Dear Students,

Greetings,
This is your final exam, it is an open book exam, and every one knows that open book
exam does not mean to re-write what is in the book or to copy and paste. Your
understanding of the whole course, your thoughts, and your critical thinking are very
important to succeed and be distinct.
Read carefully all questions, follow instructions for each one, use your own way. Use
every possible source of information. Be unique, be distinct, be yourself.

Good luck.
Adham Abulnour
First question:-

Komatro is the health-conscious juice company which began a couple of decades ago when
Greg Steltenpohl, Gerry Percy and Bonnie Bassett began squeezing fresh oranges on a $200
hand juicer. The company was growing strongly with annual sales rising 30% per year and
approaching $90m. The company had established a strong brand with enormous member
loyalty.
On October 30, 1996, everything changed. Health officials in Washington state informed the
company that they had discovered a link between several cases of E. coli 0157:H7 (E. coli
bacterial poisoning) and Komatro fresh apple juice.
The link was confirmed on November 5. As the crisis played itself out, one child died and
more than 60 people in the Western United States and Canada became sick after drinking the
juice. Sales plummeted by 90%, Komatro's stock price fell 34%. Customers filed more than
20 personal-injury lawsuits and the company looked as though it could well be destroyed.
You are the Marcom Manager of Komatra Company, will be writing a press release to
handle the crisis that your company is facing.

Answer:

Komatro Incorporated

Contact: Adham, Marcom

Komatro Incorporated food industries
Phone 001-00000000
Fax 0010-0000000000
Marcom.Adham @komatro.org

Seattle county.
Washington, USA

Komatro Incorporated
food industries

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE
Komatro Inc. successfully contains and terminates the
E-coli outbreak in apple juice
The company responds to the outbreak claim with absolute efficiency and
utmost care towards the affected consumers
Washington, USA, January 5, 2015:
Our cherished Customers:
We, at Komatro Incorporated, are profoundly alarmed by the claim (issued by health
officials at the Washington State Department) that our apple juice products contain E. coli.
Our number-one concern is the safety and well-being of people who drink our juices. From
the moment we received the alarm (and even though no solid proof was provided, at the time,
regarding the accuracy and relevance of this claim), we have acted immediately and taken
every action possible to retrieve the cause of this outbreak and ensure future prevention.
To this end, we have ordered a complete recall of all our products containing apple juice. This
recall covered each and every of our retail outlets (numbering in thousands in several states).
The recall was thoroughly completed within a few hours thanks to multiple and efficient task
teams that were formed and mobilized immediately after the onset of the alarming notification.
The recall cost was in millions which the company endured because our most important
concern is the health of the consumer.
The company would like to express sympathy and regret for all those affected and is
immediately promising to pay all medical costs that pertain to the E. coli outbreak.

We have immediately created an interactive website (www.xxxx.com) for all of our valued
customers to report any problem that they have had with our products. Several press
conferences and TV encounters (viewable on our website) are being held to provide accurate
and reliable information on how we have contained the outbreak and improved our business
practices to avoid such alarming situation in the future. Company internal meetings are being
held on a daily basis to give our employees the chance to ask questions and get the latest
information on how to remedy the situation.
Our cherished customers,
All of us at Komatro are greatly distressed by this situation. Komatros first concern is
always to provide fresh natural products with no harmful preservatives or artificial
materials. We rigorously follow our vision statement and core values of responsibility,
honesty and trustworthiness. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or fear
stirred by the situation and we are acting by the minute to get our products back to the
public with optimum care as we have always treated you.
Thanks a lot for your understanding, commitment and loyalty.
###
Adham Marcom
President of Komatro Incorporated

For more information please contact Adham Marcom at: Marcom.Adham @komatro. org or use phone
contact: 001-000000000

Second question:You have been asked to advise a club to which you belong on how to manage its
communication program. Develop for the club its own communication model IMC campaign
and explain how the campaign can help the club identify its communication problems and
develop better communication program and activities.
Answer:
An IMC campaign developed to improve a clubs communication program should be optimally
constructed on a number of critical foundations:

Diversifying the types of communication channels incorporated

Employing formal marketing communication channels
Formal marketing enhances the club's profile and membership count. The clubs contact info
should be listed in the telephone directory while membership registrations are advertised for
instance in newspapers. Accompanying measures extend from offering discounts on family
memberships to redecorating the club facilities. The list of formal marketing activities should
be ideally organized in the Integrated Marked Communication (IMC) plan of the club.
Employing informal marketing communication channels
Relevant techniques include encouraging marketing activities that club management and
members can do informally on a daily basis. Examples include offering help and information
to potential members over the phone as well as encouraging potential members (friends of
current members) to join up.
Both formal and informal marketing channels depend on club members talking positively
about the club. So it is vital for the club to make every experience and contact with the club a
positive and rewarding one.

