Introduction
In today’s competitive market arena, firms’ main aim is to surpass their competition by capitalizing on every emerging opportunity and gaining an edge over competitors. Personal selling is an activity undertaken by firms at large to ensure active engagement by their clientele and creating demand for their products. The paper explores some of the characteristics of personal selling that should be adopted by sales force in order to influence buyers in a crowded marketplace and direct them towards the firm’s products. The report discusses the selling process of the star projector lamp DIY (do it yourself) product; manufactured and marketed by Abbotsford Burnaby Inc.
Industry Information
Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. incorporated in Toronto, Canada; the company manufactures the Star Projector Lamp DIY and largely operates in the toy industry. The Canadian toy industry has gone through an evolution process, similar to that of its western counterparts, and it is advancing continuously. Due to technological advancements, the toy industry experienced immense growth; it now produces better and innovative products as compared to the previously manufactured remote controlled and self-operating toys. Among the few notable technological innovations are the animated video games software, installed in electronic devices and gadgets, remote controlled robots and power steered flying objects.
The Star Projector Lamp DIY in the late 20th century is another such invention. The product is popular among children, and it is also widely used by young adults. The toy industry in Canada can enjoy a market characterized by an ever–increasing demand for toys. The high demand sustains growth in the entire industry.
Survey findings demonstrate that Canadian households with a child own at least one type of toy, as a result during Christmas festivities the industry was able to earn up to 500 billion Canadian dollars. (Weitz,1999).
Company (seller) Information
In its earlier years, Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. specialized in the manufacture and marketing of lighting gadgets and their associated electronic accessories. Since Canadian society has high a standard of living and the required purchasing power, the company was able to meet the requisite demand for toys. Consequently, Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. has been in business owing to factors such as high local demand and few exports to the neighboring American markets. Because the company belonged to a highly dynamic market, it consistently needed to modify and improve its existing products through innovation. Customer sensitivity and the need to be at par with the technological advancements drove the company towards success.
Canadian consumers’ needs have increasingly become complex. In the early 2000s, the Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. introduced the Star Projector Lamp DIY in its product line. It was easy for a company to use the existing production and organizational systems to produce a new product as it was compatible with the current equipment and production systems.
Introduction of the Star Projector Lamp DIY in the ever flourishing toy market proved to be a step in the right direction, the company started to experience sales growth just after the new product development. Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. has steadily expanded its employee base to more than 500 workers. The company’s human resources consist of mixed professionals ranging from electrical engineers to front line salespeople whose job is to reach out to wholesalers. The company’s brand speaks volume on credibility and reliability; the Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. has become a trusted business partner in a market where there are many fake product offerings. Not only does the company offers good quality, but it sells its products at reasonable prices, which offers its customers good value for money (Borden, 1994).
Prospect (buyer) Information
With over 60 years of experience in the Canadian toy industry, Toy Us Company has been a major market player ever since and has gained decent market share by offering product solutions to cater to emerging customer needs, hence guaranteed customer satisfaction.
The company has retail shops in metropolises and major municipalities of the Canadian provinces. Being one of the first class retailers, Toy Us Company has various suppliers both locally and abroad, largely from the selected United States producers. With their main objective being to maintain a one stop toyshop, the purchasing company procures toy products from its few trusted suppliers, which gives it exceptional quality products and appreciation from customers and clients. As a result, the Toy Us Company enjoys a great deal of popularity which enables it to attract quality and sustainable market following. Quality assurance is the area that is most stressed by the company and becomes an integral part of the company’s operations, which serves to be a competitive advantage for the firm and led to stock buying decisions by the top level management. The company uses a value based criteria for supplier selection, it ensures that the products that it buys are of superior quality and are worth the money (McLaren, 2000). An important consideration then involves the personal selling personnel to demonstrate that the toy supply is constant and reliable, to the executives. The final say lies with the top management in recruiting the suppliers.
