Srinath Gopalakrishna

A three-stage model of integrated marketing communications at the marketing-sales interface

The marketing and sales functions in many firms are often at odds despite their common goal of increasing revenue and profit. The finger pointing goes both ways: Marketing complains of poor lead follow-up by sales, and in turn, sales grumbles about the quality of leads generated by marketing. This disconnect can be damaging; high lead volumes generated through effective marketing campaigns could actually hurt downstream sales because of wasted effort on poorly qualified leads and/or delays in sales follow-up resulting from limited sales force capacity. To examine the revenue and profit implications of coordinated communications efforts at the marketing-sales interface, the authors develop a three-stage model that captures the effects of sequential marketing/sales communications on lead generation, appointment conversion, and sales closure. The results, which are based on a collaborative effort with a large home improvement retailer, suggest a complex interplay among marketing efforts (multiple media that generate leads), delays in follow-up (time lag between inquiry and sales force contact), and sales efficiencies (appointment and sales conversion). The findings underscore the impact of multimedia spending on the timing and effectiveness of subsequent communications, implying that improved internal collaboration between marketing and sales can offer significant upside potential for the firm. Finally, the authors develop a managerial decision support tool to simulate the impact of varying communications budgets, timing, and allocation on the marketing and sales planning system.

Planning and performance assessment of industrial trade shows: An exploratory study☆

Abstract Trade shows are an important element of the promotion mix for industrial products. However, the assessment of a firms performance at a trade show has been a difficult problem because data on key variables is usually not available. In this paper, the authors propose lead generation efficiency as an important index of trade show performance and examine the impact of several show related variables on lead generation. The results from an empirical application conducted on a pilot scale using data from 27 shows suggest that the quality of a firms booth personnel, the total expenditure on the show relative to attendance and the shows narrowness of focus are critical variables that affect lead efficiency. Based on their model the authors discuss implications for trade show selection and assessment of a firms current spending policy.

Trade show guidelines for smaller firms

Abstract This article helps managers of small to medium-size firms assess their firms performance at a trade show. Since smaller firms typically have fewer resources, they must be particularly aware of methods to improve performance to avoid the “double jeopardy” phenomenon, that is, suffering twice in a head-to- head comparison with a large firm. We consider three different indices of performance based on visitor contact and interaction at a firms booth. Suggestions are offered to minimize the effects of the “double jeopardy” phenomenon.

An exploratory study of attendee activities at a business trade show

Purpose – Although trade shows are a significant part of the B2B communications mix, academic research in the area is sparse. To successfully manage this medium, a careful understanding of attendee behavior on the trade show floor is necessary. Drawing from the rich literature on shopper typologies in retailing (which parallels the trade show atmosphere), this paper sets out to develop a set of attendee metrics that show organizers can track regularly.Design/methodology/approach – Through latent class clustering on unique attendee‐level data from a popular computer trade show, five segments of attendee activity are uncovered that differ along dimensions such as the attendees involvement and focus and the exhibitors booth size, booth accessibility, and product display.Findings – Significant heterogeneity is found in attendee activities on the show floor. There are interesting similarities and differences between the retail and B2B shopper. Implications for trade show organizers and exhibitors are discuss...

Optimal pricing strategies for an automotive aftermarket retailer

The extant retail category pricing optimization literature concentrates on grocery retailing. In contrast, this article focuses on the problem of determining profit-improving store-level prices of failure-related “hard-part” product categories at a U.S. specialty automotive part retailer with 3400 stores. There are some key institutional differences between automotive hard-part and grocery retailing: No syndicated data are available for hard parts; each subclass of a hard-part category contains variants that are ordered by quality (typically “Good,” “Better,” “Best”); there is intra- but no intersubclass competition; market shares of variants and their prices are not positively correlated within a subclass; a consumer enters the market only infrequently; and at a purchase occasion, a consumer buys one and only one variant within a subclass and one and only one unit of that variant. Using two years of weekly sales histories from 800 stores, the authors develop store-level demand models for 23 subclasses of a hard part and employ these with available product cost data to set prices of variants of each subclass at each store that increase profit. The authors test the model-recommended prices for 10 subclasses in a field experiment involving 500 stores, leading to a projection of an annual increase of more than

Introduction: Special Issue on Enhancing Sales Force Productivity

610,000 in the retailers profit from these 10 subclasses if the new prices are applied at all stores. The empirical analysis also yields new insights into asymmetric price competition across quality variants and deviations of actual from optimal prices that run counter to previous grocery retailing-based findings.