Seeing everyone as a potential marketer

In planning, organizing, leading, coordinating and controlling its communication programs; the
club management should ideally hire a marketing and promotions officer who would in turn
assemble a team to oversee the development and implementation of the cub's marketing
strategies and IMC plan.
The marketing team members should be able to communicate effectively. Personal and
professional traits include being positive, enthusiastic, well organized and having marketing
expertise and experience in dealing with the local media. The team should be ideally capable
of performing the following tasks:
Develop the club marketing plan
Prepare a budget for the marketing plan.
Supervise the implementation of planned marketing tactics
Develop regular feedback reports and improve the marketing plan in their light.
This being said, a successful IMC campaign for the club should see everyone as a potential
marketer and thus strive to involve its members and employees in marketing whenever they
can. Members should be encouraged to tell their friends and family about the clubs facilities
and offerings. At the same time, the club should explore potential members needs, how new
and existing services can be developed to keep up with such needs, and how this should be
made known to current and potential members.

Identifying the content message for the IMC campaign

An IMC plan should not be complex to develop, understand and apply by its executors; nor
incomprehensible to its recipients. Being realistic about the club's marketing objectives is a
key element of success for the IMC plan as some marketing tactics and communication
channels are costly to implement and may not have t the desired effect.
Several techniques are employable to develop an IMC plan. An always useful step is to raise
the subject with members at the club meeting. Points on the agenda should include what sets
the club apart from other clubs, what it offers that other clubs don't, and what the benefits of
joining the club are.
The IMC plan should ideally include these messages and subsequent marketing activities.
These are the attractors that appeal to new members and make people feel good about
joining.
It is also always useful to examine IMC campaigns of other clubs. This may help in
developing and creating content for the IMC plan. It is not uncommon for clubs to make the
mistake of pouring a lot money and dedicating a lot of time to catch new members while
forgetting current ones. It might improve less expensive and more influential if the club would
develop its IMC plan content to highlight the improvements to basic services, attitudes of staff
towards members, and the standard of facilities.
The content for an IMC plan should be ideally developed under the following points:

Objectives: communicating only measurable and achievable goals that are

comprehensible to the public e.g. establishing new tennis courts.
Situation analysis. This point is mainly concerned with communicating the clubs
current situation (socio-culturally and financially). It is always helpful to carry out a
SWOT analysis to identify the clubs strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and
threats.
Strategies. These include tools and activities to address the club's current and
potential members. The key is to develop these tools and activities to target specific
market segments. The main issue is to design, direct and communicate services at
specific individuals or groups of members. Questions to be asked at this point
include: what do members like, what do they read, where they go, how to attract their
attention.
Budget. The communicated IMC plan content should be developed within a realistic
marketing budget that corresponds to the club's current capabilities. Low-cost or nocost strategies are a safe option to begin with.
Evaluation. The club should eventually and systematically evaluate the impact of ots
IMC plan content and whether it has met the objectives. The marketing team should
periodically collect copies of press clippings, media coverage and any feedback the
club receives - positive or negative.

Applying and communicating effective promotional techniques

There is a variety of applicable techniques that the club can use to market and promote itself:
1. A common practice is to use the club name, logo, letterheads and signage on
promotional materials. Club name, logo and signage should be also widely
communicated on promotional events, presentations, competitions and membership
registration days.
2. Following the same logic is developing websites that are simple and effective in
communicating with members, sponsors, supporters and the local community. A
positive step is to include club members who have the skills to design and write the
club's website. Basic websites should cover the services and facilities offered by the

