ISM textbook

Sales strategies 71
and budgets. In turn, selling activities are directly influenced by decisions taken at
the marketing planning stage. In the meantime, the increasingly essential role of
databases should not be ignored.
We have looked at planning decisions for the marketing programme or marketing
mix and, specifically, at the communications mix in a company. Factors such as typeof-product
market, steps in the buying process, push versus pull strategies and stage
in the product life-cycle have all been shown to influence promotional and consequently
sales strategies.
Finally, we examined sales tactics, the relationship between advertising and selling,
and the important area of brand/supplier loyalty. It was shown that advertising
plays a key role in aiding the sales effort, reducing selling costs and easing the sales
task. Brand/supplier-loyal customers are a valuable asset to any company and the
salesforce is central to the establishment and maintenance of such customer loyalty.
References
1 Weihrich, H. (1982) ‘The TOWS matrix – a tool for situational analysis’, Long Range Planning,
15 (2), pp. 54–66.
2 Schultz, D.E., Tannenbaum, S.I. and Lauterborn, R.F. (1993) Integrated Marketing Communications,
NTC Business Books, Lincolnwood, IL.
3 Tack, A. (1989) ‘Increase your sales the Tack way’, Gower, Aldershot.
4 Shaw, R. (1999) ‘Customers are about sales, not false friendships’, Marketing, January, p. 20.
5 Martin, C.L. (1998) ‘Relationship marketing: a high-involvement product attribute approach’,
Journal of Product and Brand Management, 7 (1), pp. 6–26, p. 20.
6 Reichheld, F. and Schefter, P. (2000) ‘E-Loyalty’, Harvard Business Review, July/August,
pp. 105–13, p. 110.
7 Curtis, J. (2000) ‘Get some decent exposure’, Revolution, 12 July, pp. 32–6, p. 33.