Exploring booth design as a determinant of trade show success

The “Sales Management Research Summit” held at the University of Houston in May 2004 attracted 28 sales management academicians and drew attention to the urgent need for new thinking and research in the rapidly evolving field of selling and sales management. This meeting resulted in the seven “thought piece” papers constituting the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Special Issue of the Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management (JPSSM), which appeared in spring 2005 (Brown and Jones 2005). Later that summer, following consultations with leading scholars in the United States and Europe, JPSSM ’s new Editor Ken Evans and Sales Force Models Area Editor Murali Mantrala, both then affiliated with the University of Missouri–Columbia, determined that a future Special Issue of JPSSM with papers focused on “enhancing sales force productivity” would be an effective way to advance research along some of the directions advocated in the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Special Issue. The related call for papers went out in September 2005 soliciting papers presenting “new theoretical and empirical research to improve understanding of evolving sales force productivity issues as well as models, metrics, and methodologies to aid related management decisions.” To promote this initiative, there was an accompanying call for papers to be featured in a special conference on “enhancing sales force productivity,” cochaired by Sönke Albers (University of Kiel), Kissan Joseph (University of Kansas), and Murali Mantrala, to be held at the University of Missouri–Columbia College of Business in April 2006. This conference, cosponsored by the Marketing Science Institute, with the enthusiastic support of Executive Director Dominique Hanssens, ultimately featured 29 research presentations by sales management scholars from the United States, Europe, Canada, and Australia, including keynote addresses by Erin Anderson (INSEAD) and Andy Zoltners (Northwestern University and ZS Associates). The early versions of three papers in this Special Issue were first presented at this conference.

Incorporating shortage strategies in industrial marketing

ABSTRACT Purpose: Marketing scholars have joined managers in recognizing the significance of design in many domains. Superior design can enhance products, communications, packaging, and retail settings. However, no scholarly research has investigated design effects in a business-to-business (B-to-B) context. This research will explore the impact of design decisions in trade shows, a key component of the B-to-BB-to-B marketing mix. Trade show success depends on attracting attendees to an exhibitor’s booth because buyer preferences and business relationships are formed and nurtured in that space. The design of a booth plays an important role in attracting visitors and providing a positive business atmosphere. Methodology/approach: The present study draws upon several streams of literature to examine this neglected aspect of B-to-B research. We offer a conceptual framework, followed by an empirical study of trade show attendees. Respondents evaluated various booth prototypes representing different combinations of key design elements via a conjoint-based method. Findings: Findings suggest that design matters in a B-to-B trade show setting. Our results indicate that specific design elements affect an attendee’s willingness to enter different booths. Our sample displayed a coherent set of preferences for exhibit design features. Finally, we found that some attendee characteristics moderated the effect of design on preferences—notably the theory-driven characteristics of product agenda breadth and CVPA, rather than simple demographics produced these moderating effects. Research implications: We have shown that the topic of design is relevant for B-to-B researchers. This research has identified meaningful and managerially relevant design preferences. In addition, we constructed a research framework for investigating behavioral responses to trade show booths, including four key design attributes. We empirically examined this framework with an easily reproducible conjoint methodology that may be useful for future research. Practical implications: Our results provide actionable managerial guidance on the aesthetics of booth design. There is a general preference for closed designs i.e., attendees prefer having an intercept point in the booth where they may gain information. In addition, the closed design signals a higher density of things to see in the booth, while offering a private, safe environment as well as more spatial comfort. Attendees preferred higher amounts of surface decoration. Booths with low decoration tend to be perceived as less complex, and therefore less stimulating. Originality/value/contribution: We examined long neglected implications of design to B-to-B marketing and investigated a key determinant of trade show performance. We believe this study has relevance to both scholars and practitioners while setting a roadmap for future research.

How Companies Can Measure the Success of their Relationship Marketing Investments

Industrial marketers must handle the problem of working in an environment characterized by supply shortages occurring on a regular basis. As customers continue to demand more, tolerance for supply delays and out‐of‐stock situations has decreased. Customer service has taken on an increasingly important role and suppliers must do a better job in understanding the cause and impact of shortages when and if they arise. Accordingly, customer relationships must be reexamined. Discusses key issues for suppliers to consider in managing the marketing mix in shortage situations. Industrial marketers are developing and using new and better techniques to deal with the inevitability of shortage conditions that confront all companies regardless of size, industry or geographical location. Specifically, this paper overviews the basic principles of relationship marketing as they apply to shortages. It offers suggestions on how industrial suppliers can manage their marketing efforts more effectively when materials, parts, components or other supplies are short.

Use of relationship marketing programs in building customer-salesperson and customer-firm relationships: Differential influences on financial outcomes

Abstract Firms invest heavily in different types of business-to-business relationship marketing in the belief that it bolsters their bottom line. How effective is this investment, and how can companies measure its success? This study analyzes the various aspects of business-to-business relationship marketing. Data from a matched set of 313 business customers covered by 143 salespeople employed by 34 selling firms indicates that investments in social relationship marketing pay off handsomely, financial relationship marketing does not, and structural relationship marketing is economically viable for customers serviced frequently.