club, a calendar of events and meetings, membership information and definitely the
club's contact details. The website should be ideally linked to related sites and search
engines. A starting point is to ask schools, universities and recreation centers to
include a link to the clubs website on theirs. Members discussion forums are
encouraged to be included on the website. The websites content should be updated
continually with new information.
3. On the same E-communication track, emails facilitate the communication between
clubs and members. The club should however carefully consider the content and
control the quantity of email messages sent out to members. It is commonly less
provocative to members (whether current or potential) to receive a single email with a
number of key points rather than multiple emails each with a single message.
Attention should be paid when sending out mass emails to enter all the recipients
email addresses in the "bcc" slot and not the "to" the "cc" slot. This helps prevent
against future complaints from privacy infringements and spam mails.
4. Newsletters are a vital tool in promoting clubs as they provide information to
members about events, activities, and news. Again, a positive step is to include club
members with the skills to design and write the newsletter. Easy, personalized and
direct channels should be incorporated in communicating the newsletter. It is less
expensive to send newsletters to members by email rather than printing them. The
newsletter should be also downloadable (or at least browse-able) from the website
too. Newsletters are the most common and direct way of communicating with
members, especially if it is via email. Newsletters should be clear and easy to read. A
good newsletter needs to get all relevant information to the right people in a timely
and accessible fashion.
5. Another effective tool is to design and communicate (distribute) flyers and brochures
that contain the club's services and contact information. Mail boxes and notice boards
(in community centers, recreation centers, schools and companies) are common
delivery platform for flyers and brochures.
6. Distributing promotional T-shirts, caps, socks and uniforms freely can improve a
club's image and at the same time promote events and activities at the club. Selling
such items can also raise funds while also promoting the club.
7. Paid Advertisement ensures a wide coverage through different forms of media e.g.
newspapers, radio, and television. The club management should carefully revise the
content communicated in the advertisement. However advertisement media is
commonly costly and thus it is always advisable to consider cheap and effective
forms of promotion first. Nonetheless, if media advertisement is the chosen path,
several considerations have to be carefully examined first. The following paragraphs
shed more light on the subject,

Using media to promote the club

In order to raise the club's public profile, it is always useful to develop a good relationship with
local media. This will definitely facilitate any future contact and simplify the usually tiresome
advertising endeavors.
The media is normally inclined towards publishing or broadcasting content that appeals to and
attracts their audiences. Accordingly, promoting the club through media should be
accompanied by the trial to understand what the media is interested in covering and how such
information can be provided. This is finally translated by the IMC campaign into finding
creative ways to make information more interesting and attractive to attention.
Newspaper and radio are common communication channels for promoting clubs and their
activities. Local newspapers are usually interested in covering club events but sometimes
don't have the staff to cover the story. In this case, the marketing team can issue media

releases as these are standard way to provide information to the media. Basic consideration
in composing a press release is to write simply, state the facts, explain the concept and, show
how it is useful. Clubs also commonly establish good contact with popular radio stations to let
them know about the club, what the club is doing, and the types of events coming up.

Ensuring effective Communication to and from the club

In parallel to implementing the IMC plan, the club should ideally ensure an effective two-way
communication channel with its members. The main issue here is that each club is unique
and accordingly should strive to establish its own efficient ways of communicating with
members. The communication responsibility is optimally open sharing by everyone in the
club. The final goal is to maintain the communication fluent and running. A number of
disciplines can ensure the smooth running of communication:
Maintaining correspondence
Formal and informal correspondence (feedbacks, information, etc.) are commonly delivered
via mailboxes and email inboxes in a club. A correspondence official should be assigned to
go through the correspondence and distribute it to designated parties in an efficient way.
Clubs also receive regular newsletters and bulletins from related and kindred entities (for
example national sports organizations). Again, an official appointed by the club should ensure
that management and members are aware of relevant information (news, events, deadlines,
etc).
Maintaining records and databases
The communication flow out and in a club should be ideally maintained in a comprehensive
database. For ease of retrieving information the database should be organized to facilitate
communication with for specific targeted groups. Such groups include for example
management (top, middle and line), social members, seniors, veterans, sponsors and VIPs.
The database should be ideally compatible with the email system employed in the club to
allow targeted emails.

Third Question:
Sales promotion is one of the integrated marketing communication tools; it is defined
as a direct inducement that offers an extra value or incentive for the product to the
sales force, distributers or the ultimate consumer with the primary objective of creating
an immediate sale. With respect to the two presented sales promotion offers below;
Offer 1: Dominos buy one large pizza and get the other free and Offer 2: Procter &
Gamble buy Ariel and get Downy for free. Please analyzing the two below offers, and
state how these two offers can affect the consumer Decision-Making process for the
promoted item.

