Marketing project report on ITC

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Before I get into the thick of the things I would like to add a few genuine words for the
people who were part of this project in numerous ways. People, who gave unending support
right from the stage the project was started, appreciated and encouraged when being depressed.
In this context I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents and family members
who have constantly supported and played a pivotal role in shaping my career.
I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Mr. S. CHAKROVARTY (T.D.M) and Mrs. M.
Rama (HR) of ITC who have given me an opportunity to do the project in their esteemed
organization.

I would also like to thank Mr. ARVIND and Mr. Kamal (MARKETING) without their support this
project couldnt have been in the form in which it is now. I owe more than what I can mention
mostly for teaching me to see the silver lining in every dark cloud.
I totally be indebted my regards to my External guide Mr. S. Gupta (C.E.) and Mr. Ravi
(P.S.R.) for their co-operation in the successful completion of the project.

And finally I would like to thank my friends for their unending support.

Table of content
Chapter 1
1. Company Profile
a.

Nature of business

b. Size of the business

c.

Market share

d. Key Executives
e.

Type of Organization Structure

4-10

2. SWOT analysis of your company

11-13

3. How is your company positioned vis a vis the competitors,

And what are the competitive strategies adopted by it?
4. Your role in the company
5. Performance Management System
6. Use of IT as a productivity enhancer in your organization

14-16
17-19
20-22
23-24

7. Any lacuna or area for improvement you have observed at your

Work place /organization and your suggestions for improving it.
8. Learning experience
a.

25-27
28-30

Personal

b. Professional
Chapter 2
Bibliography

31

Company profile
Nature of business
ITC was incorporated on August 24, 1910 under the name Imperial Tobacco Company of India
Limited. As the Company's ownership progressively Indianised, the name of the Company was
changed from Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited to India Tobacco Company Limited
in 1970 and then to I.T.C. Limited in 1974. In recognition of the Company's multi-business
portfolio encompassing a wide range of businesses - Cigarettes & Tobacco, Hotels, Information
Technology, Packaging, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Agri-business, Foods, Lifestyle
Retailing, Education & Stationery and Personal Care - the full stops in the Company's name were
removed effective September 18, 2001. The Company now stands rechristened 'ITC Limited'
As one of India's most valuable and respected corporations, ITC is widely perceived to be
dedicatedly nation-oriented. Chairman Y C Deveshwar calls this source of inspiration "a
commitment beyond the market". In his own words: "ITC believes that its aspiration to create

enduring value for the nation provides the motive force to sustain growing shareholder value.
ITC practices this philosophy by not only driving each of its businesses towards international
competitiveness but by also consciously contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of the
larger value chain of which it is a part."
ITC's diversified status originates from its corporate strategy aimed at creating multiple drivers
of growth anchored on its time-tested core competencies: unmatched distribution reach, superior
brand-building capabilities, effective supply chain management and acknowledged service skills
in hoteliering. Over time, the strategic forays into new businesses are expected to garner a
significant share of these emerging high-growth markets in India.

Size of the business

ITC is one of India's foremost private sector companies with a market capitalization of over US $
30 billion and a turnover of US $ 6 billion.* ITC is rated among the World's Best Big
Companies, Asia's 'Fab 50' and the World's Most Reputable Companies by Forbes magazine,
among India's Most Respected Companies by Business World and among India's Most Valuable
Companies by Business Today. ITC ranks among India's `10 Most Valuable (Company) Brands',
in a study conducted by Brand Finance and published by the Economic Times. ITC also ranks
among Asia's 50 best performing companies compiled by Business Week.
ITC has a diversified presence in Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging,
Agri-Business, Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Information Technology, Branded Apparel,
Personal Care, Stationery, Safety Matches and other FMCG products. While ITC is an
outstanding market leader in its traditional businesses of Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards,
Packaging and Agri-Exports, it is rapidly gaining market share even in its nascent businesses of
Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Branded Apparel, Personal Care and Stationery.
ITC's Agri-Business is one of India's largest exporters of agricultural products. ITC is one of the
country's biggest foreign exchange earners (US $ 3.2 billion in the last decade). The Company's
'e-Choupal' initiative is enabling Indian agriculture significantly enhance its competitiveness by

