Question

(Subject is Marketing Management MGT-201)

Personal selling is one of the oldest forms of marketing communication; due to its effectiveness, it allows for targeting a specific message to a specific customer. However personal selling is not appropriate for every company or situation..

(Please discuss and explain more the above sentence using keyboard and sure I will like your answer).

Answer 1

Personal selling is a way through which a marketer reaches to customers individually sensing or by creating a need for a product which the marketer has to offer. This type of marketing strategy requires interaction with the customer either before or during the meeting or both. This interaction that happens before meeting the customer is done via calling or sending email to the customer, providing various details about the usage of the product and its benefits. In many cases the customer might not have the need for the product in offer but this initial conversation might make the customer feel the need for the product.

Personal selling is effective in a way that it gives importance to the customer by understanding a customer’s perception towards the product in concern, and this interaction in person with the marketer creates a strong impact that not only makes a customer loyal but also helps to expand the consumer base through good word of mouth and through on the spot lead generation. Since the product itself is coming to the place of the customer for a demo, the satisfaction level of the customer will also be high, if the marketer succeeds to establish a good product image in the eyes of the customer.

Through personal selling prospective buyers are made and it also removes ignorance from the customer’s mind regarding a particular product. Personal selling gives a detailed overview regarding the product and also helps the customer to establish a difference between the product they use and the product the seller has to offer.

Now we do know that there are several businesses where personal selling might not be effective and there are several other ways to sell products and/or services to the customers. With the evolution of digital marketing and social media influencers, personal selling might have taken a back step as consumers tend to get the sought information regarding a particular product online.

There are several online portals where people share their experiences regarding a particular product or service and it has actually become useful for the consumers to decide whether to purchase or not. Nowadays personal selling is required for products which are very new in the market or which challenges the traditional approach of doing something.

For e.g. People earlier believed in taking private tuitions or going to coaching centers to study a particular subject in a group. With the onset of online learning platforms this concept of traditional studying has been challenged and there is a considerable amount of people in various underdeveloped regions of the world who still don’t know about its functioning completely. Even if there is a need and affordability, the customers are ignorant of the product/service and personal selling strategy is used to make the consumers aware about the same.

Established brands don’t involve in personal selling until and unless it’s a group of prospective buyers and there is a possibility of market penetration or business expansion. Some established brands can involve in personal selling on launching a completely different line of products and would want to make the consumers aware about it through face to face interaction, thereby building trust and customer loyalty.

Personal selling might never cease to exist but the approach has definitely changed over the years. Now customers are more informed and knowledgeable than ever and they tend to gather as much information as possible before finally meeting the company executive in person. Companies can make this meeting completely online where the interaction can happen over a video call and the complete details can be sent to the customer via email.

Though marketers are always searching for markets to penetrate and during this search they do focus on rural areas as well where accepting technology is a slow paced process and in this areas they try to meet potential clients and customers in order to increase their customer base.

To conclude personal selling carries a completely different meaning nowadays as we step in more and more into the age of digitalization, where meeting and discussing a product’s benefits and creating its need is just a click away.