The personal selling staff must always approach the managers and quality control specialists who would recommend suppliers to the top level decision making bodies. The Star Projector Lamp DIY product can be put to various uses, it is used by young adults, couples and even children below the age of 12; moreover, it can also be used as a decoration item during celebrations and festivities. One major problem with their product offering is poor choice of raw materials, such as the nylon cloth covering, prolonged exposure to heat and light may gradually damage the material, which would wear off prematurely (Weitz, 1999).
Product/Service Information
The Star Projector Lamp DIY product from the Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. offers unique, differentiated features that guarantee solutions to meet consumer needs. Since the core customer needs in the Star Projector Lamp DIY contain romantic interiors for the couples and appealing astronomical lighting for the children’s’ rooms, amid others, the producer consistently addresses the solutions. To ensure the romantic atmosphere for couples, the Star Projector Lamp DIY is projected to produce varied lighting features across appealing light spaces from the nylon covering. The compound bulbs that emit varied colored lights permit contrasting light color creation. To make sure that the product outdoes the homegrown and supplementary inexpensive alternatives, the Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. uses good quality light bulbs, these are installed on stable holders and reliable related components.
The extraordinary quality lighting skill, together with an appealing product finishing, are among the features that differentiate the Star Projector Lamp DIY from Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. Alternatively, the product design that emits astronomic-like stars, heavenly bodies, etc. appeals to children in both entertainment and learning centers. Clearer and elevated quality lighting and glossy product finishing are amid the features that make children favor the Star Projector Lamp DIY over Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. The fair product pricing strategy that is utilized by the producer enables the retailers and supplementary reseller stakeholders to define their final retail benefits at competitive levels. After the clients order in bulk, the price worth each unit falls under the range from 10 to 13 Canadian dollars, which allows the retailer to choose its benefits below the 22 Canadian dollars average marketplace price. (McClaren, 2000)
Competitor Information
Focalprice.com incorporated in Alberta is the main competitor alongside comparable product offerings. By focusing largely on the reseller entities, the firm uses the Abbotsford Burnaby Inc.’s model. By making use of the current channels in the retailer web, the competitor products reach out to wide to Canadian geographical regions. The fact that the Focalprice.com went in the toy industry somewhat later than the Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. gives the latter a competitive advantage in the market. (Smith et al., 2004).
Although the Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. enjoys a somewhat larger market share, which currently is at 32 percent of the entire Canadian Toy market, the inexpensive product offerings give the competitor a frontier that has allowed it to earn some more percentage points ranging from 25 to 28. Though, the credibility and integrity that is comes with the Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. brand’s name serves as an advantage to sustain its position in the market and make competitors’ entry in the market difficult. However, on the other hand, the Focalprice.com fails to meet the quality and consistent supply benchmarks, which are set by the respected retailers like Toy Us Company. Thereby, it offers the Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. a competitive edge above its alternative suppliers in the swarming Canadian toy market. The benefits due to appealing pricing and credit terms to the retailers by Focalprice.com are lost owing to inconsistent supply and unreliable product quality. Unlike its main competitor, because of its trust, faith and brand loyalty, the sales turnover by the Abbotsford Burnaby Inc. products maintained at adequate levels that guarantee continued business and operations for the retailers. Concisely the appealing features that go along with Focalprice.com product offerings are reversed by insubstantial brand and marketplace position, amongst additional features (Borden, 1994).
Conclusion
References
Borden, N. H. (1994). The concept of the marketing mix. Journal of advertising research, 4(2), 2-7.
McClaren, N. (2000). Ethics in personal selling and sales management: A review of the literature focusing on empirical findings and conceptual foundations. Journal of Business Ethics, 27(3), 285-303.
Smith, T. M., Gopalakrishna, S., & Smith, P. M. (2004). The complementary effect of trade shows on personal selling. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 21(1), 61-76.
Weitz, B. A. (1999). A critical review of personal selling research: the need for contingency approaches. Critical Issues in Sales Management: State-of-the-Art and Future Research Needs, 76-126.