empowering Indian farmers through the power of the Internet. This transformational strategy,
which has already become the subject matter of a case study at Harvard Business School, is
expected to progressively create for ITC a huge rural distribution infrastructure, significantly
enhancing the Company's marketing reach.
ITC's wholly owned Information Technology subsidiary, ITC InfoTech India Ltd, provides IT
services and solutions to leading global customers. ITC InfoTech has carved a niche for itself by
addressing customer challenges through innovative IT solutions.
ITC's production facilities and hotels have won numerous national and international awards for
quality, productivity, safety and environment management systems. ITC was the first company in
India to voluntarily seek a corporate governance rating.
ITC employs over 26,000 people at more than 60 locations across India. The Company
continuously endeavors to enhance its wealth generating capabilities in a globalizing
environment to consistently reward more than 4, 14,000 shareholders, fulfill the aspirations of its
stakeholders and meet societal expectations. This over-arching vision of the company is
expressively captured in its corporate positioning statement: "Enduring Value, for the Nation, For
the Shareholder."

Market share
ITC Limited (BSE: 500875) public conglomerate company headquartered in Kolkata, India.[1]
Its turnover is $6 billion and a market capitalization of over $30 Billion. The company has its
registered office in Kolkata. It started off as the Imperial Tobacco Company, and shares ancestry
with Imperial Tobacco of the United Kingdom, but it is now fully independent, and was
rechristened to Indian Tobacco Company in 1970 and then to I.T.C. Limited in 1974
The company is currently headed by Yogesh Chander Deveshwar. It employs over 26,000 people
at more than 60 locations across India and is listed on Forbes 2000. ITC Limited completed 100
years on 24 August 2010.

ITC has a diversified presence in Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging,
Agri-Business, Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Information Technology, Branded Apparel,
Personal Care, Stationery, Safety Matches and other FMCG products. While ITC is an
outstanding market leader in its traditional businesses of Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards,
Packaging and Agri-Exports, it is rapidly gaining market share even in its nascent businesses of
Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Branded Apparel, Personal Care and Stationery.
ITC's aspiration to be an exemplar in sustainability practices is manifest in its status as the only
company in the world of its size and diversity to be 'carbon positive', 'water positive' and 'solid
waste recycling positive.' In addition, ITC's businesses have created sustainable livelihoods for
more than 5 million people, a majority of whom represent the poorest in rural India.

Key Executives

Organization Structure at HQ

Organization Structure in the field

2. Swot Analysis of your company

ITC is one of India's biggest and best-known private sector companies. In
fact it is one of the World's most high profile consumer operations. This
SWOT analysis is about ITC. Its businesses and brands are focused almost
entirely on the Indian markets, and despite being most well-known for its
tobacco brands such as Gold Flake, the business is now diversifying into
new FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) brands in a number of market
sectors including cigarettes, hotels, paper, agriculture, packaged foods
and confectionary, branded apparel, personal care, greetings cards,
Information Technology, safety matches, incense sticks and stationery.
Examples of its successful new FMCG products include:

Aashirvaad - India's most popular atta brand with

over 50% market share. It is also present in spices
and instant mixes.
Mint-o - Mint-0 Fresh is the largest cough lozenge
brand in India.
Bingo! - a new introduction of finger snacks.
Kitchens of India - pre-prepared foods designed by
ITC's master chefs.
Sun feast - is ITC's biscuit brand (and the sub-brand is
also used on some pasta products).
Strengths
ITC leveraged it traditional businesses to develop new
brands for new segments. For example, ITC used its

experience

of

transporting

and

distributing

tobacco

products to remote and distant parts of India to the

advantage of its FMCG products. ITC master chefs from its
hotel chain are often asked to develop new food concepts
for its FMCG business.
ITC is a diversified company trading in a number of
business

sectors

including

cigarettes,

hotels,

paper,

agriculture, packaged foods and confectionary, branded

apparel,

personal

care,

greetings

cards,

Information

Technology, safety matches, incense sticks and stationery.

