MARKETING AND SALES
Interviewing Ms Riitta Hirvonen, General Manager of Monteverdi Ltd. London
“I have been studying several topics in business management; people management, including managing oneself, personal communications, leadership styles, motivation, managing conflict and job design and recruitment. Also managing the change and operations, marketing and customer relationships are vital. From information management, follows finance, including budgeting and performance analysis.
All this is vital to be able to perform our business, to sell our services, to quote the best price.”
Marketing
“Marketing is knowing what to do in order to meet the needs and wants of our clients.”
The quality of the product or service, the level of distribution and how much is spent on promotion all have an effect on costs and therefore on the price we must charge the customer. Yet this price must be acceptable to the customer or there is a real risk of insufficient sales. Knowing the levels of product quality, distribution, promotion and price that are acceptable to our customers is, therefore, one key to developing our organisation and enabling it to achieve its objectives.
It’s important to understand what our organisation’s objectives are in order to choose an appropriate marketing mix, and mission statement should act as the prime reference point.
Hierarchy of plans
Mission statements – the reasons for our existence.
Organisational objectives – setting priorities and quantifying them, e.g. time scale, level of growth, allocation of resources, profitability.
Marketing objectives – deciding and quantifying, e.g. services to be supplied, types of products or services and in what time scale. –The marketing team established to study subject in detail and decide the strategy
THE FOUR P´s
Marketing strategy – deciding the activities that are needed to achieve the objectives in
The product , the price, the promotion and the place.
Marketing includes the philosophy that drives the whole organisation. Everyone needs to understand the Four P’s marketing framework:
Product – what we offer (our product, service or other offering and the level of pre-sales or after-sales service)
Product – do we sell commodities or services, or rather the solutions to problems, requirements or desires?
Is the actual product just booking transportation, hotel accommodation, accounting facilities, or are we also offer augmented products, which include everything else we offer to our customers besides the actual product, e.g. information
We have a unique selling proposition, conformed of our staff expertise, know-how, customer service skills, enthusiasm and dedication in providing a service. And at a reasonable and competitive cost. It is important to let our present and potential clients know this, as it might turn out to be an important criterion in their decision to buy from us, rather than from our competitors.
ARE WE PERFECT?
Our company’s image is an important part of our product – are we PERFECT?
P – rofessional
E – fficient
R – eliable
F – riendly
E – xpert
C – aring
T – rustworthy – at all times and at every function?
PRICING
Price – what we charge (our price, charge or fee and other costs which customer has to pay)
A customer is interested in the value of what is on offer – it is up to us to communicate the totality of the offer. “Sell the sizzle, not the steak” (American salesman, Elmer Wheeler). Customer simply wants to hear what’s in it for them.
It is also extremely important to know what your competitor is charging, not just the price, but the value of it, too.
The price also needs to match our customer’s expectations, as it should always complement the product’s position and not conflict with the image. If the price is too cheap, client might think it’s not value for money.
(David once told me about the impossible triangle, where quality, service and price conform the three sides. In his view you cannot have all three..).
Quality is also seen as part of the value in clients’ eyes, and this doesn’t consist only of
the service the clients receive from us e.g. at the time of booking and airport, but also through after-sales care, in handling complaints and at finishing the accounting procedures.
PROMOTION
Promotion – how we communicate (building an awareness of and an interest in our offering)
Everybody who works in the company works also in marketing, everybody is a seller, everybody is in charge and everybody is learning. Learning is a life long process and it’s free.
We all need reminding of this every once in a while. We all service someone all the time, be it internally or externally. We need to provide the services client has paid for, when we’re on duty, we mustn’t forget that and build a trustworthy image with value for money and more.
The client is the king because he has the money. He’s not always right, but it’s not his fault, he’s not on duty.
Marketing
We need to establish what are the effects our message should bring to our customers – increased sales, enhancing image, influencing buying habits etc. For new clients it would be the latter two, and for existing ones reaffirming all three.
If one already have a very segmented clientele, and this would be recommended, as relationship marketing is the key to retaining customers. We don’t just want to a quick profit from a single transaction, but to build a relationship with the customer in order to understand their needs and habits – and of course get a better profit to our own business.
This is important in view of acquiring new clients, too. Again we can use the knowledge we already have of clients with special needs and speak the special, professional language when approaching similar client groups (theatre, exhibitions, ballet, film)
The target audience needs to have confidence that the message is truthful and relevant, also the means and meadias of the message will also have an effect. Therefore one must
remember some of the basic communication techniques, perhaps the most important one is to listen to the customer.
Place – how and where we deliver (making our product or service available as and when it is required
Use of efficient and latest technology, (internet) in processing services, out-of-hours facility. Professional appearance of staff, functional office space,remember that the tone of voice has more than 70 % of total weighing compared to the words themselves.
Organisations need to have a clear structure, even when dealing with everyday operations. When plans are made with clear goals or objectives, it clarifies the subjects and gives an easy way of reviewing them in the short and long run.
