Question

Write a substantive response to the question; How do you think technology has revolutionized personal selling? Provide 2 – 3 examples of how technology has transformed personal selling with names of companies and their selling strategies that integrate technology.

Answer 1

First of all, let us go through what Personal Selling is all about. In simple terms, personal selling deals with face to face selling. It can be in person or virtually. The Sales Representatives of an organisation meets with the customer for the purpose of sale.

Technology has driven every sector, every domain to a vast extent in terms of the work they perform. Same goes with the act of Personal Selling. Let us go through the following examples to get a deeper insight:

Example 1: TATA Motors, a subsidiary of the Salt to Steel conglomerate TATA Sons from India has come out with the "Click To Drive" initiative wherein a customer who wishes to buy any of the TATA Motors vehicle can visit the company's website, scroll through the options available, customise their choice of product, select a dealership & get allotted by a Sales Representative who will help the customer in zeroing in to the right product. The Sales Representative makes use of the virtual technologies to make the customer understand the tit bits of the product & sell the product to the customer. In times of this Covid-19 pandemic, this initiative not only provides the customer for a safer buying experience, however it also brings much more peace of mind to the customer. The customer can visit the dealership only to take the delivery of the vehicle or get the vehicle delivered at your doorsteps.

Example 2: Kotak Mahindra Bank, has incorporated a Chat Bot named Mr. SIP for all your investing needs through the Mutual Funds channel. The Chat Bot Mr. SIP (SIP stands for Systematic Investment Plan in terms of Mutual Funds) directs you to the Sales Representative available virtually, who guides you in investing in the right Mutual Fund, managing your money in the best possible way & providing you with the right product to invest in. This really becomes a hassle free experience, a paperless one, a cashless one & totally virtual. All the procedures are performed virtually, right from verifying the KYC to investing into the Mutual Funds.

Example3: YouTube, the best personal seller I must say. Taking clues from the choice of the videos you watch, it provides you with the exact videos, channels that suits your interests, that make you feel much connected to YouTube. It is all based on your search patterns, the browsing patterns, the videos you like - dislike, share, subscribe to a channel & what not. It sells you content based on your choices, your interests, more specifically on your clicks.