When I worked in Tata Tea Ltd, as a Sales Incharge for Chennai market, we used to have monthly review meetings with all the brand managers. I used to enjoy the debates and discussions with these managers. We present on the declining SKU(Stock Keeping Units)- Market combinations and push hard for a local promotion. Bringing conviction to my argument used to be a challenge. Because, the marketers always think that running a local promotion is such a waste;rather they're bent on using it in TV commercails are some other mass communication. We as a sales team used to fight hard and the entire meeting will be almost like a blood bath.
Here is the reconciliation of the difference in perspective of a sales person and the marketer.
For a sale person who handles the distribution channel( distributors, and the retailers) this local promotions like trade discounts, distributor incentive, qunatity purchase schemes will give an edge to go to market and occupy the shelf with irrevocable authority. It gives him something to push the product. After all what is there in job if he doesn't enjoy any discretion to operate schemes to covert hostile customers. If it is not there, then his job is just a day-to-day sales management and grievance management. That will be totally boring. I swear. Also you need to encourage the channel constantly. Otherwise we'll pay the price for it.
But then people in the other end of the world, read as marketing managers, think spending for Local promotions is of no use as any sort of trade push just helps in "advancing sales". What's the point in spending for advancing sales. As a brand manager he is interested in the long term benefits and not the budget achievement for a month or even a quarter. So he always refuses to allocate money for LPA(Local Promotion Activities). He is rather more inclined to spending that money on TV commercials and other mass promotions which will create brand awreness and placate the hostile end consumers. This will not only increase the OTC(Over the counter) enquiry but also ends up in repeat sale if the first time buyer finds the product useful.
Here we go. I leave it to the prospective marketers to decide which approach is right........
I'm stuck between.............
No.1 - those u mentioned as local activities like trade discounts, distributor incentive etc are sales schemes which r funded by the sales budget of a region. Marketing guys loves to spend money in BTL activities. but those activities should result in incremental secondary and treasury sales. Being a marketer, my views are long term and i spend 70% in mass communications. but all my markets dont share a common characteristic. hence i need to put BTL in place in key markets month after month inconjuction with sales. to sum up - marketing is a combination of both ATL & BTL. Only the ratio of contribution differs from company to company. Afterall one should have a clear understanding of what is the difference between sales 'promotion' and sales 'scheme'.
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