Answer:

Premises: Promotional offering through bundle pricing

The promotional discipline applied in the two offerings under investigation is bundle pricing.
In a bundle pricing, a company sells a package or set of goods or services for a cumulative
lower price than if each item is bought separately. Pursuing a bundle pricing strategy allows a
company to augment and promote its sales by giving consumers a discount. However,
several factors intervene to control the degree of success of a bundle pricing strategy while
shaping the impact on the consumer decision making process. In comparing the two case
offerings Ariel & Downy and Dominos pizza, certain differences in the bundle pricing
strategy applied for each are clearly identifiable. The following discussion investigates a
number of the key factors which influence the consumer decision making process in response
to the two offerings.

Assessing the demand: understanding the consumers inclinations

Consumers make very different decisions based on the appeal and price of products. This
suggests businesses benefit from knowing how consumers think about their products ad
prices. Knowing what products consumers want most is a vital key in shaping the bundle
pricing.
In the case of Dominos Pizza, knowing whether consumers want the pizza or other products
(for example pasta) most, helps in determining the bundle that is most likely to sell and

accordingly result in the biggest orders. If the consumers demand is relatively high on pizza,
offering pasta at a lower price might convince consumers to add it to their order. The opposite
is true if the demand is higher on the pasta. The fact that Dominos pizza offering is buy 1
pizza get 1 for free suggests that neither pizzas nor other products are experiencing high
demands at the time the promotion is made. The company is focusing its marketing efforts in
a concentric growth mode through promoting and attempting to increase the sales of its
main product i.e. pizzas.
This is different in the case of Ariel & Downy because the offering is based on promoting in
a horizontal diversification mode where a highly demanded product Ariel: a prize selling
washing detergent is being bundle priced with a related company product Downy: a fabric
softener. The main motive behind this pairing is most likely to promote Downy: increase
consumers awareness about this particular product and consecutively motivate purchases.
Dominos Pizza shall need special techniques to be able to bundle price its horizontally
diversified products. In the real world, a company cant continually change prices, but online,
it can be done very quickly and efficiently. On its online website, Dominos Pizza can track
what products the consumers searched for first when they entered the website (most likelt to
be pizzas). At checkout, the company can offer a reduced price for other kindred products
(e.g. the pasta or any other add-on) .The chances of bundle purchases can increase
significantly in this scenario.

Impact of competitors and market share

The differences in the price bundle strategy between the two case offerings can be also
understood in terms of competitors and market share.
Dominos Pizza can be seen to operate in a dog market where lots of fast food companies
compete viscously. In Egypt, other competitors such as pizza queen have similar bundle
promotional offerings of buy 1 pizza get the other for free. Minouche pizza is another
example which offers a free liter of Pepsi its large pizza orders. To compete in such a vicious
market, Dominos pizza can be forced to promote in a similar manner at least to be conceived
as equivalent to its rivals by consumers. In other words, Domions Pizza bundle offering of
buy 1 pizza get 1 for free might prove essential for the company to be able to sell in the first
place.
On the other hand, Ariel is a prized and highly demanded washing detergent with a large
market share. Few rival products (perhaps Persil from Unilever) compete in the highly
prospective market of washing detergents. One can safely assume that each household will
need to wash its cloth on a regular basis but not each family will make a daily fast food order.
Washing detergents such as Ariel can be considered as commodity products in todays
world. To this end, Ariel can be used to promote other less demanded products such as
Downy: a fabric softener which is seen as a luxury-specialized product. Associating Downy
with Ariel might help pull up the former because families now are being introduced to the
option of softening their garments after washing for a reduced price.

Bundling and sampling: increasing awareness and motivation

Not only does bundling provide a strong incentive for consumers to buy already demanded
products, it allows them to sample other products that might not be highly demanded or
unheard of. This way, consumers awareness is scrupulously directed towards new or nonselling products: one of the primary steps in the Purchasing Decision Making Process. In the
case of Dominos Pizza, pizzas with new (or not so highly demanded) flavors are now being
introduced to consumers through the bundle. For Ariel and Downy, consumers are expected
to be more aware of a specialized product like Downy when it is being sold in the same
package with a highly reputed detergent than if it would have been left standing alone on the
market shelf.