Weaknesses
The company's original business was traded in tobacco.
ITC stands for Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited.
It is interesting that a business that is now so involved in
branding continues to use its original name, despite the
negative connection of tobacco with poor health and
premature death.
To fund its cash guzzling FMCG start-up, the company is
still dependant upon its tobacco revenues. Cigarettes
account for 47 per cent of the company's turnover, and
that in itself is responsible for 80% of its profits. So there
is an argument that ITC's move into FMCG (Fast Moving
Consumer Goods) is being subsidised by its tobacco
operations. Its Gold Flake tobacco brand is the largest

FMCG brand in India - and this single brand alone hold

70% of the tobacco market.
Opportunities
Core brands such as Aashirvaad, Mint-o, Bingo! And Sun
Feast (and others) can be developed using strategies of
market development, product development and marketing
penetration.ITC is moving into new and emerging sectors
including Information Technology, supporting business
solutions.
e-Choupal is a community of practice that links rural
Indian farmers using the Internet. This is an original and
well thought of initiative that could be used in other
sectors in many other parts of the world. It is also an
ambitious project that has a goal of reaching 10 million
farmers in 100,000 villages.
ITC leverages e-Choupal in a novel way. The company
researched the tastes of consumers in the North, West
and East of India of atta (a popular type of wheat flour),
then used the network to source and create the raw
materials
consumers

from

farmers

under

and

purposeful

then
brand

blend
names

them
such

for
as

Aashirvaad Select in the Northern market, Aashirvaad MP

Chakki in the Western market and Aashirvaad in the
Eastern market. This concept is tremendously difficult for
competitors to emulate.

Chairman Yogi Deveshwar's strategic vision is to turn his

Indian conglomerate into the country's premier FMCG
business.Per

capita

consumption

of

personal

care

products in India is the lowest in the world offering an

opportunity for ITC's soaps, shampoos and fragrances
under their Wills brand.
Threats
The obvious threat is from competition, both domestic and
international. The laws of economics dictate that if
competitors see that there is a solid profit to be made in
an

emerging

consumer

society

that

ultimately

new

products and services will be made available. Western

companies will see India as an exciting opportunity for
themselves to find new market segments for their own
offerings.ITC's opportunities are likely to be opportunities
for other companies as well. Therefore the dynamic of
competition will alter in the medium-term. Then ITC will
need to decide whether being a diversified conglomerate
is the most competitive strategic formation for a secure
future.
3. How is your company positioned vis a vis the
competitors and what are the competitive strategies
adopted by it?
ITC is a board-managed professional company, committed to creating
enduring value for the shareholder and for the nation. It has a rich
organizational culture rooted in its core values of respect for people and

belief in empowerment. Its philosophy of all-round value creation is

backed by strong corporate governance policies and systems.
ITCs corporate strategies are:
Create multiple drivers of growth by developing a portfolio of world class
businesses that best matches organizational capability with opportunities
in domestic and export markets.
Continue to focus on the chosen portfolio of FMCG, Hotels, Paper,
Paperboards & Packaging, Agri Business and Information Technology.

Benchmark the health of each business comprehensively across the

criteria of Market Standing, Profitability and Internal Vitality.

Ensure that each of its businesses is world class and internationally

competitive.

Enhance the competitive power of the portfolio through synergies

derived by blending the diverse skills and capabilities residing in ITC are
various businesses.

Create distributed leadership within the organization by nurturing

talented and focused top management teams for each of the businesses.

Continuously strengthen and refine Corporate Governance processes and

systems to catalyze the entrepreneurial energies of management by
striking the golden balance between executive freedom and the need for
effective control and accountability.

Sustain multiple drivers of growth, matching internal

capabilities
with emerging market opportunities

Pursue World class competitiveness in all businesses

and across
the entire value chain

Best-in-class in terms of:

Internal Vitality

Market Standing

Profitability
Strategy

of

Organization

and

Governance

processes

geared to
Manage multiple businesses
Blend core competencies and leverage ITC umbrella
strengths to
Create new avenues of growth.
Apart from crafting business models that establish direct linkages
between

businesses

and

societal

goals,

ITC

is

also

engaged

in

implementing various other sustainable development initiatives towards

making a meaningful contribution in the economic vicinity of its operating
locations. The thrust of these initiatives, christened 'Mission Sunehra Kal',
is in three areas: (i) natural resource management, which includes
wasteland, watershed and
agriculture development; (ii) sustainable livelihoods, comprising genetic
improvement in livestock and economic empowerment of women; and (iii)

community development, with focus on primary education and health and

sanitation.
ITC is committed to conducting its business operations with passionate
respect

for

the

environment.

