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Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

Chapter 14

Promotion II: Social Media Marketing, Direct/Database

Marketing, Personal Selling, and Public Relations

I. CHAPTER OVERVIEW

The previous chapter focused on traditional forms of advertising and other communication

methods in the one-to-many model. In this chapter, we first look at social media that provides

many-to-many marketing communication and then at two types of one-to-one communication:

direct marketing and personal selling. Finally, we will learn about public relations. Public

relations is the final element of the promotion mix and includes a variety of communication

activities. Some of these such as lobbying are one-to-one. Others, such as press releases

distributed to the news media for publication, follow the one-to-many model. Increasingly, PR

professionals are not only engaged in guerilla marketing but also are moving quickly online to

join in the many-to-many model.

II. CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

1. Understand how marketers communicate using an updated communication model that

incorporates new social media and buzz marketing activities.

2. Understand the elements of direct marketing.

3. Understand the important role of personal selling, the different types of sales jobs and the

steps in the creative selling process.

4. Explain the role of public relations and the steps in developing a public relations

campaign

III. CHAPTER OUTLINE

►MARKETING MOMENT INTRODUCTION

The sales process, which ultimately ends in a long-term

relationship, has been compared to a dating process that

ends in marriage. Ask students to explain how the sales

process is similar to the dating process. Where do they

prospect? How do they decide upon possible contenders?

How do they learn more about this “prospective” mate?

Do other people influence the choice of mate? This

activity really emphasizes the “relationship” in

relationship selling.

p. 459 REAL PEOPLE, REAL

CHOICES─HERE’S MY

PROBLEM AT

STYLITICS

Exhibit :

ROHAN

DEUSK

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

Stylitics is the largest digital closet

platform in the world and, for a

while, the number one free fashion

app in the App Store. Our apps are

on iOS, Android, and the web and

used by a large number of people

around the world. Our trend reports

are used by some of the world’s top

brands and retailers to help them

serve their customers better. In the

fall of 2012, the team at Stylitics

was discussing how to grow our

social media presence. First, while

we all used social media as

individuals, we didn’t have any

experience in using social media to

grow a brand. Second, while we

were active on the @Stylitics

Twitter and Facebook accounts, we

were posting without a clear purpose

or strategy. And third, and most

important, we were missing a unique

voice.

As a small company, we didn’t have

the budget for expensive paid social

media campaigns. Even if we

created an engaging and unique

campaign, we still had to figure out

how to make sure it would spread

far enough to make an impact. Large

companies hire social media

agencies and invest in SEO (search

engine optimization) and ads to

spread the word. Our total budget

was $5,000 at most.

Stylistics considered three options.

1. Spend more money.

2. Create our own campaign.

3. Continue as before.

The vignette ends by asking the

student which option he/she would

choose.

·Stylistics selected option

#2.

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

Use Stylistics website here: www.stylistics.com

p. 460

p. 461

p 462

I. SOCIAL MEDIA

MARKETING

Authors Charlene Li and Josh

Bernoff refer to the changing

communication landscape as the

groundswell; “a social trend in

which people use technology to get

the things they need from each

other, rather than from traditional

institutions like corporations.”

Today’s consumers are increasingly

getting their information on running

shoes, nightclubs, cars, new bands,

or even lecture notes from one

another rather than from the original

source.

Marketers are no longer the only

ones who talk about their products

—millions of consumers have the

ability and the desire to spread the

good (or bad) news about the goods

and services they buy. That is why

we are moving from a one-to-many

communication mode to the new

world of many-to-many.

1.1 Social Media

Social media is an important part of

the updated communications model.

This term refers to Internet-based

platforms that allow users to create

their own content and share it with

others who access these sites.

There’s no doubt that social media is

the place to be in marketing

communications now – even if

many organizations haven’t quite

figured out just what to do with

these platforms.

1.2 Social Networks

Social networks are sites used to

Exhibit:

Turns

Birdie

into

Man’s

Best

Friend

Exhibit:

Candysta

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

connect people with other similar

people. Social networks such as

Facebook and LinkedIn are some of

the most popular sites on the

Internet with millions of users from

around the globe. Once a user has

created a profile, it is easy to

connect with old and new friends.

Social networks make it easy for

marketers to reach influential people

such a journalists and consumers

who are opinion leaders. However,

even more important is the

opportunity social networks provide

to create a brand community. A

brand community is a group of

social network users who share an

attachment to a product or brand,

interact with each other and share

information about the brand.

1.2.1 Facebook is the most popular

of all social networking sites.

1.2.2 Twitter is a free

micro-blogging service that lets

users post short text messages with a

maximum of 140 characters. Unlike

other social media, Twitter is a

broadcast medium, which means

that marketers can send messages to

hundreds of thousands of people at a

time.

1.2.3 Virtual Worlds

p. 463

This term refers to an online, highly

engaging digital environment where

avatars — graphic representations of

users — live and interact with other

avatars in real time. In virtual

worlds, residents can hang out at

virtual clubs, shop for clothing and

bling for their avatars, buy furniture

to deck out virtual homes, and yes,

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

p. 463

p. 464

p. 465

even go to college in virtual

universities. Some people find it

hard to believe, but it is common for

people to spend real money to buy

digital products that do not exist in

the real world. Indeed, virtual

goods, digital products consumers

buy for use in online contexts,

are booming: In the U.S. alone,

consumers spend well over

$11billion each year to buy items

they use only in virtual worlds!

1.2.4 Product Review Sites

Product review sites are social

media sites that enable people to

post stories about their experiences

with products and services.

Marketers hope that product review

sites create a connection between

the consumer and the brand. Product

review sites give users both positive

and negative information about

companies

1.3 Mobile Apps and

Location-Based Social

Networks

Location-based social networks

integrate sophisticated GPS

technology (like the

navigation system you may

have in your car) that enables

users to alert friends of their

exact whereabouts via their

mobile phones.

Augmented reality (AR) is a view

of a physical, real world that is

enhanced or altered by

computer-generated sounds, videos,

graphics, or GPS data. Apple lit up

this market when it introduced the

iPhone, and now everyone is

scrambling to “monetize” the mobile

market through sales of ringtones,

on-demand video, online coupons,

Exhibit:

High

Rise

Virtual

World

Exhibit:

Pokémo

n Go

Figure

14.1

Snapshot

: Key

Forms of

Direct

Marketin

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

and “apps” that entertain or educate.

1.4 The Internet of Things

This term refers to the network of

physical things, vehicles, devices,

buildings in which designers have

embedded sensors, electronics, and

network connectivity. With this

technology, “things” can collect data

and communicate it to each other—

the many to many of things.

2. DIRECT MARKETING

Direct marketing refers to “any

direct communication to a consumer

or business recipient that is designed

to generate a response in the form of

an order, a request for further

information, or a visit to a store or

other place of business for purchase

of a product.” The following is a

discussion of types of direct

marketing:

p. 466

2.1 Mail Order

Today consumers can buy just about

anything through the mail.

Mail order comes in two forms:

catalogs and direct mail.

A catalog is a collection of products

offered for sale in book form,

usually consisting of product

descriptions accompanied by photos

of the items. A catalog strategy

allows the store to reach people in

the United States who live in areas

too small to support a store. In

addition, more and more U.S. firms

use catalogs to reach overseas

markets as well.

According to the Direct Marketing

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

p. 466

Association, over two-thirds of the

U.S. adult population orders from a

catalog at least once a year. Many

stores use catalogs to complement

their in-store efforts. A catalog

strategy allows a store to reach

people who live in areas too small to

support a store.

