business
BUSINESS PROCESS
Name
Institution
Date
Sales
Technology can be used to improve sales process
Process includes;
Awareness
Interest
Desire
Action (Wagner Cardoso, 2019)
A business process that could easily incorporate technology is the sales process. The sales process includes;
Awareness- involves making the customer aware of the existence of the product
Interest- actively expressing interest for the product
Desire- aspiring to a specific product
Action- taking a step in buying the product
Information technology can be used in the conversion funnel especially regarding online purchases such as identifying and targeting traffic source through targeting social media users.
Web and mobile platforms- the organization can create a website where users can visit before visiting the actual store. The website should be user friendly and optimized for mobile devices where by users can be access the website from their mobile devices
Enabling mobile payments- it increases the chances of spontaneous purchases
Use of CRM- enables gaining of insight with regard to opportunities regarding sales
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Use of IT in improving The sales process
Enabled voice search for SEO
Cloud computing solutions
Predictive analytics in management and forecasting of sale pipeline
Artificial intelligence
Automation- CRM (Wagner Cardoso, 2019)
Enabled voice search for SEO- voice search is soon going to become a norm especially due to the current digital consumption trend which is becoming more mobile oriented. Users of smart devices prefer using voice search as opposed to typing their queries in search engines. In order to generate more leads websites have to be optimized to generate more leads. Use of long key words should be incorporated to ensure it captures the questions users may be asking hence making your business as the primary source of information.
Cloud computing solutions- sales data can be stored on cloud servers to improve on interoperability and flexibility regarding members of the sales team. It allows remote working hence enabling sales team to better utilize their time and concentrate on closing deals. Storing data on cloud can also save on cost, improving scalability and ensure security of data.
Predictive analytics in management and forecasting of sale pipeline- use of techniques such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data and data mining in analyzing current data and making reliable predictions for the future. Predictive analytics incorporates algorithms that account for all factors impacting the customer’s purchasing decision enabling the sales team to become more effective at closing deals increasing sales conversion.
Artificial intelligence-AI-powered assistants can also help a sales team make data-backed decisions and improve its business predictions. AI consultants could also play a role in building products for upselling and cross-selling by providing the sales team with relevant product recommendations.
Automation- CRM can be used to optimize the process and save on time used in repetitive tasks making the sales team focus on closing deals more effectively.
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Existing Opportunity- increasing sales
Social media marketing
Optimizing website
Analyzing competition
Determining demand
Enhancing revenue
Reduction of expenses (Agnihotri, Trainor, Itani, & Rodriguez, 2017)
An opportunity is a chance for improvement. It offers organizations a chance for analyzing their processes and identify ways in which revenues can be enhanced and expenses reduced. It enables optimization of processes bringing about efficiency.
The opportunity identified is increasing sales. According to a survey conducted in 2018 37% of online shoppers revealed that they use social media for purchase inspiration. This is the highest representation compared to any other from of online media. 34% are influenced upon visiting the website of the organization where by depending on how well its optimized this will influence the purchase decision. This two areas is where our opportunity lies for improving sales. Successfully identifying and targeting appropriate social media users gives the business a chance in terms of increasing its market share with regard to social media users.
4
SWOT analysis
Strengths
Loyal customers
Location of the store
Good brand reputation
weaknesses
Lack of enough marketing budget
Static website
No warehouse
Examples of the strengths identified with regard to our sales process involve;
Loyal customers- our business has many loyal customers because of the quality of services and goods offered.
Location of the store- The store has a good location that gives it an advantage for walk-in clients
Good brand reputation- our loyal customers have spread through word of mouth and even making referrals to the products and services offered hence improving the brand and image of the company
Examples of Identified weaknesses include;
Lack of enough marketing budget that will generate more leads
The website is static, purely informational, and not optimized for search engines.
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SWOT analysis
Opportunities
Optimizing website to increase traffic
Creating strategic alliances with other businesses
Building a warehouse
Incorporating mobile technology
Threats
Competitors
Cost of marketing
Examples of opportunities identified that can improve the sales process include;
Optimizing website to increase traffic- the website can be optimized to incorporate Enabled voice search for SEO that will capture voice searches generating more leads to the website. Additionally, Use of long key words should be incorporated to ensure it captures the questions users may be asking hence making your business as the primary source of information.
Creating strategic alliances with other businesses to enable handling of logistics with regard to online orders in particular with regard to shipping logistics where by a third party business can be involved to handle delivery of shipments to clients.
Warehouse- renting or building a warehouse will offer storage for the business which will enable the business to handle incoming orders from clients where by the most demanded products should be stored with enough capacity in the warehouse
Incorporating mobile technology- most users have mobile devices and the organization can tap into such users through optimizing the website for mobile use to enable usres access the the website using their mobile devices. Additionaly the organization can develop a mobile application that users can download and install on their devices which will also aid in collection of user data.
Examples of Threats identified include;
Competitors- potential new firms entering the market are identified as threats to our current customers and also other possible customers. seizing the identified opportunities and maximizing on our strengths should enable the organization to mitigate this threat
Cost of marketing- the huge costs associated with marketing will increase the expenses of the company hence reducing the net profit. Employing target marketing can reduce unnecessary expenses where by focus is redirected to potential clients or customers
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As is business process
Scenario 1 sufficient stock
Customer- making order
Sales representative- receiving purchase order; checking stock level; packaging; shipping
Scenario 2 insufficient stock
Customer- making order
Sales representative- receiving purchase order; checking stock; redirecting order for customer to amend purchase order
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To be business process
Due to growth the to be process will incorporate an additional warehouse and an additional new task named a request pack goods
Scenario 1 sufficient stock
Process owner;
Customer- making order
Sales representative- receiving purchase order; checking stock level; packaging; shipping
Scenario 2 insufficient stock
Customer- making order
Sales representative- receiving purchase order; checking stock; redirecting order for customer to amend purchase order
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References
Agnihotri, R., Trainor, K. J., Itani, O. S., & Rodriguez, M. (2017). Examining the role of sales-based CRM technology and social media use on post-sale service behaviors in India. Journal of Business Research, 81, 144–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.08.021
Kuznetsov, V., Garina, E., Bardakov, A., Kornilov, D., & Lapaev, D. (2019). Re-engineering the business process of sales in view of life cycle stage and the company organisational structure. International Journal of Trade and Global Markets, 12(3/4), 412. https://doi.org/10.1504/ijtgm.2019.101554
Paesbrugghe, B., Rangarajan, D., Sharma, A., Syam, N., & Jha, S. (2017). Purchasing-driven sales: Matching sales strategies to the evolution of the purchasing function. Industrial Marketing Management, 62, 171–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2016.09.002
Wagner Cardoso. (2019). Study of the feasibility of adaptation of the business process sales and operations planning (S&OP) in a university hospital. Journal of Innovation and Healthcare Management, 2, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.20396/jihm.v2i0.11806