Several

prestigious

national

and

international awards (listed elsewhere in this report) testify to ITC's

abiding

commitment.

Such

recognition

has

further

reinforced

the

Company's commitment to consciously synergise and direct the collective

endeavour of its employees at all levels across all businesses, functions
and

locations

to

continuously

improve

sustainability

practices,

to

ultimately attain and exceed global standards.

Internationally benchmarked specific consumption of water, dedicated
pursuit of the goal of zero discharge and scaling up of rainwater
harvesting in several moisture-stressed districts of India have enabled ITC
retain its enviable position of a 'water positive' Company for the fourth
successive year. The water harvesting potential created so far is over four
times the Company's net water consumption.
It is a matter of pride that ITC became 'carbon positive' during the year on
the back of several energy conservation measures, usage of carbon
neutral fuels and carbon sequestration through large-scale agroforestry
programmes. ITC is making rapid strides towards attaining 'zero solid
waste' status. Upon this achievement in the near term, ITC would perhaps
be the only global enterprise of its size in the world to have achieved
these milestones encompassing all three critical facets of environmental
sustainability.
In a nation where economic deprivation is widespread and the capacity of
a large share of its citizens to participate effectively in economic growth is
grossly limited, ITC seeks to contribute in meaningful measure towards
social empowerment and genderised development. The ITC e-Choupal and
Choupal Saagar infrastructure - a combination of digital, human and
physical assets - already serves over 3.5 million farmers and is potentially
an efficient delivery channel for rural development. Similarly

4. Your role in the company

Nature of your work
Sales Associates play an important role in the success of their respective
companies. Regardless of the type of product they sell, their primary
duties are to interest buyers and purchasing agents in their merchandise
or services and to address clients questions and concerns. Sales
associates demonstrate their products and advise clients on how using
these products can reduce costs and/or increase revenue. Sales associates
can spend much of their time traveling to and visiting with prospective
buyers and current clients.
The Sales Associate is a key employee in maintaining good customer
service.
recording

She/he is responsible for serving customers and accurately

all

sales,

as

well

as

assisting

with

merchandising

responsibilities, such as stocking, pricing and keeping the store neat,

clean and organized.

The Sales Associate reports to the Assistant Store

Manager or Store Manager, as designated.

Key Responsibilities

Provides prompt, courteous customer service

Rings up all sales on cash register, properly and accurately handling

money, checks and other types of payment received for products sold

Performs multi-function operation of fuel console, lottery and money

order machines

Performs housecleaning duties necessary to maintain store cleanliness

and basic upkeep and/or cleaning of all equipment in the store

Assists in maintaining proper inventory levels and shift audits

Controls merchandise, cash shortages and other selling expenses

Performs all duties with minimal supervision; may be required to work

irregular hours, attend job-related meetings and perform other duties as
assigned

Process that I follow

Customer Service Executives are accountable for formulating resolution
and response in a timely and accurate manner and providing excellent
customer services. Their main responsibility is to define a customer
service strategy of the organization. This strategy includes using training,
technology, developing, and improving employees skills, maintaining
consistent quality control, standardizing procedures and policies, and
establishing expectations of customer service.
Duties and Responsibilities
Maintaining customers focus on all times and answering to customers
enquiries using the standard guidelines.
Taking ownership of complaint and queries and proactively following
through to resolution.
Making ensure that all customers queries are well-investigated and
resolved, and escalating queries if appropriate to supervisor.

Interface with the other departments

Assisting management and Team Manger with any assigned special
projects and providing backup to the team manager when required.
Maintaining working cognition of each customer service process for
various market segments and communicating issues to team manager.

and

Developing

mentoring

new

staff

to

satisfy

customer

service

requirements.
Maintaining professional strong working relationship with external and
internal customers, colleagues, and customer service management.
Supporting

decisions

made

by

customer

service

management

and

conveying positively to reinforce the team members.

