Transcript Sales and Service

C H A P T E R
8
Sales and Service
Chapter 8 Sales and Service
Objectives
• To define what sales is and what sales is
not
• To provide an overview of the various sales
methodologies used in sport business
• To analyze pricing techniques and
strategies as they relate to the sport
industry
(continued)
Sales
• The revenue-producing element of the
marketing process
• The process of moving goods and services
from the product producers into the hands
of those who will benefit most from their
use
• Involves the application of persuasive skills
• May be supported by print, audio, or video
messages designed to promote the product
or its brand as essential, the best, or
desirable
Factors That Cause Customers
to Perform or Fail to Perform
• Quality
• Quantity
• Time
• Cost
Traits of a Good Salesperson
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Belief in the product
Belief in yourself
Seeing many people (sales call volume)
Timing
Listening to the customer (but realizing that
what the customer wants is not necessarily
what she is telling you)
• A sense of humor
(continued)
Traits of a Good Salesperson (continued)
• Knocking on old doors
• Asking everyone to buy
• Following up after the sale with the same
aggressiveness you demonstrated before
the sale
• Common sense
What Is a Good Sales-Oriented
Organizational Structure?
• The reporting structure in an organization
• The relationships between departments that
are integral in the sales process
• The organizational style or philosophy with
regard to producing support materials used
in the sales process
(continued)
What Is a Good Sales-Oriented
Organizational Structure? (continued)
• The sales developmental process within the
department
• Determining the composition of the sales
force and the compensation mix for the
sales staff
Figure 8.3
Developing and Managing
a Sales Department
• Properly train the sales staff.
• The sales staff must have the resources
they need to accomplish the established
goals.
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of
the sales team or its individual members.
(continued)
Developing and Managing
a Sales Department (continued)
• Complement the various personalities and
styles of individual members to benefit the
team as a whole.
• Initiate an attractive incentive structure to
motivate the salesperson to achieve his or
her individual goals.
What Do Sport Teams Sell?
• Naming rights
• Electronic inventory
• Signage inventory
• Print inventory
(continued)
What Do Sport Teams Sell? (continued)
• Assets related to ticket sales
• Tickets and hospitality inventory
• Promotions inventory
• Community programs
• Miscellaneous
Direct Data-Based Sport
Marketing and Sales
• Database marketing involves the collection
of information about past consumers,
current consumers, and potential
consumers (see chapter 4).
• Sources for ticket database leads include
the following:
(continued)
Direct Data-Based Sport
Marketing and Sales (continued)
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Current season-ticket holders
Co-account holders (share season tickets)
Corporate
Partial-plan holders
Groups
Advance-ticket purchasers
Phone sales
Outlet ticket sales
Day-of-game walk-up
Sweepstakes or contest entries
Electronic media opt-ins
(continued)
Direct Data-Based Sport
Marketing and Sales (continued)
• Sport organizations should attempt to
collect contact data from every customer
who touches the product.
• Sport marketers must manage the database
and should test or measure the
responsiveness of customers to certain
database sales strategies.
– Lead scoring
Most Commonly Used
Sales Strategies
• Telemarketing
• Direct mail
• Personal selling
Characteristics of Direct Mail
• Direct mail is targeted.
• It is personal.
• It is measurable.
• It is testable.
• It is flexible.
Developing the Direct-Mail Offer
• Differentiating the product to be offered
from other products offered
• Offering options or variations of the product
to fit the price considerations and abilities
of the marketplace
• Providing an attractive range of benefits or
exclusivity
(continued)
Developing the Direct-Mail Offer
(continued)
• Using discounts, sales, refunds, coupons,
premium items, and other incentives to
enhance the perceived value of the offer
• Offering flexible payment or deferred
payment terms
• Offering a money-back guarantee
E-Mail Marketing
• Many of the principles of direct-mail
marketing can be applied to e-mail
marketing.
• E-mail and mobile marketing can be
precisely targeted and can show great ROI if
used well.
Direct Mail Can Be More Than an Offer
• Good sport marketers use direct-mail
marketing for more than soliciting product.
