IMPACT OF PERSONAL SELLING IN THE MARKETING OF BEVERAGES IN ENUGU STATE
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IMPACT OF PERSONAL SELLING IN THE MARKETING OF BEVERAGES IN ENUGU STATE
Chapter one
1.1 Background of the Study
Personal selling, which is one of the functions of marketing, is very important in an organization’s business and marketing life. It entails the face-to-face communication of information from a seller to a prospective buyer, as well as the interaction of both the seller and the buyer for the purposes of facilitating exchange for mutual satisfaction.
It has long been recognised as the oldest and most likely the most essential component of the promotional mix; its history is demonstrated by the fact that word of mouth and suggestion by others have long been used to persuade others to accept a concept.
A keen examination of Nigerian society and habits would reveal that selling is a big and widespread economic activity; it is not unreasonable to describe Nigeria as a nation of salesmen and women.
Almost every house in Nigeria has a room that serves as a shop, in addition to the numerous Kiosks scattered throughout the cities and villages and the hundreds of thousands of Hawkers that are practically a part of the Nigerian landscape.
Selling is thus a vocation that the Nigerian takes extremely seriously, but ironically, the professional salesman is looked down upon by the seller. There are several reasons for this, the first of which being the general educational qualification of the majority of salesmen.
Second, the external look of these salesmen is, at best, shabby, and finally, there is a general sense of insecurity that makes the average Nigerian apprehensive of any uninvited visitor, who is frequently considered to be an armed robber.
Despite this, there is little doubt that personal selling, when done correctly, can have a significant impact on the fortunes of a firm, particularly one operating in the industrial market.
The necessity of personal selling is inherent in its nature, as it requires the usage of salespeople who are typically extremely adaptable in pitching their message to ensure that it confirms to the unique demands and eccentricities of their audience.
Personal selling is also distinguished by its lack of impersonality. This feature implies that the commercial, in a mainly friendly and easygoing environment, may focus on broad marketing methods, with an emphasis on when marketing and promotional strategies should be personal selling or advertising driven. Most businesses, however, use both promotional mixes. In this instance, it is critical to find the most successful strategy to combine personal selling and advertising efforts.
According to Eisenhart (1998: 92-97), the standard approach is to use advertising to raise company and product awareness and identify potential customers. These sales leads are subsequently sent on to the sales team for personal selling attention.
The primary goal is to employ low-cost per-contact advertising to discover prospects and more expensive human selling attempts to convert prospects into clients.
A study of 2,500 salespeople indicated that 85% of them had received leads from advertising in the previous year, demonstrating the success of this form of promotional technique.
Nestle’s promotional plan to launch Milo beverages into the market is a prime example of effective advertising and personal selling.
The promotional approach included four aims.
1. Increase brand awareness by 60%.
2. Generate high-quality leads for the sales staff.
3. Increase revenue by 10% in six months.
4. Improve sales force morale.
Although a common strategy would be to advertise in trade journals to improve visibility and spend a significant amount of time stocking shelves, setting up displays, receiving returned items, and handling other issues.
This unique promotional mix has resulted in strong relationships with retailers, allowing the company to compete against larger firms.
Although an emphasis on personal selling in the beverage market is type at this time, changes in technology indicate that personal selling may become more important in non-traditional business during the next few years, as discussed in sales technology increased importance of personal selling.
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