Identifying and escalating consistent or recurring problems with the
systems functionality.
Assisting in improving and monitoring procedures and processes to
ensure the cost-effective and the most efficient service.
in

preparing

and

organizations

standard

policies

Assisting

developing
and

the

documentation

procedures

towards

of

the

customer

service.

How does my work fit into the overall goal of the company
One thing every business person knows about sales is that theres never
enough. A business doesnt succeed by standing still. To be successful,
you have to drive more sales than ever before. Setting sales performance
goals is a crucial step in increasing top-line revenue. But setting arbitrary
goals can do more harm than good. Follow these steps to get the most out
of your sales staff

Usually results in more customers than cash trade.

Gain goodwill and loyalty of customers.

Increase the sales.

Stimulates the profit of the company by the increase in sales

Increases sales

Reduces bad debts

Increases profits

Builds customer loyalty

Builds confidence of financial industry

Increase the customer relationship

5. Performance Management System

An iterative process of goal-setting, communication, observation and
evaluation to support, retain and develop exceptional employees for
organizational success.

ITC believes the responsibility for career development

rests both with the individual and the organization. While
the organization provides opportunities for learning and
growth, it is the individual's responsibility to ensure he
enhances

his

competencies

to

shoulder

higher

responsibilities. Career development therefore is a two-

way process. Above all, the key factor determining career

growth is meritocracy and performance.
The cornerstone of the performance management system is the Appraisal
System. The individual agrees his performance objectives at the beginning
of the year with his boss. These objectives naturally flow from the
objectives of the unit/business. At the end of the year his performance is
assessed against the objectives set. The appraisal attaches as much
importance to ''how'' results were achieved as to the results themselves.
The rating is determined by the manager's boss and endorsed by his boss.
Therefore,

two

individuals

are

involved

in

assessing

manager's

performance.

The appraisal process also gives the individual an opportunity to share in

a formal manner his own career aspirations and what he needs from the
organization to enhance his own development. Based on an assessment of
development needs, a development plan is drawn up for each manager.

Remuneration

changes

are

made

once

every

year

based

on

the

performance rating of the individual. The entire process is transparent

and objective.
ITC's remuneration strategy is anchored in three basic principles: marketled, performance leveraged and the capacity to pay. Remuneration is
bench marked with identified comparator organizations and reviewed
periodically.

Apart from the monetary component which comprises Consolidated Salary

and Supplementary Allowance, managers are provided with quality
accommodation, generous loans for asset creation, medical assistance for
self and family, leave travel assistance, etc. At middle and senior levels.

Managers are provided with company maintained cars and the facility of a
club membership for business purposes.

All managers are members of ITC's Retirement Funds, the Pension Scheme
being one of the most attractive in the country.

Other benefits include the facility of holiday homes, assistance for further
education/self development etc.
The Company believes that as the competitive scenario gets more intense,
specialism will increasingly become a source of unique competitive
advantage. Certain specialisms are enhanced by extended and in-depth
application and 'longevity' in a position. This requires a unique approach
to career management of such 'specialists.'

Some of the specialist positions are Company Solicitor, Scientist, Leaf

Blender,

Product

Instrumentation

Development

Specialist,

Specialist,

Agronomist,

Process

Commodity

Specialist,

Trader,

Forex

Manager, Corporate Communications Specialist etc the Company does

encourage its managers to do so. In fact, the Company sponsors identified
managers to pursue a full time MBA programme at the IIMs, ISB and other
leading management institutes. Managers are identified on the basis of
their performance and potential. Whilst the manager is away pursuing a
full time MBA programme, he continues to receive his Consolidated Salary
and is reimbursed the cost of his education to the extent of 75% of the
expenditure actually incurred, subject to a maximum of Rs.10 lakhs.

6.

Use

of

IT

as

productivity

enhancer

in

your

organization
IT transformation is a key factor in achieving high performance for
retailers.

Streamline

performance.

information

technology

to

enhance

overall

Today's retailers need to transform their IT capabilities for a number of

reasons. These include:
To aggregate and analyze customer data to enhance differentiation.
To increase a company's ability to respond to a rapidly changing
marketplace through enhanced flexibility and speed.
To operate effectively, retailers need to have one system working across
stores (sometimes across national borders) to ensure the most effective
use of stock and to support optimized business processes.

