook: Recruit, train, supervise, measure productivity, equip with technology, motivate, evaluate. Motivation splits into monetary and non-monetary; productivity is measured by matching reported activity against the territory plan, not by sales alone.
8.6 Digital Marketing
Digital marketing uses digital platforms for promotional campaigns. The organising distinction is who initiates contact.
| Outbound marketing | Inbound marketing | |
|---|---|---|
| Who initiates | The company pushes the message out | The customer comes to the company |
| Relationship to traditional marketing | This is the traditional approach behind advertising, sales promotion, PR and events | New in kind, not just in medium |
| Digital tools | Search Engine Marketing (SEM): paid advertising on search engines, such as sponsored links on Google. Like traditional advertising, but targetable by keyword and user location | Search Engine Optimization (SEO): optimising content to rank higher in organic results. Content marketing: blogs, videos and social posts that attract and retain customers |
| Where the prospect is in the journey | Anywhere, including not in the market at all | Already searching, so already further along the decision journey |
| Efficiency | Less efficient, since it targets a broad audience, many of whom are not seeking the product | Higher conversion, because the customer has already expressed interest |
Why inbound is increasingly favoured. It targets customers who have already expressed interest in the product, service or category, which raises conversion. It also generates data over time that improves campaign effectiveness and allows deeper customisation and personalisation. The compounding effect is real: more high-value content makes a company appear earlier in organic results, and as more people search relevant terms the search engines get better at surfacing it.
Why outbound is still relevant. Nothing else creates awareness in a category where nobody is searching yet, which takes you straight back to the introduction phase of the product life cycle and the inform job of promotion.
8.7 Discussion Forum Response: Country Delight
According to my research on Country Delight, the company has effectively positioned itself in the competitive dairy industry through a combination of strategic promotions, innovative sales approaches and robust digital marketing efforts.
Promotions
The company offers a variety of customer-centric promotions.
- Discounts and cashback offers. They run frequent promotions for new and existing users alike, such as "4Pe4", which provides four days of free milk on an order of four days of milk. This helps them gain new customers while retaining older ones.
- Membership programmes. The VIP membership provides perks such as free delivery and exclusive discounts, enhancing customer loyalty and retention.
Sales strategies
- Subscription-based model. By offering customisable subscription plans, the company ensures regular deliveries, which produces consistent sales and heightened customer retention.
- Product diversification. Beyond milk, the product line now includes paneer, ghee, curd and bakery items, catering to a broader range of customer needs and increasing sales avenues.
Digital marketing
- Genuine customer reviews. They have run multiple ad campaigns promoting customer satisfaction through real reviews, which effectively helped them gain consumer trust in their products.
- Engaging campaigns. The "Live Better" digital campaign, featuring emotive films such as "Technology ka Kamaal" and "Black Tea", emphasises the purity and quality of their products, aiming to connect with consumers on a personal level.
- Mobile application. The user-friendly app lets customers order products, manage subscriptions and access information about product sources, enhancing transparency and trust.