Given below are two statements : one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R). Assertion (A) : Generally, the customers consider the sales force as the representative of the company. Reason (R) : Often, the company’s sale force works directly with the customers. In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below :
Both (A) and (R) are correct and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
Both are correct, and the reason explains the assertion — option 1.
The logic. For most customers the salesperson is the only person from the company they ever meet. Advertising is impersonal and remote; the factory, the head office and the management are invisible. The sales representative calls, listens, quotes, negotiates and follows up — and so, in the customer’s mind, he is the company. R gives the cause, direct personal contact; A states its consequence, that the customer identifies the two. That is a genuine explanatory link.
The salesperson’s double role. This is the point the pair of statements is really making :
| Direction | What the salesperson does |
|---|---|
| Company → customer | Carries the company’s offering, terms and reputation; his conduct is the company’s conduct as the customer experiences it |
| Customer → company | Brings back intelligence about needs, complaints, competitors’ moves and market conditions — the firm’s eyes and ears |
Why personal selling is used despite its cost. It is by far the most expensive element of the promotion mix per contact, but it has three properties nothing else has :
| Property | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Personal confrontation | A live, immediate, interactive relationship, in which each side observes the other |
| Cultivation | Relationships can be built and deepened over time |
| Response | The buyer feels an obligation to respond, if only to say no |
That is why personal selling dominates in industrial and high-value markets and in the later stages of the buying process — conviction, purchase and after-sale — while advertising is more efficient in the earlier stages of awareness and interest, and in consumer markets with many small buyers.
The management consequence. Because the salesperson embodies the company, sales-force selection, training, supervision, motivation and evaluation are treated as marketing decisions, not merely personnel ones; and a poorly behaved representative damages the brand in a way no advertisement can repair.
Hence, the answer is option 1.
Similar Questions
The major advantage of the direct mail marketing is :
On which one of the following, the corporate advertising concentrates ?
For the following two statements indicate the correct code :
Statement - I : Advertising is any paid form of personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.
Statement - II : Sales promotion consists of most long-term incentive tools, designed to stimulate greater purchase of particular products or services by consumers or the trade.
Code :
Match the items of List - I with the items of List - II and select the correct code of matching :
List - I (Advertising Agencies) List - II (Clients) (a) Ogilvy and Mather Ltd (i) HDFC (b) JWT Hindustan Thompson Associates (ii) Coca-Cola (c) Mudra Communications (iii) Vodafone (d) McCann- Erikson India Ltd (iv) Nestle Code :
The major advantage of the direct mail marketing is:
Statement-I: In developing advertising programme marketing managers must always start by identifying the target market and buyer motives.
Statement-II: A company may run multiple ad campaigns at the same time, each emphasizing different aspects of its brand and service.
Which of the following is not a deciding factor for the Advertising Budget out of the given options?
Indicate the correct code matching the items in List - I with those in List - II as follows:
List - I List - II a. Competitive parity in advertising i. Variations in advertising b. Promotional elasticity of product ii. Advertising scheduling c. Optimal promotion mix iii. Advertising expenditure d. Pulsing advertising iv. Marginal equivalence of advertising media outlay Use of mail, telephone and other non-personal contact tools to communicate with, or solicit a response from, specific customers and prospects is called:
According to the ‘two-step flow’ concept, messages should be targeted to
Important Questions from Promotion decisions
Which of the following will fall under the grievances relating to promotion category?
A. Supersession
B. Increments
C. Acting promotions
D. Seniority
E. Pay fixation
Choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:
- ________ is a marketing term for any design to prompt an immediate response or encourage an immediate sale.
- Emotional appeal is one of the types of advertising appeals, based on three ideas, namely
A. Rational appeals generally go unnoticed
B. Consumers watch all ads
C. It can capture attention and foster an attachment
D. Consumers ignore most ads
E. Rational appeal generally gets noticed
Choose the correct answer from the options given below - Assertion (A): Movie stars and sporting heroes are popularly used as Brand ambassadors.
Reason (R) : Attractive communicators (sources) are more effective in persuading for change than unattractive ones.
Codes : Advertising method in which a commercial is broadcast simultaneously on several radio stations and/or television channels is known as
