Question

Discuss the importance of personal selling in marketing.

Answer 1

1. Understanding Customer Needs: Personal selling helps in understanding the needs, habits, attitudes and preferences of customers. Such information is very helpful to business in designing appropriate products and services which will satisfy customers.
2. Persuasion of Customers: A salesman can persuade and convince customers. He can inform, educate and win the confidence of present and prospective consumers.
3. Complete Job: Personal selling can do the complete job of selling. Advertising can only bring in customers. Salesmen are required to convert demand into actual sales by clearing the doubts of customers.
4. Most Flexible Tool: Personal selling is the most flexible technique of promoting sales. The sales representative can adjust his approach to suit the particular situation.
5. Provides Feedback: Salespersons can collect the reactions and response of customers to the marketing efforts of business. With the help of such feedback, necessary changes can be carried out in the policies and programmes of business. Personal selling is, however, a very costly and time consuming process. It also involves the problems of selecting, training and motivating competent salesmen.

Answer 2

Personal selling is important in the following ways:

1. Helps in introducing new products: Personal selling involves face to face contact with the prospective buyer. He is more reliable. A new product can be easily introduced through personal selling.
2. Helps in understanding customer needs: Personal selling helps in providing invaluable feedback information to business about needs, tastes, attitudes and behaviour of customers. Such information is very useful in designing and developing products which will satisfy customers.
3. Convincing the customers: Personal selling involves persuading and convincing a prospect to buy the product. A salesperson helps his customers to match the utility of a product with their needs hence he is a guide to customer.
4. Personal: It implies contact with a limited number of people. Sales talk can be tailored to suit the individual needs of the prospect. This could lead to actual sales, unlike advertising where the message can only attract attention.
5. Feedback: It provides necessary feedback to the business and changes could be made in the product and in the marketing efforts of the business firm.