Customer Interaction and Direct Marketing Strategies

Posted on Mar 16, 2025 in Business Administration and Management (BAM)

Keys to Interaction with Customers

The interaction with the customer (CL) is built on:

  1. Organizational Knowledge:
    • The ESAS (Assuming this is a specific system or entity) must document, record, and return knowledge flows.
    • This includes information derived from experience.
  2. Business Interaction within the ESAS:
    • Should enhance:
      • Empowerment (workers becoming essential elements of the system).
      • Teamwork.
      • Commitment.
  3. Interaction with the Outside:
    • The ESAS should push management towards interactive relationships with customers.
    • Systematization of continuous learning based on listening to the wishes of the customers.

Direct marketing focuses on analyzing customer needs to communicate effectively and satisfy their desires. This fosters strong, direct business relationships, ensuring sales success in quantity and speed by understanding customer wishes and proposing tailored solutions. It also fosters commitment and long-term relationships with customers.

Classification of Vendor Functions

  • Desk Vendor: Handles tasks at a fixed location.
  • External Order Policyholder: Visits customers to record orders, ensuring they are never out of stock.
  • Sensor: Seeks new customers through visits and interviews.
  • Sales Promoter.
  • Sales Technician/Visitor.

Vendor Classification According to ESA-Link

  • Template Seller: ESA workers with a regular employment contract.
  • Representative or Mediator: ESA worker with a special labor relationship.
  • Commercial Agent or Commission Agent: Independent ESA seller who acts through a commercial commission contract.

Customer Interaction Best Practices

  • Consider body language, voice, and words.
  • Be a good listener:
    • See and feel what the customer is saying.
    • Interpret the message.
    • Evaluate its importance.
    • Convey attentiveness to the customer.
  • Know about patterns:
    • “The words” – Plan to adapt the message to the customer’s level.
    • Follow a logical order in argumentation.
    • Ask, ask, ask.

Sales Skills

Two key qualities for sales personnel:

  • Credibility: The seller must be credible. This requires effort, extroversion, and common sense.
  • Affinity: The identification of the seller’s affinity with the customer is crucial for sales.

The Selling Process

  1. Pre-sale (Phase 1): Seeking and arranging meetings.
  2. Transaction/Interview (Phase 2): Argumentation, handling objections, and closing the deal.
  3. Aftermarket (Phase 3): Consolidating the sale.

Direct Marketing in Detail

Direct marketing is a commercial communication system that uses specific advertising methods to obtain an immediate response from the customer, for example, via a coupon or order form. The goal is to win the customer’s confidence and encourage them to respond. It’s a form of direct communication where the customer replies to a message sent by the company, aiming to identify customers who will buy directly. It is easier to sell to an existing customer than a new one.

The success of any direct marketing process depends on:

  • The offer.
  • The chosen advertising medium.
  • The creative presentation.

The Offer

The offer made to the customer should integrate the product and an incentive, accompanying the entire advertising campaign for a limited time. Examples include:

  • A discount on the price.
  • A free trial.
  • A related gift.
  • A free catalog.

Advertising Medium

The advertising medium is chosen by reference to the cost per response.

  • If the recipient is known:
    • Direct mail (mailing)
    • Telephone
    • Fax
    • Email
  • If the recipient is not known:
    • Leafleting (Buzoneo)
    • Radio
    • TV ads
    • Brochures
    • Internet
    • Direct response television

Always include a contact method (e.g., a postage-paid voucher).

Creative Development

Creative presentation is crucial to maximize sales or requested responses. Having the best product and choosing the right medium is not always sufficient without strong creative execution.