Cultural Models of Value Perception and Experiences - Essay Example

? BUSINESS TO BUSINESS MARKETING Table of Contents Introduction 3 The Sales Force and Value creation 4 Retention Engagement Theory (RET) 5 Service Dominant Logic 5 Construal-level theory 6 Cultural models of value perception and experiences 6 Conclusion 11 References 13 Introduction Business is an integral part of life since it ensures that customers obtain the services and products they want and need. To diversify the means of ensuring that they can be able to provide the goods and services that are not within their reach so as to retain their customers, businesses had to device ways to meet their objectives and goals, thus business to business marketing emerged as a classic method to meet this. Blocker et al., (2012) asserts that the sales force is the driving force that plays an integral part of ‘translating customers’ voice back into the firm’. Needless to say that without an apt sales force, the business is deemed to fail. Thus on that premise, this paper strives to shed light on the importance of the sales force to promote service delivery by SPSL, identify available options regarding organization of this sales force, give a critical evaluation of the extent to which relationship available and business networks likely to enable SPSL to establish a new office and discusses in details the differences between business to business and business to consumer marketing elucidating merits and demerits. This is believed to enable the company to maintain the B2B relations by providing satisfactory services to both businesses and consumers. This is of great importance since Blocker and associates reiterated that the sales force are in a suitable position to not just recognize and manage individual customer profitability and cost, but they too play an integral part in influencing repeat purchase, increase share-spending as well as shape numerous strategic outcomes that could help firms appropriate greater value. The Sales Force and Value creation As aforementioned salespeople play an integral role in the growth and development of any business since they are the one often in touch with the customer. Researches on business have often times dominated on the how to increase sales by increasing customer satisfaction, trust and loyalty, yet, the sales force which plays a pivotal role in any business have received limited research, (Blocker et al.,p.5,FitzHugh & Piercy 2009). Blocker and their team remarked that even theories regarding customer value such as axiology, mean-end theory, the service profit chain and the social exchange have all neglected the salespeople. They therefore highlight that the sales force is the heart of the business has they define customer requirements, deploy products as well as supporting the deployment of effective business strategies they employ. Kaufmann and Roesch (2012) also remarked that for the emerging marketing firms (EMFs) to gain a competitive market advantage, they need to explore how they can pursue building and deployment of marketing capabilities, which Blocker and associates offered that the sales force is tin a prime position to do that. Peter and Havey as lead directors of SPSL need not only to improve the general marketing expertise of the sales force but also to identify and improve specific marketing expertise of the salespeople that will enable the firm to tailor its resources appropriately to the demands, habits and characteristics of their target group in that country,(Kaufmann &Roesch,p.11). In the quest to expound the importance of the sales force strategic place in the business to business marketing, Blocker and his group (p.8-10) discussed the following theories regarding salespeople and business that may be of importance for the SPSL firm to employ in its sales force. Retention Engagement Theory (RET) They postulated that RET engages on retaining customers by offering valuable services and products, thus value was proposed as the ‘motivational force experience’ where desired or undesired forces such as positive or negative value for someone correspond with felt attraction or repulsion experiences. Since the sales force is one that is always in contact with the clients, they can use the engagement strength to achieve the firm’s goals. This is crucial because once the salespeople know the positive, negative or countervailing influences of engagement; they will be in a better position to handle clients unlike when they are ambidextrous of their past experiences of handling customers. In addition, it will enable the executives to know how customers perceive their sales force, whether as easing or impeding their goals and how such experiences can warm or cool customers’ level of relational engagement across the firms. Service Dominant Logic This theory emphasizes on value co-creation processes for customers, suppliers and other stakeholders. It elucidates the importance of enacting individuals’ roles across the firm thus exchanging learning, sharing the multifaceted motivation, resource sharing across contexts which eventually enable the sales force gain skills that enable them to map customers’ desires through such encounters to effective supplier processes thus avoiding what Villano Matt (2011) warns that ‘the minute a customer calls credibility into question, that customer will start shopping somewhere else’. Where the salespeople share information, multifaceted motivation mechanisms, they may develop acquire skills that will enable them to explore niche markets where customers relationships with be fosters thus encourages conducive environment for the business growth and development. Construal-level theory The construal-level theory bases it argument on abstractness used to represent how an object can be conceptualized in an individual’s mind in relations to forms of psychological spatial distance. The authors reiterate that such a model should demonstrate increasing relevance in contexts where the sales force will be able to identify and co-create useful sustainable solutions for customers. This is because the concept has been used to gain greater understanding in global selling situations where sales team navigate higher degrees of social and spacial distance to build trust and foster customer loyalty. The theory thus proposes that there is