The personal selling marketing strategy is still effective today. Even though it has been around for a long time, the most optimal marketing technique in building relationships with consumers is still the choice of businesses and brands.
The presence of personal selling in marketing campaign activities is not just a complement. Not a few business people are starting to make this technique their main business strategy.
There are many marketing techniques in a business, and one of them is the personal selling technique. Understand the application and examples of personal selling in marketing techniques along with goals and examples.
Marketing activities are the culmination of a long series of market analysis processes, production processes, and profit-making processes. That said, by successfully developing a marketing strategy, a business or company can easily grow and develop. Business people who have poured some funds as capital can then quickly get a return on investment.
Even though it sounds easy, interestingly marketing activities do not necessarily sell all the products that have been made. Because, in the field there are not a few products that fail in the market and make the producers go out of business.
This time, we will discuss one of the marketing techniques for certain products and certain conditions. This technique called personal selling helps optimize sales figures. Here's the full explanation.
What is Personal Selling?
Hubspot explains that personal selling is a marketing method that personalizes and humanizes the product sales process. This is because the marketing process is carried out directly without intermediaries and is very natural.
Companies represented by sales promotion offer their products to consumers. They don't offer in a pushy way, but use a subtle and emotional approach.
According to some experts from the marketing field, personal selling is a form of direct and personal interaction between a company and its potential customers. Through this interaction, the company tries to persuade potential customers to want to buy the products offered.
According to William G. Nickel, it's not just offerings, from these interactions the company also seeks to build mutually beneficial relationships. The point is that the company seeks to provide benefits through the products offered. The hope, these products can be a solution to consumer problems.
So, if it is concluded that personal selling means sales activities carried out directly by utilizing personal relationships. Sometimes, personal selling is considered the same as direct marketing because both rely on this direct relationship.
However, there is a difference between personal selling and direct marketing, StickFriends. This strategy places more emphasis on mutually beneficial relationships, whereas direct marketing does not.
Direct selling focuses more on company profits. Not on purpose to listen, educate, and help consumers overcome their problems through the products that will be offered.
What are the objectives of personal selling?
The purpose of personal selling is not only targeting sales, but more than that. There are several big goals that this strategy wants to aim at.
1. Providing Information & Educating Consumers
This type of promotion strategy uses a simple approach, namely visiting consumers directly. Because it is simple, personal selling is expected to be able to transfer information and educate consumers through the products offered.
By knowing product information, companies can eliminate the gap between products and potential customers. It could be that all this time there is confusing information about the product. Now, through personal selling represented by sales promotion, consumers are more confident about using your product.
2. Maintaining Consumer Loyalty
Wise people argue that maintaining something is very difficult compared to getting something new. Likewise in business. Retaining customers so that they eventually become returning customers is not easy. You need to care for them with positive activities that have a good impact.
One of them is through personal selling. The sales promotion that you send will be a company representative who provides advice regarding consumer problems. Instead of promotion, there is still a positive value they will get.
3. Getting New Information
If consumers are loyal, they will be willing to help you by sharing new information that you may need. The information is either for the needs of product research or competitors.
What is the aspect of personal selling?
In carrying out personal selling techniques, there are several aspects that marketing staff need to know and master. There are five in total, namely:
1. Professionalism
The first aspect is professionalism and is a very important aspect in order to be successful in product marketing. This professionalism is a demand for every marketing personnel around the world.
Can be seen from the quality of service regardless of who offered the product. Then look professional with neat clothes and also pleasing to the eye. Then, the product presentation was done well. Starting from oral presentations to presentations with the help of tools such as projectors.
If they are able to appear professional, the marketing staff can easily convince consumers to buy the product. Because they feel they are getting good and satisfying service.
2. Negotiation
The next important aspect is negotiation, namely the process of discussion and mutual bargaining on all matters related to the transaction. For example, there is a price agreement, an agreement on the number of orders, when to deliver goods, and so on.
A marketing staff will usually need good negotiation skills. Namely being able to encourage consumers to buy products at the best prices without making the company lose money. So that consumers feel they have benefited greatly from the results of these negotiations.
3. Relationship Marketing
The third important aspect is relationship marketing, namely the process of establishing good long-term relationships with consumers and company partners.