2.2 Direct Mail

Unlike a catalog retailer that offers a

variety of merchandise through the

mail, direct mail is a brochure or

pamphlet that offers a specific good

or service at one point in time. A

direct mail offer has an advantage

over a catalog because the sender

can personalize it. Just as with

e-mail spamming, many Americans

are overwhelmed with direct-mail

offers—“junk mail”—that mostly

end up in the trash. The direct-mail

industry constantly works on ways

to monitor what companies send

through the mail and it allows

consumers to “opt out” of at least

some mailing lists.

Use website here:

www.landsend.com

Lands’ End catalog online

Use website here: www.llbean.com

L. L. Bean catalog online

►Marketing Moment In-Class

Activity

Ask students to compare and

contrast mail order catalogs and

Internet shopping. What do they see

as similarities? Differences? Will

Internet ever replace catalog

shopping?

2.3 Telemarketing

Telemarketing is direct marketing

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

an organization conducts over the

telephone (but why do they always

have to call during dinner?). It might

surprise you to learn that

telemarketing actually is more

profitable for business markets than

for consumer markets.

p. 467

The Federal Trade Commission

(FTC) established the National

Do Not Call Registry to allow

consumers to limit the number of

telemarketing calls they receive.

2.4 Direct-Response Advertising

Direct-response advertising allows

the consumer to respond to a

message by immediately contacting

the provider to ask questions or

order the product. This form of

direct marketing can be very

successful. Although for many

companies the Internet has become

the medium of choice for direct

marketing, this technique is still

alive and well in magazines,

newspapers, and television.

Direct-response TV (DRTV)

includes short commercials of less

than two minutes, 30-minute or

longer infomercials, and the shows

home shopping networks such as

QVC and HSN broadcast.

The primitive sales pitches of the

old days have largely given way to

the slick infomercials we all know

and love (?) today. These half hour

or hour-long commercials resemble

a talk show, often with heavy

product demonstration and spirited

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

audience participation, but of

course, they really are sales pitches.

Activity: Consider carefully the

potential annoying downsides of

various forms of direct marketing to

consumers. As a marketer, what

would you do to ensure that your

firm’s direct marketing efforts do

not turn customers off to your

product?

p. 467 2.5 M-Commerce

One final type of direct marketing is

m-commerce. The “m” stands for

“mobile,” but it could also stand for

massive – because that’s how big the

market will be for this platform.

M–commerce refers to the

promotional and other e-commerce

activities that smartphones and other

mobile devices.

M-commerce through text messages

(such as an ad for a concert or a new

restaurant) is known as

short-messaging system (SMS)

marketing.

Activity: Divide the class into

groups of three to five students. Ask

each group to come up with three

new ideas for m-commerce that

would appeal to college students.

Have the class vote on the best

ideas. Reward the group

p. 468 3. PERSONAL SELLING:

ADDING THE PERSONAL

TOUCH TO THE PROMOTION

MIX

Personal selling occurs when a

company representative interacts

directly with a customer or

prospective customer to

communicate about a good or

service. This form of promotion is a

far more intimate way to talk to

customers. Another advantage of

Exhibit:

TummyT

uckBelt.

com

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

p. 468

personal selling is that salespeople

are the firm’s eyes and ears in the

marketplace. They learn which

competitors talk to customers, what

they offer, and what new rival goods

and services are on the way—all

valuable competitive intelligence.

Many organizations rely heavily on

personal selling because at times the

“personal touch” carries more

weight than mass-media material.

For a business-to-business market

situation, the personal touch

translates into developing crucial

relationships with clients.

Personal selling has special

importance for students (that’s you)

because many graduates with a

marketing background will enter

professional sales jobs. Jobs in

selling and sales management often

provide high upward mobility if you

are successful, because firms value

employees who understand

customers and who can

communicate well with them.

3.1 The Role of Personal

Selling in the Marketing Mix

In general, a personal selling

emphasis is more important when a

firm engages in a push strategy, in

which the goal is to “push” the

product through the channel of

distribution so that it is available to

consumers.

Personal selling also is likely to be

crucial in business-to-business

contexts where the firm must

interact directly with a client’s

management to clinch a big deal—

and often when intense negotiations

about price and other factors will

occur before the customer signs on

Figure

14.2

Snapshot

: Factors

that

Influenc

e a

Firm’s

Emphasi

s on

Personal

Selling

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

the dotted line. In consumer

contexts, inexperienced customers

may need the hands-on assistance

that a professional salesperson

provides.

Some drawbacks limit the role

personal selling plays in the

marketing communication mix.

First, when the dollar amount of

individual purchases is low, it does

not make sense to use personal

selling—the cost per contact with

each customer is very high

compared to other forms of

promotion.

p. 470

p. 472

3.2 Technology and Personal

Selling

All sorts of technologies can

enhance the personal selling

process, and clearly today, the

smartphone is the communication

hub of the relationship between

salesperson and client.

Customer relationship management

(CRM) software is one

technological advance. Recently,

some sales organizations have

turned to a new-generation system

called partner relationship

management (PRM), which links

information between selling and

buying firms.

Others are teleconferencing,

videoconferencing, and improved

corporate websites that include FAQ

pages that answer many customer

inquiries. VoIP (voice-over Internet

protocol) is being used for

day-to-day correspondence between

salespeople and customers (e.g.,

Skype). An increasing number of

Figure

14.3

Snapshot

: Types

of Sales

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

salespeople telecommute from a

virtual office.

Smart sales organizations can find

the right blend of technology and

personal touch, tailored to their

particular clientele and product

offerings, which make the most of

building strong customer

relationships.

3.3 Types of Sales Jobs

There are several different types of

sales jobs from which to choose.

Each type has its own unique

characteristics.

An order taker is a salesperson that

processes transactions the customer

initiates. Many retail salespeople are

order takers, but often wholesalers,

dealers, and distributors employ

salespeople to assist their business

customers. Because little creative

selling is involved in order taking,

this type of sales job typically is the

lowest-paid sales position.

In contrast, a technical specialist

contributes considerable expertise in

the form of product demonstrations,

recommendations for complex

equipment, and setup of machinery.

The technical specialist provides

sales support rather than actually

closing the sale.

Jobs

Then there is the missionary

salesperson whose job is to

stimulate clients to buy. Like

technical specialists, missionary

salespeople promote the firm and

encourage demand for its goods and

services but do not actually take

orders.

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

p. 473

The new-business salesperson is

responsible for finding new

customers and calls on them to

present the company’s products. As

you might imagine, gaining the

business of a new customer usually

means that the customer stops doing

business with one of the firm’s

competitors (and they won’t give up

without a fight). New-business

selling requires a high degree of

creativity and professionalism, so

this type of salesperson is usually

very well paid. Once a new-business

salesperson establishes a

relationship with a client, she often

continues to service that client as the

primary contact as long as the client

continues to buy from the company.

In that

long-term-relationship-building role,

this type of salesperson is an order

getter. Order getters are usually the

people most directly responsible for

a particular client’s business; they

may also hold the title of “account

manager.”

Increasingly, firms find that the

selling function works best via team

selling. A selling team may consist

of a salesperson, a technical

specialist, someone from

engineering and design, and other

players who work together to

develop products and programs that

satisfy the customer’s needs. When

the company includes people from a

range of areas, it often calls this

group a cross-functional team.

3.4 Two Approaches to

Personal Selling

Selling has moved from a

transactional, hard-sell approach to

an approach based on relationships

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

with customers.