need to explore how sales force can craft optimal value propositions that deal with varying levels of ambiguity for customers. Cultural models of value perception and experiences This theory seeks to find how the determinants of value in sales force influence customer interaction. It argues on the premise that cultural models always reflect on subsets of cognitions shared among people that are significant in influencing everyday life thus it can serve as a cognitive resources and templates that people navigate the world around them. It therefore demonstrates that three culturally instated models namely relations, oppositional or opponent and utilitarian serves to enable the buyers and salespeople handle the expectations, assumptions, perception of trust which influence satisfaction and loyalty and value which are fundaments in shaping personal histories, socio-cultural surroundings and life experiences. The SPSL firm therefore should explore shared cultural models between the customers and the sales force to identify relation engagements that foster or impede the value customers seek from the transaction. This too should be an avenue where the sales force as well as the firm can gain a richer understanding concerning the array of cultural models enacted by business buyers and sellers to accelerate progress towards more complete understanding of buyers’ true needs and bases for valuation in business purchase situation. Following these theories, the SPSL will be able highlight the sales force critical role so as to equip it with the right skills and knowledge that enables them to play the roles of value creation, where they will be able to coordinate efforts closely with customer needs and specifications and build specific value into the relationship. Equipped with skills and knowledge, the salespeople also will be able to participate in an integral sales team where they can facilitate transaction and relationship with much ease as well as effect participation which involves sharing information within the firm and with the customers. The SPSL should attune its sales force to vertical markets and industries to stay current on trends and regulations affecting those segments e.g. government, health care and education. Indeed there is a need for the firm as it employs the sales force to identify areas of friction in order to avoid problems arising between the salespeople and the marketing since these are two functions that are quite similar, notes FitzHugh and Piercy (p.6). The firm therefore can adopt the relationship marketing (RM) as its premise which focuses on building not only a good relationship within the sales staff but also the sales force relations with the customer, (Theron and Terblanche, p.2) since the RM concept covers a variety of constructs such as interrelation, networks, building long-term interaction as well as interactive marketing which SPSL should aim for it to optimize its sales force potential. Furthermore, Theron and Terblanche (p.5) explain that the relationship marketing strives to take care of importance dimensions which Blocker and his group earlier reiterated that for the B2B to fully realize profits as well as a competitive edge in marketing it must strive for, since they give an upper hand by serving as triggers for a better relationship. These are trust, communication, commitment as well as satisfaction. Trust is what makes sales force play a pivotal role as trusted salespersons is that one who communicates to his fellow staffs as well as the customers and being committed to their work thus they always strive to offer the best to their customers. This showed that many scholars agreed upon that trust is a central construct to building a successful service relationship and the other aforementioned relationship variables when amass by the sales force, enables to conceives tremendous deliverables, (Theron & Terblanche 2010). Therefore, for the SPSL to establish its office in Manchester the relationships variables and business networks it should aim at are trust, customization –where you tailor the customer knowledge towards providing their requirements and needs thus satisfaction which foster loyalty and strong bonds all of which are key elements of RM discussed above which create a long-term marketing relationships. To maintain this business relationship there is need to build mutual trust. Since SPSL has been operating in the UK and that it has been reacting in a timely manner (within three hours) to local customer needs this is an added advantage that can enable the firm to develop new markets faster than its competitors thus a vital marketing strategy for its survival,(Lee Ruby 2010). And for it to survive, SPSL has to adopt a proactive marketing strategic posture that allows introducing more novel product and distinguishable services than its rivals through product innovation strategy. Since they are a proactive firm, SPSL can enter into the electronic B2B to be able to diversify its business avenue as well as be able to advertise for its services online, thus be able to cope with the environmental turbulences in their local markets, (Grewal, Chakravarty & Saini 2010, p.7 & 12, Lee Ruby 2010 p.2). SPSL network will definitely involve its headquarters be it in the current location , subsidiary, and the extent of relational ties formed among its various business units that make the network strength since by taking into account the direct and indirect influences of its current B2B network strength, the firm’s success requires support from other B2B units. Lee Ruby (p.2) remarked that it is important for a firm to tap into its source of knowledge and information embedded in its network in order to build a strong marketing capability. Also Lee observed that the Multinational Companies (MNCs) network strengths may provide additional resources to support marketing strategic postures, SPSL though is worried of having limited resources may benefit from the MNC resources as it develop new networks strengths. The firm thus has to concentrate on developing its market responsiveness as it is a desirable strategy since it requires the firm to use existing knowledge to react to changes in local markets and when market turbulence increases the firm will be able to increase its marketing responsiveness hence keep its competitors at bay. And