Connecting with Customers

Unit 7: Discussion

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Connecting with Customers

When executed successfully, achievement of long term customer loyalty and purchase preference over competing products or services is referred to as brand equity; that somewhat intangible value adding advantage.  Brand equity also encompasses the concept of perceived value, which is a subjective measure that consumers develop to assess the costs of obtaining the brand.

The day of the lone salesperson calling on a customer is becoming history.  Today, 75% of firms employ cross-functional teams to work with customers to improve relationships, find better ways of doing things, and create and sustain customer value.

Xerox: Building Customer Relationships through Personal Selling

Xerox is well-known for its sales representative training program.  Every new sales representative at Xerox receives eight weeks of training development in the field and at the Xerox Corporate University in Virginia.  The case follows Alison Capossela, a Washington, D.C.-based Xerox sales representative on a sales call as she narrates her activities during the stages of the personal selling process.  She says “I’m like the quarterback of the team.”

Sources

Kerin, R. A. & Hartley, S. W. (2017). Marketing. (13th ed.). New York, New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

The History of Xerox and Milestones . (n.d.). Retrieved July 8, 2016, from Xerox.com: http://www.xerox.com/about-xerox/company-history/enus.html

Directions

Initial Post

Review the following information to see how Xerox continues to be relevant through customer relationship building in an increasingly competitive industry:

Background on Xerox

“Corporate Strategy – Company Profile—Can Xerox Duplicate Its Paper Success (Links to an external site.)?”  Foreign Direct Investment, April 2012.

· Read the video case in the textbook on pp. 593-594.

· Watch the Xerox case video (Links to an external site.)

Sources

· Read the following online websites and articles

o  (Links to an external site.)Job requirements as a sales representative for Xerox (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)

o A Day In the Life of a Xerox sales rep (Links to an external site.)

Based on the information provided, put yourself in the position of a marketing consultant brought in to the company to critically examine the company’s dedication to customer development and retention, and then formulate a set of well-developed and supported recommendations to the company’s senior leadership team. The recommendation should be logically presented, well-supported, and thoroughly vetted.

IMPORTANT! Your grade for each weekly thread discussion will be determined by your analytical, integrative, problem-solving and critical thinking skills demonstrated by your posts and by your positive responses to the posts of your classmates. There is no minimum or maximum in terms of the word count; however, the response should explicitly address all required components of this discussion assignment. Your response should integrate external resources, which should be consistent with APA writing style and format (7th edition) and reflect higher level cognitive processing (analysis, synthesis and or evaluation).

Teacher Notes:

Did Steve Jobs Get It Right About Xerox?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMB7tfKsibs&feature=player_embedded