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| floor buffer - For example, a soft drink may have a particular taste that is one of its benefits. But when consumers think of it, they not only think of its taste, but they may also associate it with high energy, extreme action, unconventional behavior, and youth. All of those meanings have been added to the product by advertising. Consumers frequently buy the product not only for its functional characteristics but also because they want to be identified with the image associated with the brand. By adding meaning to a product, advertising also adds value. For example, when Philip Morris Companies Inc. purchased Kraft Foods, Inc. in 1988 for nearly $13 billion, Philip Morris paid 600 percent more than Kraft's factories and inventory were worth. Over 80 percent of the purchase price was for the current and future value of the Kraft brand, a value that was created in large part by advertising. Advertising plays such an important role in promoting products and adding value to brands that most companies spend considerable sums on their advertising and hire specialized firms, known as advertising agencies, to develop their advertising campaigns. Advertising is most frequently done on television, radio, and billboards; in newspapers, magazines, and catalogs; and through direct mail to the consumers. In recent years, numerous advertising agencies have joined forces to become giant agencies, making it possible for them to offer their clients a comprehensive range of worldwide promotion services. See Advertising. Where advertising reaches a mass audience, personal or direct selling focuses on one custo_mer at a time. That kind of individual attention makes direct selling expensive, but it also makes it effective. As the costs of personal selling have risen, the utilization | of sal_espeople has changed. Simple transactions are completed by clerks. sal_espeople are now used primarily where the products are complex and require detailed explanation, customized application, or careful negotiation over price and payment plan. But whether the sale involves an automobile or a customized computer network, personal selling involves much more than convincing the custo_mer of the product's benefits. The sal_esperson helps the custo_mer identify problems, works out a variety of solutions, assists the buyer in making deci_sions, and provides arrangements for long-term service. Persuasion is only part of the job. A much more important part is problem solving. Because the selling process has become much more complicated, most companies now provide extensive train_ing for the sal_es force. The average length of the initial train_ing program is four months. A train_ing program for new members of the sal_es force teaches them about such matters as company history, selling and presentation techniques, listening skills, the manufacture and use of the company's products, and the characteristics of both the industry and its custo_mers. Moreover, because the sal_es force plays such a critical role in the marketing process, most companies provide on-going train_ing for all members of the sal_es force to help them deepen their product knowledge and improve their interpersonal and negotiating skills. With the increasing complexity of business problems and products, effective sal_es solutions often require more knowledge than any one person can master. As a result many companies now use sal_es teams to service their largest and most complicated accounts. Such teams might include personnel from sal_es, marketing, manufacturing, finance, and technical support. |
