Discussion – Sales and Marketing

Discussion – Sales and Marketing

Introduction

The sales and marketing department intends to present a comprehensive plan for its proposed strategies toward the achievement of the main goal. As stated in the CEO’s memorandum to all managers, Atha Corporation’s goal is to double its sales in the next financial year. Currently, Atha Corporation’s sales are $5 million. Therefore, this figure is expected to double to $10 million. The department’s personnel believes that the goal can be achieved through restructuring various aspects of the company, including the organizational chart.

Objectives

Goal 1: Set up a Customer Relationship Management system in 30 days

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is increasingly being adopted by more organizations today. Its main objective is to improve the shareholders’ value by proper management of relationships. The adoption of CRM at Atha Corporation is critical for the development of relationships with key clients and various segments. The role of the sales and marketing department is to build and maintain these relationships. According to research, a better relationship with clients can improve the performance of an entity significantly (Appiah-Kubi & Doku, 2010). The main reasons for seeking to adopt CRM at Atha Corporation is to facilitate cross-selling, kick-starting a loyal relationship with clients, and leading to a better understanding of clients. Cross-selling should increase the sales of each client significantly. However, this can only be achieved once an entity has a database containing the clients’ information on past purchases. This information facilitates the prediction of customers’ needs and wants in the future. Suppose Atha offers these additional goods and services; the corporation benefits financially when clients buy more. Creating a loyal relationship with clients is critical because it avoids interactions with competitors. However, the satisfaction of clients during each purchase or interaction is critical for the relationship to flourish. Most importantly, Atha Corporation will be in a position to fulfil the clients’ needs more efficiently once they have the necessary information regarding their purchases. By identifying the high-value clients, the department will be in a position to package products and services more attractively.

Goal 2: Utilize social media platforms for marketing and interaction purposes

Social media platforms are currently underutilized in regard to sales and marketing activities at Atha Corporation. Both large and small businesses have embraced social media marketing for various reasons. First, it facilitates access to information on goods and services. Secondly, it allows clients to demonstrate their loyalty or preferences. Thirdly, clients can easily access reviews that describe the products and services. Users can share and comment on such information. The popularity of social media platforms continues to grow due to the number of users (Warden, 2020). The sales and marketing department intends to create an online presence on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. This should enable the company to reach a wider market share and increase public visibility and sales as well.

Goal 3: Train the department’s staff on online marketing as well as the CRM’s functionalities

Staff training is a critical aspect while implementing CRM and social media marketing. The training process should enable the department’s staff to master the skills and knowledge to use the new additions beneficially. They will gain confidence due to knowledge regarding the expectations (Rahman, Zailani, & Abdullah-Al-Mamun, 2015). This should also increase their job satisfaction due to higher efficiency. Their ability to carry out tasks on either platform should increase client satisfaction and loyalty. Such a result is expected to have a positive effect on sales.

Milestones

Month 1

• Should understand the CRM system
• Should be able to interact with the clients on social media platforms

Month 2

• Employees should be able to create social media content and customize it for the right segment.
• The sales and marketing department should provide a comprehensive analysis of data obtained from the CRM system.

Month 3

• The department should create different packages for high-value and price-sensitive clients.
• Data on sales before and after the implementation of the two marketing aspects should be available for monitoring the progress.

Support Activities for the Goals

To successfully implement a CRM system at Atha Corporation, it is necessary to emphasize the customers. Emphasis on client focus allows the CRM system to effectively highlight their varying needs, buying behaviors, and sensitivity to price. It should also highlight the different profits that each client brings into the company. The system should emphasize the importance of clients and their varying drivers. These aspects are critical but require collaboration among departments (Tinnsten, 2013). Multiple departments serve clients. Thus, obtaining data from each and transmitting the analysis to each is important. Thus, teamwork is an important aspect of a successful CRM system.

The uptake of social media platforms for marketing requires departmental collaboration and expertise in the management of online platforms. The entire company will be featured on the chosen platforms. In addition, it will be necessary for different departmental heads and members to participate in YouTube videos. Such collaboration is necessary to create and maintain a following. Expertise in proper management of the platforms is important while choosing, creating content, engaging clients, and determining the ideal crowd for various content. Such knowledge should increase the platforms’ efficiency.

The training procedure requires a needs analysis and the creation of training programs. The training needs analysis should highlight the problem areas that the staff need to receive training urgently. These areas should guide the training objectives, which are important for monitoring. The training programs should be consistent and regular to ensure that the staff members access the development opportunities continuously.

Customer Relationship Management Head

A CRM manager will be responsible for managing the implementation of the system. The manager will be expected to demonstrate past success with such systems in other companies. They should also manage the CRM system to ensure that it captures the needs of the company perfectly. During the training process, the CRM manager will be responsible for spearheading the process to ensure that all staff members are adequately skilled and informed. Besides overseeing the process, the new CRM manager will create a budget for the implementation.

Social Media Marketing Manager

The new social media marketing manager is expected to solely handle the social media platforms. In collaboration with other marketing managers, the Social Media Manager will select the most efficient platforms with the help of other marketing staff. They will be involved in the training process to ensure that employees are well-versed.

Challenges

The process of hiring new individuals and creating timelines and objectives has been challenging. Hiring new staff was time and resource-consuming, and finding a candidate who was right for the position proved to be a daunting task. To handle this, the candidates were oriented through actual job assignments in their respective fields. This facilitated the process of selecting the right candidates. Creating timelines and objectives required the effort of all department staff.

References

Appiah-Kubi, B., & Doku, A. K. (2010). Towards a successful customer relationship management: A conceptual framework. African Journal of Marketing Management, 2(3), 037-043.

Rahman, M. k., Zailani, S., & Abdullah-Al-Mamun. (2015). The impact of salesperson’s training on organizational outcomes. Journal of Scientific Research and Development, 2(8), 48-57.

Tinnsten, C. (2013). Implementing a system of Customer Relationship Management.

Warden, I. (2020). Social Media Marketing And Its Effects on Businesses. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.23891.53285

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Discussion – Sales and Marketing

The following resources are required for this week’s assignment as they paint the scenario upon which you will base your work.

Presentation From the CEO.
CEO’s Sales Goal Announcement [PDF].
CEO’s Memo to Managers [PDF].
Sales and Marketing Organizational Chart [DOCX].
Operations and Production Organizational Chart [DOCX].
Accounting and Finance Organizational Chart [DOCX].
Assignment Instructions
DEPARTMENTAL PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION
Overview
In this assignment, you will create a departmental plan to address the corporate initiative of doubling sales outlined in the scenario below.

Preparation
Choose one of the following functional areas on which to base your assignment work.

Sales and marketing.
Operations and production.
Accounting and finance.
Scenario
Note: Review each of the following resources. You will need them to complete this assignment.

Imagine that your application for employment at Atha was successful, and you have been acting as manager for a short time in the department that you chose from the list above. Atha’s CEO shares the following communications with staff:

Presentation From the CEO.
CEO’s Sales Goal Announcement [PDF].
CEO’s Memo to Managers [PDF].
Organizational charts. (Note: To meet the distinguished level for the reorganization criterion for this assignment, you will need to update one of these charts to reflect your suggested organizational changes).
Sales and Marketing Organizational Chart [DOCX].
Operations and Production Organizational Chart [DOCX].
Accounting and Finance Organizational Chart [DOCX].
Instructions
Create your department’s response plan (a 4–5-page Word document) to the new corporate initiative of doubling sales using the information presented in the scenario. Make sure to address all requirements outlined in the CEO’s Memo to Managers document.