Description
This collection of both classic and cutting- edge articles from the Harvard Business Review, edited by Benson Shapiro and John Sviokla, develops a practical framework for meeting the challenge of satisfying customers' needs while enhancing profits. Seeking Customers specifically considers the issues involved in identifying and initiating relation- ships with potential customers in today's marketplace, highlighting six areas:
โข improving communication with customers and within the selling organization itself;
โข understanding the behavior and needs of potential customers;
โข establishing the appropriate parameters and resources required for each sales relationship;
โข setting price, along with other strategies for bal- ancing value and cost;
โข developing a committed, highly motivated sales force; and
โข managing relationships with distributors and other vendors to enhance the efforts of the sales force.
The articles include applications based on empirical research and practice and are written by leading academics and seasoned practitioners.
The strategies outlined in these articles are invaluable. Today's increasingly dynamic and competitive business environment requires companies to search continually for greater efficiencies-none more important than in the selling effort. Selling is at the core of a company's performance, directly influencing its profitability. Furthermore, the process of forging and maintaining relationships with customers has grown extraordinarily complex. Technological, organizational, and institutional advancements have sharpened customers' sophistication and raised their expectations for quality and service. Meanwhile, trends toward free trade and deregulation have heightened competition.
ISBN:9780875843322