3.4.1 Transactional Selling:

Putting on the Hard Sell

Hard-sell tactics reflect

transactional selling, an approach

that focuses on making an

immediate sale with little concern

for developing a long-term

relationship with the customer. As

customers, the hard sell makes us

feel manipulated, resentful, and it

diminishes our satisfaction and

loyalty.

3.4.2. Relationship Selling:

Building Long-Term Customers

Relationship selling is the process

by which a salesperson secures,

develops, and maintains long-term

relationships with profitable

customers.

Securing a customer relationship

means converting an interested

prospect into someone who is

convinced that the good or service

holds value for her. Developing a

customer relationship means

ensuring that you and the customer

work together to find more ways to

add value to the transaction.

Maintaining a customer relationship

means building customer

satisfaction and loyalty—thus, you

can count on the customer to

provide future business and stick

with you for the long haul.

Activity: What are some different

ways you might approach a

customer? Would some work better

in one situation or another?

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

3.5 The Creative Selling Process

Successful salespeople understand

and engage in a series of activities to

make positive transactions happen.

A salesperson’s chances of success

increase when she undergoes a

systematic series of steps we call the

creative selling process.

Figure

14.4

Process:

Steps in

the

Creative

Selling

Process

►Marketing Moment In-Class Activity

Ask students to identify examples of transactional

selling. This is difficult to do—even traditionally

transactional encounters (convenience stores, gas

stations, funeral homes, etc.) have become relationship

oriented

p. 474 3.5.1 Step 1: Prospect and

Qualify

Prospecting is the process by which

a salesperson identifies and develops

a list of prospects or sales leads

(potential customers). Leads come

from existing customer lists,

telephone directories, commercially

available databases, and of course

through diligent use of web search

engines like Google.

Another way to generate leads is

through cold calling, in which the

salesperson simply contacts

prospects “cold,” without prior

introduction or arrangement. It

always helps to know the prospect,

so salespeople might rely instead on

referrals. Current clients who are

satisfied with their purchase often

recommend a salesperson to others

—yet another reason to maintain

good customer relationships.

After they identify potential

customers, salespeople need to

qualify these prospects to determine

how likely they are to become

customers.

p. 474 3.5.2 Step 2: Preapproach

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

In the preapproach stage, you

compile background information

about prospective customers and

plan the sales interview. Salespeople

can draw information about a

prospect from a variety of sources.

Of course, if the salesperson’s firm

has a CRM system she can use it to

see whether the database includes

information about the prospect.

p. 475 3.5.3 Step 3: Approach

After the salesperson lays the

groundwork with the pre-approach,

it is time to approach, or contact,

the prospect. The salesperson tries to

learn even more about the prospect’s

needs, create a good impression, and

build rapport. During the approach,

the customer decides whether the

salesperson has something to offer

that is of potential value.

p. 475 3.5.4 Step 4: Sales Presentation

Many sales calls involve a formal

sales presentation, which lays out

the benefits of the product and its

advantages over the competition.

The focus of the sales presentation

should always be on ways the

salesperson, her goods and services,

and her company can add value to

the customer (and in a

business-to-business setting, to the

customer’s company).

Exhibit:

Professio

nal

Woman

p. 476 3.5.5 Step 5: Handle Objections

The effective salesperson anticipates

objections—reasons why the

prospect is reluctant to make a

commitment—and she has prepared

to respond with additional

information or persuasive

arguments. Actually, the salesperson

should welcome objections because

they show that the prospect is at

least interested enough to consider

the offer and seriously weigh its

pros and cons.

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

p. 476 3.5.6 Step 6: Close the Sale

But there still comes a point in the

sales call at which one or the other

party has to move toward gaining

commitment to the objectives of the

call—presumably a purchase. This is

the decision stage, or close.

A last objection close asks

customers if they are ready to

purchase and then addresses any

concerns they have about the

product.

An assumptive or minor

points close means a salesperson

acts as if the purchase is

inevitable with only a small

detail or two to be settled.

A standing-room-only or

buy-now close suggests the

opportunity might be missed if

the customer hesitates.

p. 476

p. 477

3.5.7 Step 7: Follow-Up

The follow-up after the sale

includes arranging for delivery,

payment, and purchase terms. It also

means the salesperson makes sure

the customer received delivery and

is satisfied. Follow-up also allows

the salesperson to bridge to the next

purchase. Once a relationship

develops, the selling process is only

beginning. Even as one cycle of

purchasing ends, a good salesperson

already lays the foundation for the

next one.

► METRICS MOMENT

How does a firm know whether a

salesperson is effective?

Some firms use input and output

measures. Input measures are

“effort” measures—things that go

into selling, such as the number and

type of sales calls, expense account

management, and a variety of

nonselling activities, such as

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

p. 477

customer follow-up work and client

service. Output measures, or the

results of the salesperson’s efforts,

include sales volume but also

include things like the number of

orders, size of orders, number of

new accounts, level of repeat

business, customer satisfaction, and

quantity of particular key products

sold. Profitability of the sale to the

company is also an output measure,

The best approach to measure

salesperson success is to use a

variety of metrics that are consistent

with the goals of the particular firm,

Applying the Metrics

Assume that you are a

professional salesperson and

consider the various input

and output metrics of

salesperson effectiveness

described above.

Which of the metrics would

you prefer to be evaluated

against? Why do you prefer

these?

Which of the metrics would

you least like being evaluated

against? Why?

4. PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public relations (PR)</keyterm> is the

communication function that seeks

to build good relationships with an

organization’s

<emphasis>publics</emphasis>;

these include consumers,

stockholders, legislators, and other

stakeholders in the organization.

The basic rule of good PR is,

<emphasis>Do something

good</emphasis>, <emphasis>and

then talk about it</emphasis>. The

big advantage of this kind of

Exhibit:

Isaiah

Austin

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

communication is that when PR

messages are placed successfully

they are more credible than if the

same information appeared in a paid

advertisement.

p. 478

p. 479

p. 480

Public relations strategies are crucial to an organization’s ability

to establish and maintain a favorable image.

<emphasis>Proactive PR</emphasis> activities stem from the

company’s marketing objectives. For example, marketers create

and manage <keyterm id=”ch13term50″ linkend=”gloss13_050″

preference=”0″ role=”strong”>publicity</keyterm>, which is

unpaid communication about an organization that gets media

exposure.

As many of the other function of public relations blend into

buzz marketing activities, perhaps the most important function it

still “owns” is crisis management. This refers to the process of

managing a company’s reputation when some negative and

often unplanned event threatens the organization’s image. Even

a single negative event can cause permanent damage to a

company, the success of its products, and its stockholder equity.

4.1 Plan a Public Relations Campaign

A <keyterm id=”ch13term51″ linkend=”gloss13_051″

preference=”0″ role=”strong”>public relations

campaign</keyterm> is a coordinated effort to communicate with

one or more of the firm’s publics. This is a three-step process

that develops, executes, and evaluates objectives.

Marketing communication experts <para> know that PR

strategies are best used in conjunction with advertising, sales

promotion, and personal selling to send a consistent message to

customers and other stakeholders. As part of the total marketing

communication plan, they often rely on PR to accomplish the

following objectives:

Introduce new products to retailers and consumers.

Influence government legislation.

Enhance the image of an organization.

Provide advice and counsel for top management.

Enhance the image of a city, region, or country.

Manage a crisis.

Call attention to a firm’s involvement with the

community.