Transaction processing
As the hype around technology decreases, retailers are seeing clearly that
technology's role is one of an enabler, speeding up of processes and
delivering cost savings. The retail industry faces specific IT management
challenges:
Transparency and Tracking: Retailers need greater transparency between
systems and better tracking to integrate systems from manufacturer
through to consumer to obtain customer and sales information.

Decision making
Customer Data: Information overload is a challenge for retailers because
they need to collect and sift through data to convert it into useful
information in a customer-centric industry.
Global

Data

Synchronization:

identification/electronic

product

Enabled

coding,

the

by
entire

radio
supply

frequency
chain

is

becoming more intelligent. This creates what Accenture calls Silent

Commerce.
Benefits for retailers include enabling the use of real-time data to monitor
inventory levels. Radio frequency identification tagging also positions the
company to better safeguard its shipments by enabling the tracking of
products from manufacturer through the supply chain.

Performance tracking
Collaborates

with

companies

to

meet

the

need

for

positive

IT

management. The goal is to enhance business processes and keep up to

date with innovation to become a high-performance business.
The innovation in Information Technologies (IT) and their uses in the retail
supply chain increase the efficiency of the whole system itself. Radio
Frequency Identification (RFID), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Point of
Sales (POS), and various Data Mining (DM) technologies enable retailers to
radically change the way they do business within the retail supply chain,
and achieve increased supply chain efficiency in terms of labour cost
reduction, inventory accuracy improvement, lead time reduction, and
order fill rate increment.

7. Any lacuna or area for improvement you have observed

at your work place / organization and your suggestions for
improving it.
Whatever category your retail business is in, the following tactics will help you build,
track and keep up on the buzz about your brand without the need to invest large
amounts of money. These ideas compliment almost any brand at any budget.
1. Social networking You probably already have a Facebook and Twitter page that
may or may not be yielding results for you. To help these pages along and to build
up your social networking reputation or refute complaints, you should be leveraging
these pages further.
What you can do now Task a junior member of your team to be your "social
outreach ambassador." This role is focused totally on trolling Facebook, Twitter and
blogs to "invite," "reply" and "request" connections with current and potential
customers and groups. By spending 20 or so hours a week on this effort you will
slowly help along your Facebook and Twitter following, refute untrue online blog
statements and reply to customers who have questions. This is a hard position to
measure effectiveness on, so it could be hard to justify in your budget. But you have

to consider this proactive marketing. The opportunity cost saved is not having
uncontrolled rumors online. Many PR firms are starting to offer this service, but they
dont really get it and wont be able to react as quickly as someone in your company
culture who understands your brand.
Start with an intern and scale from there.
2. Customer service In todays economy no single thing matters as much for your
sales and loyalty as building a great customer service brand. This is an area of
marketing often overlooked or muddled with expensive and hard-to-use processes.
If you are even aware of your customer service problem it is likely you first came
across it the way most consumers find you: You found a review about your company
online, via a search engine, and it was probably not flattering.
Online reviews are here to stay and many current and potential customers use them
to help guide their online research in deciding where to buy. You can leverage the
world of online reviews in your favor and often have more effect on purchase intent
than the best TV commercial.
Whether you have a large customer service department, no customer service
department, already have a good customer service reputation or need to build one,
today many new online customer service tools exist that are often free or low cost.
What you can do now - Start asking your customers to review you on business sites
like Angieslist.com and customer service sites like MeasuredUp.com. By confidently
asking customers for business and customer service reviews, you will in no time
have dozens of complimentary reviews of your company online. These will negate
most bad reviews, increase your positioning on search engines and help interested,
potential customers find and trust you when researching online. The goal here is not
to have only good reviews as even the best companies have some bad reviews
about them online. The goal is to have a balance and to demonstrate through
association that your brand is focused on improving.
3. Online comments The Internet is talking about you whether you like it or not.
On thousands of sites, content that mentions you or a competitor is constantly
being added. You need to join this conversation, even if you cant control it.