This aspect is important to understand and master, because with the ability to establish good relationships and communication. A marketing staff can gain the trust of consumers and company partners. This certainly benefits the company where he works.
4. Selling Person Roles
Next is the selling person role, which is the role of a salesperson or product seller. The roles that are held vary and are adjusted to the needs of the company or adapted to the character of the product. Is it to promote new products, find out consumer problems, or something else?
5. Managerial
The next and last is the managerial aspect related to the regulation and management of marketing staff. So there are usually many personal selling executors in one company.
Each personal selling staff must be controlled by the marketing division. So that their performance can be monitored, evaluated, and determined to suit company goals.
What is an example of personal selling?
In general, personal selling is carried out in various activities. An example is door-to-door activity, which is to visit potential customers' homes to promote products. In addition, there are also company activities at an exhibition. The company set up a kiosk at the event, then offered products directly to consumers.
In fact, there are also those who insert the exhibition with a workshop at the kiosk. The goal is for potential consumers to get a more thorough understanding. You can see another example of personal selling through Charlotte Tilbury sales activities. Before it became famous as it is now, this cosmetic company was very active in carrying out a personal selling strategy.
Assisted by Sales Promotion and Beauty Consultants, Charlotte Tilbury approaches potential customers from house to house, organizes events on campus, and kiosks to offer products while educating the market regarding beauty.
Charlotte Tilbury actively participates in beauty events by setting up bazaar stands, holding seminars, and sponsoring campus activities.
As a result, Charlotte Tilbury is increasingly known by many people. In fact, it has become one of the top skincare brand minds in society. To help understand personal selling in depth, you can listen to some of the following examples of personal selling:
1. Retail store
Like Alfamart, which recruits human resources to offer their products directly to consumers when paying at the cashier's desk. Human resources at the cashier's desk will explain interesting products and if they meet consumer needs. For example, when consumers buy diapers, the cashier can offer wet tissue products.
2. Door to door sales
Product salesmen who visit residents door to door to offer their selling products. Like a pan salesman who visits from one house to another and even does cooking demonstrations. So they can convince consumers to buy the product even though the price of the product is not cheap.
From this explanation it can be understood that personal marketing is the process of presenting products to consumers so that they are better known and more attractive to buy. Even though it is expensive and requires a lot of human resources, this technique is still interesting to implement.
What is the advantage and disadvantages of personal selling?
Efforts to market products directly can indeed bring various benefits to businesses, but there are also some drawbacks.
Therefore, before you create this strategy, you must also understand the advantages and disadvantages of personal selling below.
1. Advantages of Personal Selling
- Assisting companies in knowing the needs of potential customers.
- Build strong relationships with potential customers.
- Increase brand loyalty
- Personal selling can provide good feedback on the company and its products.
2. Disadvantages of Personal Selling
- Companies must allocate a marketing budget that is not small.
- Salespeople or sales promotion must adjust to the schedule and readiness of consumers.
- Companies must send skilled salespeople in these activities so that business objectives are achieved.
How Personal Selling Works?
The last thing you should know is about how personal selling works. Because, this type of offline marketing cannot be done just like that.
At least, you have to prepare several things to maximize marketing activities. The steps of personal selling are as follows.
- Form a sales team that will go into the field to sell products. Equip them with an understanding of the product and field conditions.
- Select and analyze potential customers. At this stage, you must know who and what the potential customer is like. The goal is to make it easy for sales to communicate with them.
- Define Location. You are also required to set up personal marketing locations; whether done door to door or through events.
- Make an approach (approach). This stage only involves sales. So, when dealing with them, salespeople must be friendly, interactive, and persuasive.
- Presentation (presenting the product). Here, you will introduce your product to potential customers. Do it in an interesting way and touch potential customers' emotions as much as possible.
- Closing and Follow Up. Close the marketing activity with a good sentence, followed by a follow-up to the solution of the prospect and sales problem.
Conclusion
So, the conclusion is Personal selling is a meeting between sellers and prospective buyers face to face to inform and provide an understanding of a product or brand being offered so that prospective buyers are willing to try and buy it.
That was a complete discussion of personal selling and examples that can be insightful for you. If concluded, personal selling is a marketing activity that is carried out directly.
This strategy is believed to be effective in improving business performance because it can increase awareness and ROI. Therefore, you must use it to drive sales performance....