With increased awareness about the products, the discounts (made through the bundle
pricing) start to act as a motivational incentive for purchase. Motivation is another key step in
the Purchasing Decision Making Process.

Perceived value: has Dominos pizza made a mistake?

As a promotional strategy, bundle pricing is based on the concept of consumer surplus. Every
consumer has a price that he is willing (or has already planned) to pay for a specific good or
service. If the price set by a company is equal to or lower than what the consumer is willing to
pay, the purchase will be settled. This is because the consumer will considers the price as a
good bargain after having passed through all the steps of the decision making process from
increased awareness to actual purchase.
Consumer surplus is the difference between what the consumer actually pays and what the
consumer was willing to pay. Bundle pricing is a promotional attempt to capture this surplus.
Despite the allure of the concept, consumers are not always willing to put a high value on
certain products or services. When this argument is applied to Dominos pizza, this
unfortunately means that consumers must not see the pizzas as high value products that are
originally worth a high price (and thus eliminating the need for promotions). Pricing influences
how consumers assign value to a brand. A cheap pizza cant be very good. Bundle pricing of
this kind can decease the perceived value of the product; especially in the food business.
Perhaps a more value-conserving strategy that Dominos pizza could have applied is to offer
other items to make the bundle more diversified and still at a low price. Consumers, at least in
Egypt, commonly order salads and onion breadsticks with pizzas. While a consumer might be
indifferent between Dominos pizza and its competitors regarding the pizza, he/she will likely
order from Dominos if it offers large discounts on salads and onion breadsticks.

Efficient implementation of bundle pricing: avoiding the downsides and

increasing motivation
A valid argument can be made that consumers arent always likely to be motivated by a
bundle offering .Different consumers traits (and accordingly buying decisions) sustain this
argument. To start with, bundle pricing is a common promotional strategy and consecutively
consumers may suffer from bundles burnout. This means that consumers are being
bombarded with so many bundle promotional offerings they dont really feel motivated to
purchase (do not see the bundle price as a good bargain). In addition, lots of consumers
decide on the brand first, then search for a promotional offering. This implies that the
consumer would buy the brand at full price out of brand loyalty- even if they couldnt find a
promotion. Not all consumers view bundle offerings as highly influential promotional tools and
are thus unlikely willing to break their decision about which brand to purchase because of a
bundle promotion.
In regards to the company, bundle offering a certain product (for free or at a reduced price)
with another product means that the company must have sufficient capacity to satisfy demand
for both products. This consecutively can result in increased production and inventory cost.
Moreover, bundle offers can generate sales but this does not necessarily mean that revenues
will increase. This is a simple matter of multiplying the quantity of goods sold by their selling
price. Deceased return on investment (ROI) is not an uncommon downside of bundle pricing.
At the same time, bundle pricing may not motivate a consumer since the offering is more than
he really wants. This is especially true for Dominos Pizza (buy one get one free) offers, which
might exceed what many consumer need for their meal.
To overcome such drawbacks, Dominos pizza and Ariel and Downy should make their
offerings time-limited in order to gain benefits (increased awareness of products, motivation to
purchase and generating sales) without substantial decreases in ROI. Dominos pizza and
Ariel and Downy can also direct their efforts to other highly influential strategies:
Generating consumer loyalty through specialized programs+ Purchase incentives
Increasing satisfaction with the purchases + Improving the brand image

Fourth Question:
From your understanding of the personal selling process, describe how could you apply the
steps of the personal selling process on one of your products in your company, and explain
how you implement it from the first step " prospecting" till the last one " follow up' mentioning
as well the objections that your members are elaborating most of the time and how are you
going to overcome and deal with these objections till you make the close and the follow up.

Answer:
The answer to this question is verbalized in correspondence to the chronologic order of the
personal selling process steps. The definition and related activities of each step are first
explained. The steps are then applied to the services provided by a hypothetical company
working in the real-estate brokerage business. A brief description of objections that might be
faced in each step is then investigated with an action plan to overcome such expected
hindrances.

1. Pre-sale preparation:
The first step in personal selling deals with the selection, training and motivation of
salespersons. For a starter, the sales staff must be fully familiar with the product, the firm, the
market and the selling techniques. Sufficient information should be also provided on the
competitor's products and the degree of competition. Salespersons should be also acquainted
with the motives and behavior of potential buyers.
Related activities in the company: awareness campaigns and sales training for
salespersons+ in-house seminars about skills and qualifications required+ Rivals
assessment workshops
Objections: long durations of training sessions
Planned response: encourage e-learning and regular in-company exams to check
the progress of the sales staff.