since the firm is providing plumbing services, it should focus on technological turbulence where it can provide newly but durable plumbing products. According Yoo, Choudhary and Mukhopadahyay (2011 p.4) technology capability is of huge significance in B2B as it helps in moderating variables hence an area that requires there firm to fully exploit. Yoo and group further expound that a B2B e-commerce gave positive results on different firms, thereby indicating that it can influence growth of markets. The market responsiveness that emphasizes timely response to local competitors and customers through the use of existing knowledge could be an attractive marketing strategy that SPSL can employ. It need to exploit alternative markets for its existing products faster than its counterparts in order to extend its product life cycle to the untapped markets to not only increase its competitive advantage but also to create an array of network strengths. Although SPSL involves a wide range of commercial organizations, once it develop strong networks that promote more communication and interaction it will be able to overcome the geographical constrains between them, thus Lee Ruby (p.5) asserts that building stronger relational ties and interaction with other units of the same network the firm will be able to obtain resources it lacks from the network as well as acquiring multiple market knowledge hence guide to evaluate its particular market conditions hence be able to deal with its environmental challenges. The SPSL can use humor in its advertising of its products and services as it has been seen to increase advertising memorability and customer attention,(Laroche et al.,2011,p.3) and when ‘you consider your customers as the top priority, targeting your messages to their lifestyle certainly make sense,’ offers Villano Matt(2011). According Yoo, Choudhary and Mukhopadahyay (2011 p.21) the employment of both public and private B2B market channels for instance, DimlerChrysler and GM who were founding partners in Covisint yields high result unlike when the two firms invested chose to invest in private public channels. This indicates that the B2B marketing channel has an advantage over the B2C. Also the aforementioned authors showed that B2B of imperative importance as it ensure that customers get varieties of products unlike B2C where it specializes on consumer goods only. To maintain this, B2B relationship, the firm needs not only to focus on developing customer loyalty but also firm’s brand. Muylle, Dawar and Rangarajan (2012 p.13) offered that including brand architecture in B2B is very important as support platform for the sales force hence the B2B marketing channels need to develop such brands since they also act as impetus to customer satisfaction. And diversify its marketability he firm can follow the examples of Automatic Data Processing, a global leader in business outsourcing solutions to come up with a simple methodology that should ease the work of its sales force by simplifying steps for buying activities e.g. ‘recognize need,’ ‘evaluate options’, ‘validate and select a solution’ along with recommended actions that the enable sales force to guide the customer, (Adamson, Dixon & Toman 2012 p.9). Conclusion The business-to-business channel has received much attention in recent decades. This is because this model of business has shown that the reference price effect exist in B2B transactions, not only in quantity purchased but also in transaction pricing outcomes as compared to B2C (Bruno, Che & Dutta 2012). This transaction focuses on many aspects for it to be able to optimize profits as well as obtaining a competitive market advantage. Key of the elements it uses is its sales force. This is because the salespeople play an integral role in a business. The key roles sales force play includes defining customer requirements, deploying products and supports the deployment. In business markets the sales force are in a position to recognize when the additional value can be leveraged to greater firm benefit as well as identify cases of imbalances in value creation. There is a need for any firm to utilize the potential of its sales force to fully attain maximum profits. The SPSL firm therefore once it employs the sales force should train it to provide them with the requisite skills as well as compensation and rewards systems to encourage such activities to be able to build trust and highly relationship with customers. Thus arming the salespeople with required knowledge to manage customer equity. It is imperative too to employ the theories and paradigms that should enable the managers to equip the sales force with the right information and knowledge which eventually will help them to handle customers appropriately. These theories include the Retention Engagement Theory (RET), the Service Dominant Logic theory, the Construal-level theory and the Cultural models of value perception and experiences. They elaborate the main dimensions required for a salesperson who can build mutual trust with customers. Key among them are trust, communication, commitment satisfaction all of which foster customer loyalty and are very crucial for building of strong bonds with clients hence long –term relationships. According to findings from this paper, the SPSL Company in addition to training its sale force, it should brand its product as branding was found to be a support platform that enhance the salespeople’s work as well a value addition for the good and services. Firms therefore can achieve a competitive advantage across different institutional settings by building and deploying marketing capabilities through mutual customer trust which foster lasting relationships. References Adamson, B, Dixon, M & Toman, N 2012, ‘The end of solution sales,’ Harvard Business Review, pp.9 Blocker, CP, Cannon, JP, Panagopoulos, NG & Sager, JK 2012, ‘The role of the sales force in value creation and appropriation: New direction for research,’ Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management, PSE National Education Foundation, winter, vol. XXXII, no.1 Bruno, H, Che, H & Dutta, S 2012, ‘Role of reference price on price and quantity: Insights from business-to-business markets,’ Journal of Marketing Research, American Marketing Association. 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