What you can do now - Take that intern who is working on Facebook, Twitter and
blogs and have him also spend five hours a week searching for reviews about your
company or articles about something that is relevant to your business. When there
is a comment field, have the intern write some intelligent content in response. State
that they are an employee of the company and include a URL to your site. Do not
try and pretend to be consumer as this will likely be found out and create further
uncomplimentary content. This effort will help rebut negative views, show your
company cares about its reputation and will help drive traffic to your company Web
site. If you come across compliments, add on a quick "Thank You" comment, saying
that you care about your reputation and appreciate the support of customers.
4. PR - You have more to say about your business than you realize. Regular press
releases about important company events, news or upgrades are often overlooked.
Generate interest from journalists by creating content that will interest them.
What you can do now You know your business and the kinds of things the press
wants to cover. Often, the press does not have the resources to generate data for a
story. Create a poll on your Web site based on a topic of interest and then pitch the
results to your press contacts. This will often lead to an exclusive or inclusion in a
larger story about the topic.
If you have good contacts you also can pre-pitch an idea to them to gauge interest
and then create the poll customized to their needs. Polls like these help raise your
companys credibility build your reputation and keep your brand in front of
customers.
With these easy and inexpensive marketing tips, you can quickly augment your
existing marketing efforts and start to raise your company's social media, customer
service, online and PR profile while helping increase sales and build online
reputation.

8. Learning experience
Personal
The thought of a career in sales can be a very daunting prospect,

especially if you have no previous experience. I will try and talk

you through some of my own personal experiences.
Sales, is all about your personality. The difference between a
great sales person and a poor sales person generally all comes
down to the nature of the individual involved.
If you are bright out going and able to communicate with different
people on different levels then you may well find that sales is for
you. There is no template for the perfect sales person and there is
no true technique that will work for everyone is all comes down to
you.
One of the biggest factors that I think comes into play with sales
people is money. You think money when you are selling. The
money factor is often the catalyst that makes sales people
perform. Its almost like waving the carrot for the donkey.
Sales jobs are very often commission based so the recruitment
process is usually very relaxed. In most non-sales jobs employers
can pick and chose whom they want to employ.
Sales is different, if you dont perform you dont get paid, it really
is that simple. There are a few exceptions where you will be
offered a salary but generally a sales persons wage is directly
reflected by their performance. This could be a big factor when
deciding if you want to take a chance with a career in sales.

I was lucky enough to land a placement that included a salary

plus bonus. This acted like a safety net. If I had a bad month I still
had my basic wage to fall back on.
The commission only package does have other implications, for
example, saying to your bank manager you are only paid on a
commission only basis may not go down to well when your are
applying for a mortgage. These are just a few considerations you
should take into account when deciding if sales is for you.
Most companies that sell either products or services have a team
of sales reps that are there to promote and sell their products to
the public or businesses.
The sales teams are very often the public face of the company
and are in effect representing the companys brand. Conduct is
very important in this role. A good sales rep will always try and
show the company in good light and be polite and courteous at all
times.
Professional
Training
Most companies offer training to any new starts within the company. Try
and take in as much of this as possible. They will offer you tips and tricks
to help you out when you are out selling. They will also try and make you a
fully aware of the products or service they offer. Training is very often
ongoing and you will be brought back in for refresher courses once in a
while. At the time they seam pointless but in the long term they do help.

Good sales all comes down to the following

Well presented to your customers

Good overall product knowledge

Confident

Well spoken

Good listening skills

All these factors play a part in making you good sales rep there is no
magic formula that will make you perform in sales it is all just a learning
process. What works for one person wont work for another. It all comes
down to fine-tuning your own personal skills.
1. Sales allow you to acquire cash much more quickly than a salaried job,
and you have much greater control over your income than you would with
a salary or hourly wage.
2. Sales require you learn the some of the most important skills in
business: goal setting, persistence, determination, accountability, long
term perspective, and a high tolerance for rejection and frustration.
3. Success in sales gives you real flexibility in your work life, allowing you
to finally be free of an office and a time clock. I know thats one of the
most clich statements youll ever hear, but it also happens to be true and thank goodness.

Bibliography
ITC website