Figure 14.5

Snapshot:

Objectives and

Tactics of Public

Relations

Ripped from the

Headlines

Ethical/Sustaina

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

► ETHICS CHECK

Find out what other students taking this course would do and

why at www.mymkylab.com

Is it ethical for marketers to secretly fund PR campaigns to

defend their products?

ble Decisions in

the Real World

p. 480

p. 481

P. 481

4.2 PR Tactics

All PR activities strive for the same goal—to create and

maintain the positive image the organization needs.

4.2.1 Press Release

<itemizedlist mark=”bullet”

spacing=”normal”><listitem><inst></inst><title></inst>The

most common way for PR specialists to communicate is by a

<keyterm id=”ch13term52″ linkend=”gloss13_052″

preference=”0″ role=”strong”>press release</keyterm>. This is

a report of some event or activity that an organization writes and

sends to the media in the hope that it will be published free. A

newer version of this idea is a <emphasis>video news

release</emphasis> (<emphasis>VNR</emphasis>) that tells the

story in a film format instead. Some of the most common types

of press releases include the following:<link

linkend=”ch13mn57″ preference=”1″/><link preference=”1″

linkend=”ch13informal15″/></para>

<itemizedlist mark=”bullet”

spacing=”normal”><listitem><inst></inst><para><emphasis>T

imely topics</emphasis> deal with topics in the news.

Universities publish research project stories</emphasis> to

highlight breakthroughs by faculty researchers.</para></listitem

<listitem><inst></inst><para><emphasis>Consumer

information releases</emphasis> provide information to help

consumers make product decisions.

4.2.2 Internal PR and External Stakeholders

Internal PR activities target employees; they often include

company newsletters and closed-circuit television to keep

people informed about company objectives, successes, or even

plans to

“downsize” the workforce. Often company newsletters also are

distributed outside the firm to suppliers or other important

publics.

</para></listitem><listitem><inst></inst><title>Investor

relations’ activities focus on communications to those whose

financial support is critical; this is especially vital for

</title><para><inst> publicly held companies.

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

</para></listitem><listitem><inst>

</inst><title></inst><keyterm id=”ch13term53″

linkend=”gloss13_053″ preference=”0″

role=”strong”>Lobbying</keyterm> means talking with and

providing information to government officials to persuade them

to vote a certain way on pending legislation or even to initiate

legislation or regulations that would benefit the organization.

4.2.3 Speech Writing and Corporate Communications

<listitem><inst>An important job of a firm’s PR department is

s</inst><title>peech writing; specialists provide speeches for

company executives to deliver. While some executives do

actually write their own speeches, it is more common for a

speechwriter on the PR staff to develop an initial draft of a

speech to which the executive might add his own input.

</para></listitem><listitem><inst></inst><title></inst>PR

specialists also provide input on corporate identity materials,

such as logos, brochures, building design, and even stationery

that communicates a positive image for the firm

<listitem><inst></inst><title></inst>One of the tasks of the PR

professional is to develop close media relations to insure the

organization will receive the best media exposure possible for

positive news, such as publicizing the achievements of an

employee who has done some notable charity

work or for a product it developed that saved someone’s life.

p. 481

p. 482

</para></listitem>

4.2.4 Sponsorships and Special Events

Sponsorships</keyterm> are PR activities through which

companies provide financial support to help fund an event in

return for publicized recognition of the company’s contribution.

A related task is to plan and implement special events.

4.2.5 Brand Ambassadors and Evangelists

Many marketers realize that they cannot create buzz by

themselves; they recruit loyal customers as brand ambassadors

or brand evangelists to help them. These zealous consumers

can be the best salespeople a company can ever find. They often

work without pay. They are heavy users, take a product

seriously, care a great deal about it and want it to succeed. In

addition, they know the target audience better than anyone since

they are a part of it.

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

p. 483

p. 484

4.2.6 Guerrilla Marketing

Organizations with tiny advertising budgets need to develop

innovative and cheap ways to capture consumers’ attention.

Guerrilla marketing activities are an increasingly popular way

to accomplish this objective. No, this term does not refer to

marketers making monkeys out of themselves (that’s “gorilla

marketing”). A guerrilla marketing strategy involves

“ambushing” consumers with promotional content in places

where they do not expect to encounter these messages.

Ambient advertising is a popular type of guerilla marketing.

This term describes the placement of messages in nontraditional

media

4.3 Buzz Marketing

The many-to-many communication model relies on consumers

like you to talk to one another about goods, services and

organizations. Marketers think of <keyterm id=”ch12term17″

linkend=”gloss12_017″ preference=”0″

role=”strong”>buzz</keyterm> as everyday people helping their

marketing efforts when they share their opinions with their

friends and neighbors.

Companies today spend millions to create consumer positive

buzz. Firms like Dell have named word-of-mouth (WOM)

marketing managers, and the WOMMA (Word-of-Mouth

Marketing Association). The membership roster includes most

of the top consumer-brand companies. Techniques to encourage

consumers to spread information about companies and their

products come under a variety of names such as word-of-mouth

marketing, viral marketing, buzz marketing and evangelist

marketing.

Tryvertising is advertising by sampling that is designed to

create buzz about a product. f-commerce is e-commerce that

takes place on Facebook

People like to share their experiences, good or bad, with others.

Truly happy customers will share their excitement about a

brand. Unfortunately, the unhappy ones will be even more

eager to tell their friends about their unpleasant experiences

Exhibit: Heinz

p. 484

Brand polarization is the gap between good buzz and bad

buzz.

4.3.1 Viral Marketing

One form of buzz building is viral marketing. This term refers

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

p. 485

to marketing activities that aim to increase brand awareness or

sales by consumers passing a message along to other consumers,

hopefully in an exponential fashion–much like your roommate

passes a cold onto you and you pass it along to all your other

friends. Today, most viral marketing tactics are subtler and

consist of marketers’ use of video clips, interactive games, or

other activities that consumers will find so interesting or unique

that they want to share them with their friends using digital

technology. To see a classic viral spot in action, visit

www.subservientchicken.com.

4.3.2 Ethical Problems in Buzz Marketing

Just as firms are discovering there are a myriad of opportunities

for buzz marketing, there are equally large opportunities for

unethical or at least questionable marketing behavior. Some of

these are as follows:

Activities designed to deceive consumers.

Directing buzz marketing at children or teens.

Buzz marketing activities that damage property.

Sock puppeting (A company executive or other biased

source poses as someone else to plug a product in social

media.)

4.4 Evaluation of a PR Campaign

One of the barriers to greater reliance on PR campaigns is

evaluation; compared to many other forms of marketing

communications, it’s difficult to devise metrics to gauge their

effectiveness. Table 14.1 describes some of the most common

PR measurement techniques.

Real People, Real Choices: Here’s My Choice at Stylistics

·Stylistics chose option #2.

Table 14.1

</inst>Measurin

g the

Effectiveness of

Public Relations

(PR) Tactics

IV. END-OF-CHAPTER ANSWER GUIDE

CHAPTER QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES

 CONCEPTS: TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

14-1What is buzz? How do marketers practice buzz building?

