Which one of the following is true about the role of sales force/personal selling?
Personal selling is interpersonal arm of promotion mix
Personal selling is the interpersonal arm of the promotion mix — option 2, Kotler’s exact phrase. Each of the other three states the opposite of a standard fact.
| Option | What it claims | The truth |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Consists largely of non-personal communication with large groups | That is advertising. Personal selling is person-to-person communication |
| 3 | Less effective than advertising in complex selling situations | More effective — complexity is precisely where a salesperson beats an advertisement, because he can probe, explain and answer objections |
| 4 | The sales force is not allowed to adjust the offer to each customer | Adaptation is its chief advantage; an advertisement cannot be varied for the individual buyer |
The three distinctive qualities of personal selling that justify its cost :
| Quality | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Personal confrontation | A live, immediate, interactive relationship in which each party observes the other and can adjust at once |
| Cultivation | Relationships can be built and deepened over time, from a selling relationship to a genuine partnership |
| Response | The buyer feels some obligation to respond, if only to say no — no advertisement compels that |
Where it is used. Personal selling is the most expensive element of the promotion mix per contact, so it is concentrated where its advantages pay: industrial and high-value markets, few and large buyers, technically complex products, and the later stages of the buying process — conviction, purchase and after-sale service. Advertising is more efficient in the earlier stages of awareness and interest and in consumer markets with many small buyers. The two are complements: advertising opens the door, the salesperson closes.
The dual role of the salesperson is worth adding: he carries the company to the customer, and he brings market intelligence — needs, complaints, competitors’ moves — back to the company.
Hence, the answer is option 2.
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:
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Statement-II: A company may run multiple ad campaigns at the same time, each emphasizing different aspects of its brand and service.
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Indicate the correct code matching the items in List - I with those in List - II as follows:
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According to the ‘two-step flow’ concept, messages should be targeted to
Important Questions from Promotion decisions
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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
- Select the correct sequence for Hierarchy-of-effects model related to marketing communication :
The major advantage of the direct mail marketing is :
- Match the items of List – I with the items of List – II and select the correct code.
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Codes :
