Marketing communication: principles and practice

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Table 9.2
What can sales promotions achieve?
Free-standing On-shelf 
On-pack 
Bonus packs Everyday low 
insert coupon
coupon
(gifts)
(% free or 
prices
3-for-2, etc.)
Grab attention and 
M
H
L
H
L
create an impression
Generate 
H
H
L
M
M
understanding
Persuade
M
H
M
M
M
Influence purchase 
M
H
L
M
L
behaviour
Source
: Based on Gardener and Trevidi, 1998

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BOX 9.15
THE SPIN SELLING SYSTEM
Rackham (1988) developed a four-stage selling approach that develops commitment
and relationship marketing. A precisely defined sequence of four questions enables
the salesperson to move a conversation with a buyer/consumer logically from exploring
the customers’ (implied) needs to designing solutions by surfacing explicit needs that
can be met. The type of questions are as follows:
•
Situation questions
: these are essential to clarify the current position;
•
Problem questions
: these uncover difficulties that present the provider with an
opportunity to serve;
•
Implication questions
: these make the problem seem more acute to the buyer and
raise the possibility of consequences of not resolving the problem;
•
Need-payoff questions
: these focus attention on the solution.
Although it is recognized that this technique can be abused, it does offer the possibility
of jointly creating a shared understanding. This cooperative selling–buying interaction
can be described as strategic talk (Heyman, 1994) when mutual understanding is
negotiated through summary and explanation, questions and answers, paraphrasing,
examples, and storytelling.