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

The many-to-many communication model relies on consumers like you to talk to one

another about goods, services and organizations. Marketers think of <keyterm

id=”ch12term17″ linkend=”gloss12_017″ preference=”0″ role=”strong”>buzz</keyterm> as

everyday people helping their marketing efforts when they share their opinions with their

friends and neighbors. <endnoteref label=”11″ olinkend=”ch12endnoteset11″/> The idea

is nothing new; it is the so-called “office water-cooler effect” where coworkers dish about

the latest TV sitcom on Monday morning. Companies today spend millions to create

consumer positive buzz. Firms like Dell have named word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing

managers, and the WOMMA (Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association) membership roster

includes most of the top consumer-brand companies. <endnoteref label=”12″

olinkend=”ch12endnoteset12″/> According to advertising agency JWT Worldwide, over

85 percent of top 1,000 marketing firms now use word-of-mouth tactics.i <endnoteref

label=”13″ olinkend=”ch12endnoteset13″/><link linkend=”ch12mn19″

preference=”1″/></para>Techniques to encourage consumers to spread information about

companies and their products come under a variety of names such as word-of-mouth

marketing, viral marketing, buzz marketing and evangelist marketing.

14-2 What are some ethical problems in buzz marketing?

Just as firms are discovering there are a myriad of opportunities for buzz marketing, there are

equally large opportunities for unethical or at least questionable marketing behavior. Some of

these are as follows:

Activities designed to deceive consumers.

Directing buzz marketing at children or teens.

Buzz marketing activities that damage property.

Stealth marketing activities that deliberately deceive or lie on behalf of clients.

14.3 What is viral marketing? How do marketers use brand ambassador or brand evangelists?

One form of buzz building is viral marketing. This term refers to marketing activities that

aim to increase brand awareness or sales by consumers passing a message along to other

consumers, hopefully in an exponential fashion–much like your roommate passes a cold onto

you and you pass it along to all your other friends. Today, most viral marketing tactics are

subtler and consist of marketers’ use of video clips, interactive games, or other activities that

consumers will find so interesting or unique that they want to share them with their friends

using digital technology.

Many marketers realize that they cannot create buzz by themselves; they recruit loyal

customers as brand ambassadors or brand evangelists to help them. These zealous consumers

can be the best salespeople a company can ever find. They often work for no pay.. They are

heavy users, take a product seriously, care a great deal about it and want it to succeed. In

addition, they know the target audience better than anyone since they are a part of it. So how

do marketers identify and motivate these loyal customers to be brand ambassadors?

Sometimes they seek out customers who already blog about the product and share what they

love about the brand. One way to motivate brand ambassadors is to give them special access

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

or privileges to the company and its marketing strategies. Some might be recruited and

featured through a brand contest.

14.4 What is social media? What are social networks? Describe Facebook, Twitter, virtual worlds,

product review sites, mobile apps, and location-based social networks.

This term refers to Internet-based platforms that allow users to create their own content and

share it with others who access these sites. Social media include blogs, forums, picture-and

video-sharing sites, wikis and podcasts to name a few. Social networking sites or social

networks are sites used to connect people with other similar people. Successful networking

sites ask users to develop profiles of themselves so that those with similar backgrounds,

interests, hobbies, religious beliefs, racial identities or political views can “meet” online.

Social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn are some of the most popular sites on the

Internet with millions of users from around the globe. Once a user has created a profile, it is

easy to connect with old and new friends.

Facebook is the most popular of all social networking sites with over 400 million users as we

write this book — and no doubt many more as you are reading it. Users of Facebook first

develop a profile that remains private unless they choose to connect with a “friend.” Twitter

is a free micro-blogging service that lets users post short text messages with a maximum of

140 characters. People who subscribe to an individual’s Twitter feed are called “followers.”

Users can follow anyone they like, unlike Facebook where you have to be recognized and

accepted as a “friend.” Unlike other social media, Twitter is a broadcast medium, which

means that marketers can send messages to hundreds of thousands of people at a time. A

virtual world refers to an online, highly engaging digital environment where avatars –graphic

representations of users — live and interact with other avatars in real time. Product review

sites are social media sites that enable people to post stories about their experiences with

products and services. It is obvious to almost anyone who is conscious today that the future

of marketing communications lies in that magic little device you practically sleep with –

whether it is a smartphone or perhaps a computer/phone hybrid like Apple’s iPad. Combine

web browsing capability with built-in cameras and the race is on to bring to the world to your

belt or purse. Apple lit up this market when it introduced the iPhone and now everyone is

scrambling to “monetize” the mobile market through sales of ringtones, on-demand video,

online coupons, and “apps” that entertain or educate. Location-based social networks

integrate sophisticated GPS technology (like the navigation system you may have in your

car) that enables users to alert friends of their exact whereabouts via their mobile phones

14-5 What is direct marketing? Describe the more popular types of direct marketing.

Direct marketing refers to “any direct communication to a consumer or business recipient

that is designed to generate a response in the form of an order, a request for further

information, and/or a visit to a store or other place of business for purchase of a product.”

The more popular types of direct marketing include: Mail order, catalogs, direct mail,

telemarketing, and direct-response advertising (infomercials and home shopping networks).

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

14-6 What is m-commerce?

M-commerce refers to the promotional and other e-commerce activities transmitted over

mobile phones and other mobile devices, such as smartphones. With about a billion mobile

phones in use worldwide, many of them Internet-enabled, it makes sense that marketers

would want to reach out and touch this large target audience.

14-7 What role does personal selling play within the marketing function?

For most firms, some form of personal selling is essential for a transaction (the sale) to occur,

so this type of promotion is an important part of an organization’s overall marketing plan.

Through one-on-one selling, the salesperson can directly address customer objections, can

furnish other customer services (such as installations, setup, and instruction), can provide the

company with feedback on the marketing effort, and is a source of competitive intelligence.

14-8 Describe the various types of sales jobs.

A wide range of different types of sales jobs are available, each of which has different job

requirements and responsibilities. See Figure 14.3.

● An order taker is a salesperson who processes transactions the customer initiates. Many

retail salespeople are order takers, but often wholesalers, dealers, and distributors also

employ salespeople

● A technical specialist contributes considerable expertise in the form of product

demonstrations, recommendations for complex equipment, and setup of machinery. The

technical specialist provides sales support rather than actually closing the sale.

● A missionary salesperson whose job is to stimulate clients to buy. They promote the firm

and encourage demand for its goods and services but don’t actually take orders.

● The new-business salesperson is responsible for finding new customers and calls on

them

to present the company’s products. Order getters are the people most directly

responsible for a particular client’s business.

● A selling team consists of a salesperson, a technical specialist, someone from

engineering and design, and other players who work together to develop products and

programs that satisfy the customer’s needs.

14.9 What is relationship selling? How does it differ from transactional selling?

Relationship selling—a form of personal selling in which the salesperson seeks to develop a

mutually satisfying relationship with the customer so the parties can work together to satisfy

each other’s needs. This process tends to build long-term relationships.

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

Transactional selling—a form of personal selling that focuses on making an immediate sale

with little or no attempt to develop a relationship with the customer. This approach is often

associated with the hard sell or high-pressure selling process.

14-10 What is prospecting? What does it mean to qualify the prospect? What is the preapproach?

Why are these steps in the creative selling process that occur before you ever contact the

buyer so important to the sale?

Prospecting is the process of identifying and developing a list of potential customers, called

prospects or sales leads. Salespeople qualify prospects to determine how likely they are to

become customers. The preapproach consists of compiling background information about

prospective customers and planning the sales interview.

These steps are important, as a salesperson needs to be prepared. They need to learn as much

as possible about qualified prospects to not risk losing a sale.

14-11 What are some ways you might approach a customer? Explain how some types of

approaches work better in one situation than another.

The hard sell is a high-pressure process. Hard-sell tactics reflect transactional selling, an

approach that focuses on making an immediate sale with no concern for developing a long-

term relationship with the customer. This is a shortsighted approach, leaving customers

feeling manipulated and resentful. Relationship selling involves securing, developing, and

maintaining, long-term relationships with profitable customers.