• They also use it to enhance the relationship
with consumers:
(continued)
Direct Mail Can Be More Than an Offer
(continued)
– Regular method of communication to keep the
customer informed
– Soliciting input, opinions, and feedback through
questionnaires, surveys, and chat rooms
– Showing accountability and expanding the
knowledge of the consumer with an annual report
– Thank-you correspondence
– Delivering invitations to special events and
opportunities
Personal Selling
• “Face-to-face selling is the art of
convincing, the use of learnable techniques
to close a transaction, and the application
of basic rules to show a prospect or
customer that you have something he or
she needs.” (Breighner, 1995)
• Rules for effective personal selling include
the following:
B. Breighner, Face-to-Face Selling (Indianapolis, IN: Park Avenue, 1995), x.
(continued)
Personal Selling (continued)
– Use data-based marketing.
– Let it be known that you are in sales and what you
are selling.
– Overcome objections and perceived barriers.
– Manage the conversation by being an effective
listener.
– Employ consultative selling.
– Build around strengths of product and service.
– Match the consumer with the appropriate product.
– Follow up.
(continued)
Innovative Selling Strategies
• Education can sell the fan base.
• Remember your packaging.
• Remember that fun is good.
• Couponing is not just for groceries and fast
food.
• Remember the profitability and effect of
group sales.
Pricing
• Price is a critical element in the marketing
mix for a number of reasons.
– Prices can be readily changed.
– In certain market conditions, price is one of the
most effective tools.
– Price is highly visible.
– Price is never far from the consumer’s mind.
Value
• Value is the quantitative measure of the
worth of the product.
• Satisfaction = Benefit − Cost
(continued)
Value (continued)
• Price does not equal cost.
– Travel
– Parking or public transportation
– Concessions
– Souvenirs
– Service charge or handling fees
Yield Management
• Employing a variety of pricing strategies to
ensure that the product, particularly tickets,
can be purchased by the broadest range of
potential buyers.
• Yield management includes not only pricing
but also packaging of tickets to ensure the
highest yield on the sale of the product.
(continued)
Yield Management (continued)
• Organizational buy-in.
• Understand the marketplace.
• Data, data, data.
• Understand the secondary market.
• Understand implications.
• Remember the fans.
Secondary Market
• Many consumers purchase tickets through
secondary sources (not the team) because
those sources offer a variety of prices, all
usually less than those of the team, which
has a higher cost of doing business.
• Some season-ticket buyers resell their
tickets in the secondary market to offset
costs or make money, which can be a
critical factor in the decision to purchase
season tickets in the first place.
Aftermarketing Defined
• Relationship after all the marketing and
sales efforts have been completed, a
purchase has been made, and the prospect
has become a customer.
• Thus, the relationship changes to one of
support and sustainability.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)
• Formula that helps a marketing manager
arrive at the monetary value associated with
the long-term relationship of any given
customer, revealing both the cost and the
net worth of that relationship over time.
– Season-ticket holder should be viewed not as a
$4,000 annual spend but as someone who could
spend at least that amount every year for the next
20 years ($80,000).
Figure 8.6
Aftermarketing
• The more valuable the customer is, the
more effort the staff must devote and
expend to retain that customer.
• Many sport organizations employ retention
teams to service current customers and
build relationships with them.
(continued)
Aftermarketing (continued)
• The cost of acquiring new customers far
outweighs the cost of retaining current
ones.
• To retain customers long term, sport
marketers should offer them benefits that
meet their needs.
(continued)
Aftermarketing (continued)
• The integral aspects of sport consumer
retention are satisfaction, utilization, and
enjoyment of the product purchased.
• Sport organization should continually strive
to improve the fan experience.
– Edu-selling
– Technology
(continued)
Aftermarketing (continued)
• Customer service and retention programs
should encompass the following:
– Offer customized or personalized customer
contact and treatment
– Conduct regular customer satisfaction surveys
or audits
– Create and sponsor special events or activities
for preferred customers
(continued)
Aftermarketing (continued)
– Maintain a database of current customers and
defectors
– Create a website with special content and
features for members
– Produce a newsletter and distribute that content
on a regular basis
– Offer frequency incentive programs
(continued)
Aftermarketing (continued)
– Conduct stakeholder meetings or luncheons to
gather feedback
– Create special members-only events to
demonstrate and show appreciation
– Provide special access to players and other
organizational assets that are not available to
the public