Marketing
Myths:
MYTH:
Sales and Marketing are the same.
FACT: Sales
and Marketing are two distinct but interdependent branches of the
same discipline, properly called Marketing. Marketing-- and its
elements of promotion, distribution, pricing and product design--determines
target customers given a company's products and objectives, assuring
strategic balance between product value and customer needs. Sales--part
of the promotion and distribution elements of marketing--communicates
the value message directly to the customer. Sales educates the customer,
answers key questions, and builds long-term relationships. Marketing
without effective salesmanship squanders opportunity. Salesmanship
without effective marketing creates frustration, unnecessary expense
and wasted time.
MYTH: Price
determines customer purchasing habits.
FACT: A strong
brand reputation and perceptions of long-term value can determine
purchasing habits much more strongly than price. Companies with
strong brands and reputations typically command product prices of
25 to 100% more than generic equivalents. This is called "brand
equity."
MYTH: The
customer is always right.
FACT: The
customer is often confused about his or her needs and desires, or
misreports them. For example, television viewers consistently report
that they desire more educational content even though this programming
category is one of the least watched and survives mainly through
non-commercial channels.
MYTH: A larger
sales force means more sales.
FACT: Without
proper organization according to the realities of size of sale,
sale frequency, customer characteristics, and geography, a larger
sales force can reduce profitability by costing more dollars to
the company than the incremental amount of sales created by additional
staff.
MYTH: If the
existing product line produces a profit, the line must be sufficient
to meet the company's goals.
FACT: Even
if the product line shows profitability, one or more products may
be causing costly service problems or generating unnecessary costs.
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