14-12 What is the objective of the sales presentation? How might you overcome buyer

objections?

A sales presentation lays out the benefits of the product over the competition. The focus

should be on the ways the salesperson and products can add value to the customer.

Anticipating the objections and responding with additional information or persuasive

arguments can handle buyer objections. Salespeople should welcome objections because they

show that the prospects is at least interested enough to have considered the offer and weighed

its pros and cons.

14-13 Why is follow-up after the sale so important in relationship selling?

Follow-up allows the salesperson to bridge to the next purchase. Once a relationship

develops, the selling process is only the beginning.

14-14 What is the purpose of public relations? What is a crisis management plan? Describe

some of the activities that are part of PR.

PR seeks to build good relationships with organizations’ publics. PR is used to influence the

attitudes and perceptions of various groups. Proactive PR is designed to establish and

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

maintain an organization’s favorable image. A crisis management plan is a document that

details what an organization will do if a crisis occurs. It explains who the spokesperson will

be, how the organization will deal with the press, and what sort of messages will be

delivered.

The PR specialists must develop a campaign strategy that includes the following:

</para><itemizedlist mark=”bullet” spacing=”normal”><listitem><in</inst><paraA

situation analysis</para></listitem>

<listitem></inst><paA statement of objectives</para></listitem>

<listitem><ins</inst><para>Specification of target audiences (publics), messages to

be communicated, and specific program elements to be used</para></listitem>

<listitem><inst></inst>A timetable and budget</para></listitem>

<listitem><ins</inst><para>Discussion of how to evaluate the program

Public Relations Tactics

<itemizedlist mark=”bullet” spacing=”normal”><listitem><inst></inst><title></inst>The

most common way for PR specialists to communicate is by a <keyterm id=”ch13term52″

linkend=”gloss13_052″ preference=”0″ role=”strong”>press release</keyterm>. This is a report of

some event or activity that an organization writes and sends to the media in the hope that it

will be published free. Internal PR activities target employees; they often include company

newsletters and closed-circuit television to keep people informed about company objectives,

successes, or even plans to “downsize” the workforce. Often company newsletters also are

distributed outside the firm to suppliers or other important publics.

</para></listitem><listitem><inst></inst><title>Investor relations’ activities focus on

communications to those whose financial support is critical; this is especially vital for

</title><para><inst> publicly held companies. </para></listitem><listitem><inst>

</inst><title></inst><keyterm id=”ch13term53″

linkend=”gloss13_053″ preference=”0″ role=”strong”>Lobbying</keyterm> means talking

with and providing information to government officials to persuade them to vote a certain

way on pending legislation or even to initiate legislation or regulations that would benefit the

organization. <listitem><inst>An important job of a firm’s PR department is

s</inst><title>peech writing; specialists provide speeches for company executives to deliver.

While some executives do actually write their own speeches, it is more common for a

speechwriter on the PR staff to develop an initial draft of a speech to which the executive

might add his own input. </para></listitem><listitem><inst></inst><title></inst>PR

specialists also provide input on corporate identity materials, such as logos, brochures,

building design, and even stationery that communicates a positive image for the firm.

</para></listitem><listitem><inst></inst><title></inst>One of the tasks of the PR professional

is to develop close media relations to insure the organization will receive the best media

exposure possible for positive news, such as publicizing the achievements of an employee

who has done some notable charity work or for a product it developed that saved someone’s

life. Sponsorships</keyterm> are PR activities through which companies provide financial support to

help fund an event in return for publicized recognition of the company’s contribution. A

related task is to plan and implement special events.

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

14-15 What is guerrilla marketing? What is ambient advertising?

Organizations with tiny advertising budgets need to develop innovative and cheap ways to

capture consumers’ attention. Guerrilla marketing activities are an increasingly popular way

to accomplish this objective. No, this term does not refer to marketers making monkeys out

of themselves (that’s “gorilla marketing”). A guerrilla marketing strategy involves

“ambushing” consumers with promotional content in places where they do not expect to

encounter these messages. Ambient advertising is a popular type of guerilla marketing. This

term describes the placement of messages in nontraditional media

ACTIVITIES: APPLY WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED

14.16 Creative Homework/Short Project Many firms today are using a variety of

buzz-building activities to encourage word-of-mouth communication about their products.

Think about a business or place that you and your classmates might visit. You might, for

example, think about (1) a specialty coffee shop, (2) a night spot where you and your friends

might hang out on the weekends, or (3) a local theme or amusement park. For your selected

product, develop ideas for at least three different buzz-building activities. Outline the details

as to exactly how these activities would be implemented. Next, rank order the activities as to

which you feel would be the best and tell why you feel that way. Develop a report for your

class on your ideas.

The chapter nicely lists several different buzz-building activities. These word of mouth

(WOM) marketing messages are more credible and thus more valuable when unpaid

consumers create their own messages. Using the various examples of buzz-building

activities in the chapter, have the students brainstorm how they could develop ideas that

would create the buzz.

14.17 Creative Homework/Short Project Assume that you are a marketing consultant for one of

the clients in item 14.16 above. You believe that the client would benefit from

nontraditional marketing. Develop several ideas for social-media tactics that you feel

would be successful for the client.

Students will have fun with this exercise as they create “out-of-the-traditional box” buzz

and social-media examples of marketing techniques. Students should be encouraged to

share their ideas with classmates and then vote on the best ideas.

14.18 In Class, 10–25 Minutes for Teams In this chapter, we learned that marketers are

increasing their use of social media in their marketing communication strategies. Why is

this happening? What are some ways a university can use social media in their marketing

communication programs? How does your university use social media? What additions to

the current social media activities would you recommend for your university?

Students will enjoy brainstorming ways to use social media to communicate information

about their university. One idea is to use f-commerce (Facebook e-commerce). Major

word-of-mouth buzz among students can be achieved through Facebook. Students should

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

also discuss the following issues for social media:

Security: Keep it safe. It is e-commerce, after all.

Privacy: Let students know you won’t share their personal details.

Personal details: When you do collect personal details, keep it to a minimum.

Localization: If it’s available to a limited market, make sure this is clear.

Browser compatibility: Make sure your campaign works in all major browsers

While Facebook remains the most popular social media site for college students today,

many18- to 24-year-olds are moving away from it. Instead, they spend more time on

Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Snapchat, and Vine. Many students prefer to use their mobile

phones to access social media sites, receive and send e-mail, and otherwise interact on

social media. Students can share their experience with social media at their university and

recommend additions to current social media activities.

14.19 Creative Homework/Short Project You work for a direct marketing firm, and your client,

who owns a lawn mowing and landscaping service, has enlisted your help in using various

direct marketing approaches to reach out to potential customers. Consider carefully which

forms of direct marketing would be most effective for your client and why. Devise a short

presentation for your customer so that he can weigh the various options you recommend.

MyMarketingLab for answers to Assisted Graded Questions

14.20 Creative Homework/Short Project Think of the last time you interacted with a

salesperson, whether it was for a new tablet computer or a trendy pair of jeans. Identify the

type of salesperson you were interacting with and explain what this person did to fulfill that

particular role. Also identify whether this salesperson used a transactional selling approach

or a relationship selling approach. Was this approach appropriate for the purchase you were

considering? Why or why not?

Students can share their shopping experiences. Transactional selling focuses on making

an immediate sale with no concern for developing a long-term relationship with the

customer. Relationship selling involves securing, developing, and maintaining, long-term

relationships with profitable customers.