2. Prospecting :
The prospecting step deals with the segmentation (logic categorization) of potential buyers on
the basis of the need for the product and possessing the financial ability to buy it. Potential
customers may be spotted and located through observation, enquiry and analysis of records
of existing customers. On the same track, social contacts, business associations and dealers
can be helpful in the segmentation and eventual targeting of potential buyers.
Related activities in the company: historical data collection+ developing enquiries
lists and purchase-tendency questionnaires+ contacting business associations and
data banks for legal purchase of data.
Objections: By the sales staff: prolonged times of data search and analysis (Big
Data Analytics).By the segmented potential buyers: privacy infringements
Planned response: Use specialized computer software for better categorization and
filtering of data+ outsource certain activities of the data hunting process+ Ensure
legal ways of data collection.

3. Approaching :
Prior to contacting the prospective customers, the sales team should be fully aware of their
contact details, needs, habits, spending capacity, motives, etc. This knowledge is essential in
selecting the adequate sales appeal. With such knowledge, the customer is approached in a
polite and dignified way. A salespersons approach is of critical importance as the first
impression is the last impression. The salesperson should ideally start his approach by

introducing himself and his product to the customer. A friendly smile always makes a
customer feel at home. When the salesperson is occupied with some other customer, he/she
must assure the new customer that he would be attended to at the soonest occasion.

Related activities in the company: training sessions for salespersons on personal

charisma and conduct code+ carrying out in-house approach demos to explain the
rules of a successful approach and then assess the trainees progress+ unifying the
approach techniques for the salesperson in the company gives a general air of
consistency
Objections: By the sales staff: personalized and subjective motives to uncomply to
the training + recurrent objections to the tiring door-to-door approach of customers.
By the approached potential buyers: lack of interest in the companys service+ can
see the approach as time waste or nuisance for them+ customer loyalty to other
companies
Planned response: incentives for salespersons complying to the training (financial
incentives and less working hours)+ decreasing door-to-door approaches and
encouraging E-commercial approach activities+ more personalized approaches
towards customers (within acceptable codes of conduct).

4. Presentation :
At this point, the salesperson starts to present the product and highlight its features in brief.
The presentation should be continually updated and reformed in light of the customers
response. The main goal for the salesperson is to continuously hold the attention of the
potential buyer and create interest in the product.

Related activities in the company: Developing visually appealing and brief

presentations+ training salespersons on the right vocal tone and adequate time frame
in which the presentation should be carried out+ continuous in-house assessment of
customers responses and feedbacks
Objections: By the sales staff: lack of technical abilities and personal traits to carry
out presentations in a timely and visually appealing manner+ recurrent cases of
inability to understand and correspond to the potential customers needs and buying
mood changes. By the potential buyers: not being motivated or well-informed by the
presentation
Planned response: changing salespersons assigned to customers in a wellcontrolled fashion+ continuously updating and reviewing presentation content in light
of customer response.

5. Demonstration:
Demonstration is about maintaining customer's interest and arousing his desire. In this step,
the salesperson displays and demonstrate the product to the potential buyer. The utility and
distinctive qualities of the product are fully explained in order for the customer to realize the
need for the product to satisfy his wants. Salespersons are rigorously advised in this step not
be in a hurry to impress the customer and at the same time avoid controversy. Part of the
salesperson skills at this step is to suggest uses of the product very commonly through
creating an impulsive urge to possess the product by appealing to the customers human
instincts.

Related activities in the company: prepare site visits to demonstrate the product
(real-estate) + developing presentation content that is more detailed and appealing
to the exact wants (including the financial ability) of the potential buyer+ preparing
presentations and demonstration specifically for a customers family members who
might influence his/hers buying decision

Objections: By the sales staff: female salespersons in particular might object to site
visits while accompanying potential buyers to display the companys offerings+
salespersons refusing to slow things down with customers in order to give them
room to think the purchase over. Salespersons are always in a hurry to settle the
purchase and get paid their commission. By the potential buyers: buyers can be
actually not interested in this sale and are merely browsing for purchasing or
comparing the companys offerings to another company.
Planned response: prepare virtual (computer graphic and video) demonstrations for
customer in order to decrease load on sales staff + without any pressure or formal
obligations, customers at this point can be asked to fill in an application or a purchase
request through the company. This step adds formality to the whole process and
might deter customers from repudiation.

