Personal selling will play a critical role in the marketing mix for our online fashion retailer company PT.Duta Wahana Perkasa. This is primarily because our product’s nature demands that the audience has to be completely convinced before making a purchase. Fashion is one of the societal elements that are always changing, and it is therefore imperative that the necessary promotional strategy is implemented if our company is to make an impact in the market.
The target customers are individuals between 15 and 25 years, and this is persons who are either in high school, in college, or are seeking their first jobs. By nature, this group of individuals needs to constantly upgrade their wardrobes depending on emerging trends. Therefore, to capitalize on all opportunities, we shall set up exhibition stands within high school and college grounds and popular sporting pitches.
Even within the malls where most of our outlets will be located, exhibition stands will be erected to capture the attention of the individuals walking by. From these setups, it would be easy to market the products to the individual compared to setting up a shop within the city center and hope that target customers will hear of the business in one way or another.
Some companies, such as Pepsi, are always setting up youth parties to market their products to the youth. Since this is also our primary target market, it would make business sense to collude with such companies so that we get to set up tents displaying our products at the parties. In this way, a one-on-one selling strategy will be established whereby our salespeople walk up to the revelers and persuade them to try our items.
Humans are naturally copy cats, and this trait is even more pronounced among young people who generally buy things because their friends have bought them. With this knowledge in mind, the primary personal selling strategy will involve approaching individual potential customers but from a point where we can also capture their peers’ attention. To maintain a loyal customer base, the company must establish methods of constant communication with its buyers.
Once we sell a given product to a customer, we need to request that they give us their contacts and propose to personally take to them any new products that come in, just in case they may be interested. This will be an easy way of developing a door-to-door service but with the added advantage of always being welcome to the customer’s residence. It is also easy to make more sales in one household, especially if the owner has invited his/her friends along. In the latter case, we need to let the customer know about our visit in advance.
Most large enterprises dealing in the same products prefer to use traditional marketing techniques such as newspaper advertising and then wait to see if retailers come and purchase the product in bulk. We very much appreciate the fact that retailers will play a critical role in our company’s growth. However, instead of waiting for them to come to us seeking items, we shall visit their shops and personally deal with the owners. In this way, a form of personal selling will have been utilized whereby each boutique is considered an individual entity.