Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach

Perreault−McCarthy: Basic

Marketing: A

Global−Managerial

Approach, 14/e

14. Promotion −
    Introduction to Integrated
    Marketing
    Communications

Text © The McGraw−Hill

Companies, 2002

410 Chapter 14

Producers and wholesalers who target business customers often emphasize per-

sonal selling. This is practical because these customers are much less numerous than

final consumers and their purchases are typically larger.

Moreover, business customers may have technical questions or need adjustments

in the marketing mix. An extremely technical business product may require a heavy

emphasis on personal selling—using technically trained salespeople. This is the only

sure way to make the product understood and get feedback on how customers use

it. The technical sales rep meets with engineers, production managers, purchasing

agents, and top managers and can adjust the sales message to the needs of these

various influences.

Sales reps can be more flexible in adjusting their companies’ appeals to suit each

customer—and personal contact is usually required to close a sale. A salesperson is

also able to call back later to follow up with additional information, resolve any

problems, and nurture the relationship with the customer.

While personal selling dominates in business markets, mass selling is necessary

too. A typical sales call on a business customer costs about $200.^15 That’s because

salespeople spend less than half their time actually selling. The rest is consumed

by such tasks as traveling, paperwork, sales meetings, and strictly service calls. So

it’s seldom practical for salespeople to carry the whole promotion load.

Ads in trade magazines or at a B2B e-commerce website, for instance, can inform

potential customers that a product is available. Most trade ads give a toll-free tele-

phone number, fax number, or website address to stimulate direct inquiries.

Domestic and international trade shows also help identify prospects. Even so, most

sellers who target business customers spend only a small percentage of their pro-

motion budget on mass selling and sales promotion.

Knowing what type of promotion is typically emphasized with different targets is

useful in planning the promotion blend. But each unique market segment may need

a separate marketing mix and a different promotion blend. Some mass-selling spe-

cialists miss this point. They think mainly in terms of mass marketing rather than

target marketing. Aiming at large markets is desirable in some situations, but pro-

motion aimed at everyone can end up hitting no one. In developing the promotion

NewChannel wants to help firms
identify the best prospects who
visit the firm’s website so that a
salesperson can then immediately
reach out and move them
through the sales process.

Promotion to business
customers

Each market segment
may need a unique
blend