6. Handling objections:
A rule of thumb in the personal selling process is that a sale is not simply achieved by
creating interest and desire. Every individual customer shall strive to make the best bargain
for his money. Presentations and demonstrations -though useful in introducing and explaining
the product- can also adversely create doubts and questions in the buyers mind.
The sales staff should have the patience and skills to clear all doubts and objections without
entering into a controversy. Added to this, a salesperson should never lose his temper.
Popular means of motivating and clearing the doubts of a hesitant or reluctant buyer include
testimonials and money-back guarantee. This is because the customer must be convinced
that his money is safe from the beginning and that he is making the best use of his money by
purchasing the product from this particular company. This is why the salesperson should
prove the superiority of the product over the competitive products in order to handle any
costumers objection. Patience is a must with customers who ask too many queries and takes
time in arriving at any decision.

Related activities in the company: highlighting the importance of patience for

salespersons to close deals and not lose customers+ prepare presentations on why
should the customer feel satisfied with buying the real-estate item in negotiation from
this particular company
Objections: By the sales staff: lack of patience+ not being clear enough on how to
respond to customers objections. By the potential buyers: objections regarding the
financial deal, socio-cultural needs, privacy, etc.
Planned response: categorize expected objections under hand-able categories:
financial objections, socio-cultural objections, etc.+ prepare offerings and promotional
response for expected objections

7. Closing the sale:

Closing sale is the apex of the personal selling process. Special care should be paid at this
step as inappropriate handling of the customer can result in loss of sale. The sales staff
should coerce force to close the deal. Instead, the customer should be encouraged to feel
that he has made the right and final decision. This is optimally achieved without without
imposing the salespersons personal view on the costumer.
It is quite common at this step to perform final adjustment in prices. The salesperson should
show maintain same degree of interest in the customer which was demonstrated during the
approach step. Purchases should be settled in a cordial manner so that the customer feels
inclined to deal with the vendor again. In closing the sale, the product/service should be
handed over with speed and accuracy to the customer. Once the purchase is closed, the
salesperson should suggest, present and even demonstrate relevant products.

Related activities in the company: prepare highly effective and fair legal documents
to close the deal and receive the money in exchange for the transaction+ train staff
how to maintain customer loyalty for future transactions.
Objections: By the sales staff: lack of patience+ not being clear enough on how to
build and maintain customer loyalty for future transactions. By the potential buyers:
need to make final adjustments (most commonly in prices)
Planned response: be flexible to customers objections+ develop loyalty programs
and train the sales staff to ensure customer satisfaction

8. Post-sale follow-up :
Post-sale follow up is concerned with the activities performed to ensure that the customers
satisfaction with the purchased item as well as the firm. These activities generically include
installation, checking the smoothness of performance, maintenance and after-sales service.
Post-sale follow up can very well aid in maintaining customer loyalty and at the same time
preserve the good will of the company and enhance evaluate salesman's effectiveness.

Related activities in the company: develop a scheduled itinerary for the post-sales
activities to be carried out after the sale is closed+ assign responsibilities and
success criteria for post-sales services
Objections: By the sales staff: lack of knowledge and unwilling to take responsibility
regards post-sale activities. By the potential buyers: distaste due to poor post-sales
follow up
Planned response: explain the importance of aftersales activities to sales staff and
how this would surely increase third buying leads in the future+ design an incentive
program for salespersons based on aftersales follow-up+ rigorously apply the
prepared scheduled itinerary for the post sales activities+ get feed backs from
customers and act in their light.

Fifth Question
Design 4 advertisements for any product from your own choice using 4 different formatting
design styles with 4 different appeals.

Answer:

1-Format: picture window

Appeal: Celebrity appeal(Santa clause)+ Humor appeal (Santa smoking)

2-Format: circus
Appeal: Emotional: Social appeal

3-Format: picture frame

Appeal: Romance appeal + Brand appeal (especially in lower banner)

4-Format: Mondrian Grid

Appeal: Brand appeal (upper right and upper left squares) +Snob &
Masculine Feminine appeal (lower right and lower left squares)