14.21 Creative Homework/Short Project Assume a firm that publishes university textbooks

(including this marketing textbook) has just hired you as a field salesperson. Your job

requires that you call on university faculty members to persuade them to adopt your

textbooks for their classes. As part of your training, your sales manager has asked you to

develop an outline of what you will say in a typical sales presentation. Write that outline,

including how you might handle a specific objective like “But this is the textbook we’ve

always used, and it’s always worked well for us.”

MyMarketingLab for answers to Assisted Graded Questions

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

14.22 Creative Homework/Short Project Your assignment for this project is to develop

recommendations for your university’s marketing communication program. First, schedule an

appointment with your university’s marketing communication or university relations

department to discuss their communication program. You will probably want to ask them

about the following:

The target audiences for their communication program

The objectives of their communication program

The different types of traditional and nontraditional communication methods they use

How they evaluate the effectiveness of their communication program(s)</LL>

Based on your discussions, develop a report that (1) provides a critique of the university’s

communication program and (2) makes recommendations for improvement.

Students will especially take interest in this activity, as it is such a high-involvement task

for them

14.23 In Class, 10–25 Minutes for Teams Assume that you are the head of PR for a regional

fast-food chain that specializes in fried chicken and fish. A customer has claimed that he

became sick when he ate a fried roach that was in his chicken dinner at one of your

restaurants. As the director of PR, what recommendations do you have for how the firm

might handle this crisis?

Ask the students to reread the sections on proactive PR and crisis management. If the

restaurant chain had a crisis management plan in place, the answers to the question could be

found there. If a plan does not exist, and the danger of negative publicity is evident, the goal

will be to manage the flow of information to address concerns so that stakeholders do not

panic. It will be necessary to handle this issue in a timely fashion.

►APPLY MARKETING METRICS

One of the important benefits of social media such as Facebook and Twitter is that they allow

marketers to easily learn what consumers are saying about their brand—and about the

competition. To better understand that process, you can go out to Twitter and conduct a little

detective work to see what consumers are saying about a brand:

14.24 Select a product type and particular brand of that product to study—it can be in any

product category you choose. If you are doing a marketing plan project for your marketing

course, you may use that product for this exercise. If not, choose a product type and brand

that you use and like, one that you might use and are curious about, or one that you dislike.

14.25 Go to Twitter.com. Search for you selected brand and see what is revealed. After you

have reviewed the results, provide a summary of the following information:

a. The number of tweets that are positive

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

b. The major aspects of your brand that people think are positive

c. The number of tweets that are negative

d. The major aspects of your brand that people think are negative

e. The number of tweets that ask questions.

Students should discuss whether the data they collect speak to the brand’s equity/strength in

the marketplace. For example, do bigger, global firms have more positive tweets than smaller

companies for any or all of the distinct categories listed above?

►CHOICES: WHAT DO YOU THINK?

14.26 Critical Thinking A woman sued Taco Bell for deceptive advertising, claiming its tacos

had far less beef than advertised. Taco Bell, understanding the potential damage to its brand,

immediately went on the defense and filed a countersuit. In addition, Taco Bell’s CEO posted

a video statement and essentially released its recipe for seasoned beef, which contains 88

percent beef that is 100 percent USDA inspected.

Was this enough for Taco Bell to do to avert a PR crisis? What else could they have done?

Students can discuss crisis management as applied to Taco Bell. Crisis management refers

to the process of managing a company’s reputation when some negative and often unplanned

event threatens the organization’s image. The goal is to manage the flow of information to

address concerns so that consumers don’t panic and distributors don’t abandon the product.

The best strategy is to be honest about the problem and to quickly take responsibility for

correcting it. PR professionals know that when a firm handles a crisis well, it can minimize

damage and help the company make things right. Thus, a vitally important role of PR is to

prepare a crisis management plan. This is a document that details what an organization will

do if a crisis occurs—who will be the spokesperson for the organization, how the

organization will deal with the press, and what sort of messages it will deliver to the press

and the public.

14-27 Critical Thinking There is increasing concern about consumer privacy on social networking

sites such as Facebook. How do you feel about privacy on social networks? Is allowing

personal information to be available to others without a user’s specific permission unethical?

Should the network owners do more to protect users’ privacy? Should there be greater

government regulation or should the sites be free to develop as they want to meet the needs of

users? How much responsibility should users accept in protecting their own private

information?

MyMarketingLab for answers to Assisted Graded Questions

14-28 Critical Thinking Have you ever “liked” a company or product page on Facebook? Why

did you do so? How often do you follow this company or product? Have you ever posted

comments? If so, what was the purpose of your comments? Do you feel the brand owner

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

communicates effectively with the brand community through this medium? Why or why not?

What could the brand owner do better?

Students can share their experiences on Facebook.

14-29 Ethics Many salespeople, especially those that sell financial products such as life

insurance or annuities, earn their salary or a portion of their salary based on the product(s)

they convince you to purchase. In addition, buyers are often uneducated about how the

sellers make their money and about the product(s) themselves. What are the ethical

obligations the seller has toward the buyer? Should the salesperson disclose how he or she

earns his or her money? Is it ethical for a salesperson to try to sell the buyer a product that

the salesperson receives a higher commission on? What responsibility does the buyer have

in such situations?

Students can discuss appropriate sales techniques. To some extent, hard sell organizations

still exist. The examples of encyclopedias, refrigerators, and televisions come to mind. In

general, organizations whose purpose is to sell to the consumer only once or a few times

use the hard sell technique. The hard sell technique may make consumers feel manipulated

and resentful.

Students can discuss whether professional salespeople are appropriately paid or

.salespeople do that warrants their compensation. You might begin the discussion by

sharing the average take-home wage of citizens in your state. You might find salaries of

other professionals to use as a basis of comparison. Once students have compensation

figures to relate to, the discussion will begin to flow.

14.30 Critical Thinking Recently, Twitter has joined other Internet sites in selling preferred

positions on the site to generate revenue. Do you feel that such revenue-generating

activities make sites such as Twitter less attractive? If you know that the top comments on a

site have their positions because firms paid for them, are you likely to change your use of

the sites? Are there other ways that an Internet site such as Twitter can generate revenue?

Because Twitter can be considered a “buzz-building” tactic, the element of sincerity

becomes paramount. One way to think about these questions is to consider the ethical

implications for companies using Twitter in potentially harmful ways:

Activities designed to deceive consumers.

Directing buzz marketing at children or teens.

Buzz marketing activities that damage property.

Stealth marketing activities that deliberately deceive or lie on behalf of clients.

14.31 Critical Thinking M-commerce allows marketers to engage in location commerce when

they can identify where consumers are and send them messages about a local store. Do you

think consumers will respond positively to this? What do you think are the benefits for

consumers of location commerce? Do you see any drawbacks (such as invasion of

privacy)?

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

This will be an interesting discussion for students, most of whom carry a cell phone. There

would be students how would want information from local stores, while others might feel

they only want information when requested. The benefits for consumers of m-commerce

are the freedom of obtaining information rapidly without the need for other devices.

14.32 Critical Thinking In general, professional selling has evolved from hard selling to

relationship selling. Do some organizations still use the hard-sell style? If so, what types?

What do you think the future holds for these organizations? Will the hard sell continue to

succeed—that is, are there instances in which transactional selling is still appropriate? If so,

when?

