Abstract
AbstractNot different from many other, larger companies, marketing and sales processes at SMEs have undergone constant changes. The chapter details how SMEs dealt with the tension between marketing and sales, how they differentiated in B2B vs. B2C environments. For B2C companies, global brand building becomes important. All firms, regardless of industry environment, had constantly professionalized the marketing process. Choosing a product or company name can be crucial in a global environment. In the B2B environment, marketing and selling differ from the consumer markets and are focused more on application-driven sales, key account systems, and reliance on lead customers. Examples from adopting key account systems and enlisting lead customers are provided.
Highlights
On the other end of the spectrum are companies like Kuhn Rikon and Caran d’Ache, both of which engage in brand-building activities and emphasize different tools
Developing and nurturing a global brand can protect the company from imitation by low-cost competition; it helps differentiate the firm and justify the higher price inherent with products produced mainly by the high-cost Swiss base
Jura espresso machines were subject to imitation and copying, and Jura believed that a strong brand was much more difficult to copy
Summary
Marketing and sales are closely related to distribution, the topic of the previous chapter, these two activities have been separated here in order to give both disciplines, and how they have been pursued by the sample companies, the special attention they deserve. On the other end of the spectrum are companies like Kuhn Rikon and Caran d’Ache, both of which engage in brand-building activities and emphasize different tools. Developing and nurturing a global brand can protect the company from imitation by low-cost competition; it helps differentiate the firm and justify the higher price inherent with products produced mainly by the high-cost Swiss base Such a brand defense strategy was employed globally by Jura marketing its espresso machines. With a long tradition of marketing its products globally through independent distributors, the emergence of online sales as an important tool offered a new, more central, role to the company’s marketing operation Another important element was the development of concept stores, and the first one was opened in Geneva, where company employees could have direct customer contacts and provide feedback to the central marketing staff. Kuhn Rikon changed to label its products as Swiss Designed, but had to forego the use of the Swiss flag on its packaging.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