MyMarketingLab for answers to Assisted Graded Questions

14.33 Critical Thinking Some critics denounce PR specialists, calling them “flacks” or “spin

doctors” whose job is to hide the truth about a company’s problems. What is the proper role

of PR within an organization? Should PR specialists try to put a good face on bad news?

Students will probably have strong opinions about this question. In light of many of the

Internet and accounting scandals of the early 2000s, this issue has come to the forefront. To

balance the discussion, remind the students of the many good things PR does. Ask students to

think about their own university. Could it afford a major promotional effort? How does PR

help balance out the budget as well as spread good word?

The students can have fun with this even as a group exercises. Remind them to review the

chapter materials before their outline is developed. This would be an excellent in-class

presentation for credit. Please note—for expanded use for students, question 1 will

complement a larger project by applying timelines.

MINI-PROJECT: LEARN BY DOING

Miniproject 1

The purpose of this miniproject is to help you understand the advantages of following the

creative selling process:

14-34. With several of your classmates, create a new product in a category that most college

students buy regularly (e.g., toothpaste, shampoo, pens, pencils, soft drinks—anything that

interests you that might be sold through a drugstore like Walgreens). Make up a new brand

name and some creative features and benefits of the new product you come up with.

14-35. Assume you are a salesperson trying to sell your product to an organizational buyer like

Walgreens for adding to their product lines. Develop a plan for executing each of the steps in

the creative selling process. Make sure that you cover all the bases of how you would go

about selling your product.

14-36. Report on your plan to your class and ask the other students for feedback on whether your

approach will convince the Walgreens buyer to make a purchase. Alternatively, with a

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

classmate demonstrate your plan in a role-playing exercise.

Through these three questions, the groups will need to create a new product in a category that

most college students use on a routine base. Make up a new brand name and some creative

features and benefits of the new product. . This would be a great in-class or out-of-class

exercise for the students. They will develop the name, features and benefits of the product

and develop a plan for executing a sales call to a buyer at a Walgreens store. Finally, they

will report their selling plan to the class.

Instructors may wish to extend the deadline for this assignment so students have ample time

to complete the assignment and develop a report.

Miniproject 2

One of the more difficult parts of developing a marketing communication plan that includes a

variety of traditional and new media activities is coordination. This project will provide you with

an opportunity to explore the difficulties of this.

Assume you are the CMO for the Down Home Sausage Company. You are responsible for

developing a marketing communication plan for your firm’s new “grilling Sausage” product. You

have decided that your program could best be developed if it includes the following:

4. Traditional TV advertising

5. Outdoor billboard advertising

6. A buzz-building activity

7. An interactive brand website with a game, information about your product, and one or more

other interactive devices.

7. Digital advertising on various platforms.

8. Consumer sales promotion

9. Brand ambassadors

14-37 Design each of these communication program elements with detailed descriptions

including timing, and venues.

14-38 Each of these activities must be tied to the other activities. Now describe all of these

connections.

14-39 To be successful today, a firm must do more than just provide consumers with information.

Their marketing communication activities must engage the consumer, must provide something of

value (in addition to information about the product) and must make the customer’s life better.

Describe how your communication activities will do these things.

This would make an excellent small-group project. Students can develop a marketing

communication plan, and each group can present the plan to the entire class.

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

V. MARKETING IN ACTION CASE: REAL CHOICES AT

BURGER KING

Summary of Case

Burger King has an advertising budget only one-fourth the size of McDonald’s. As a result, BK

has followed the advice that social media can minimize the advantages of size. Good content

travels so powerfully that every year the playing field gets more level. And that’s exactly what

Burger King has done.

Recently, Burger King gained the attention of the media by asking its rival McDonald’s to join

together to make a McWhopper in support of World Peace Day. The new hamburger would

consist of six ingredients from each burger and be sold exclusively for one day at a pop-up shop

in Atlanta. Proceeds would go to charity, and the theme of the event would have been: “What

does peace taste like?” Television outlets focused on the proposal, and the story went viral on

social media. However, the offer was not warmly received by McDonald’s, and the event never

took place. Nevertheless, the McWhopper buzz generated $182 million in earned media exposure

and 8.9 billion media impressions for Burger king.

Although gaining customers’ attention is vital to brand success, that success can be fleeting.

Burger king will continue to be limited by its smaller promotion budget. Competition for

customers’ thoughts in the world of social media is fierce. And there’s no guarantee of buzz

turning into revenue growth.

Suggestions for Presentation

This case could be assigned for various online or in-class discussion activities.

Online

Go on the Burger King website www.burgerking.com

and search for sales jobs/careers. How appealing or unappealing does a sale position within this

company sound to you?

Go to a Burger King restaurant and interview a manager who works with Burger King’s

salespersons

In Class

Have the class do as a project a marketing-related SWOT analysis of Burger King and then make

recommendations for techniques salespersons at Burger King could employ.

You Make the Call

Chapter 14: Promotion II: Social Media, Direct/Database Marketing, and Personal Selling

14-40 What is the decision facing Burger King?

Students may come up with a number of different decisions that Burger King might make.

How should Burger King continue to engage customers? How does Burger King convert the

social media excitement around the King, the Burger king chain’s robed mascot, into revenue

growth? The main challenge facing Burger King is that competition is fierce.

14-41 What factors are important in understanding this decision situation?

The following factors are important in understand this decision situation:

Burger King has an advertising budget only one-fourth the size of McDonald’s.

The $1 million that Burger King paid for the stunt for the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight

was minuscule compared to what the company would have had to spend for a 30-second

Super Bowl ad and much more effective in terms of publicity.

The King’s appearance fee at Belmont Stakes horse race was $200,000 and once again

put Burger king in the spotlight of pop culture.

Although gaining customers’ attention is vital to brand success, that success can be

fleeting.

·Competition for consumers’ attention is fierce.

·There’s no guarantee of buzz turning into revenue growth.

14-42 What are the alternatives?

Students might recommend a variety of different marketing strategies. Some possibilities are:

·Do nothing. Just wait and see what happens. Burger King has a strong reputation in the

market.

·Create new ways to communicate with clients in addition to the sales personnel.

·Develop an advertising campaign aimed at both individual consumers and B2B

customers that publicizes Burger King’s commitment to customers, thus enhancing its

brand image.

·Develop more uses for the King.

14-43 What decision(s) do you recommend?

Students may focus on several of the alternatives developed. All of the above alternatives

have merit and potential pitfalls. Help students understand that Burger King must develop a

strong brand image to meet the competition in the snack market.

Part 4: Deliver and Communicate the Value Proposition

14-44 What are some ways to implement your recommendation?

Students may suggest various types of advertising, trade sales promotions, sales training

activities, and research depending on the decision recommended.

►MYMARKETING LAB

Go to mymktlab.com for Auto-graded writing questions as well as the following Assisted-

graded writing questions:

14-45 The manager of the training department at your marketing firm has asked you to help with

writing a training manual that describes the selling process. To begin, include some

information that describes why the creative selling process is so important. Then identify the

steps and include a summary of each. Finally, include a paragraph that describes the

importance of follow-up to the selling process.

14-46 What are the major differences between transactional selling and relationship?

WEB RESOURCES

Pearson Education, Inc.: www.mymktlab.com

Stylitics: www. stylitics .com

Consumer Review websites: www.consumerreview.com, www.epinions.com

Amazon website: www.amazon.com

Customer-Centric Business Strategy: www.customerthink.com

Lands End online catalog website: www.landsend.com/ecatalog/

LL Bean online catalog website: www.llbean.com

Burger King: www.burgerking.com

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