2. Introduction
Marketing - The old definition of marketing was defining it as a process of buying and selling,
but now the focus is being shifted from its buying and selling perspective to it being more
customers focused and described as “the art of creating and maintaining customers.”
(J O'shaughnessy, 1995, Pg4)
“Transactional marketing highly focuses on maximizing the profit for the company by
recruiting more and more customers to purchase the firm's product and not building much of
relationship with them” (M. W. Vilcox, T. O. Mohan, 2007, Pg 53)
3. Brief.
Transactional marketing is one of many marketing strategies that focus on maximizing the
volume and revenue of sales.
This strategy places a large emphasis on boosting sales by concentrating on single transactions.
Transactional marketing does not attempt to build long-term relationships with customers.
It promotes high short-term sales.
For Example:
A day-to-day example of transactional marketing could be a phone call made to the physician to
get some recommendations. It is being viewed as one event or one among the series of event
taking place that day. A pharmacist, who is having a transactional viewpoint, would be mainly
concerned about completing up the call and keep going on with the work. He doesn't pay any
attention or importance to the outcomes of the call than the desire to conclude it quickly.
4. The transactional approach is based on the four traditional elements
of marketing, sometimes referred to as the four P's:
•Product -- Creating a product that meets consumer needs.
•Pricing -- Establishing a product price that will be profitable while still attractive to consumers.
•Placement -- Establishing an efficient distribution chain for the product.
•Promotion -- Creating a visible profile for the product that makes it appealing to customers.
5. 1.Up-sell And Cross Sell
2. Packaging Products Or Services
3.Offer Larger Units Of Purchase
4.Increase Your Pricing And Margins
5.Positioning Yourself Further Up-market
6.Point Of Sale Promotions
7.Increase Your Horizontal Penetration
8.Increase Your Vertical Penetration
Strategies Of Transactional Marketing
6. 1. Up-sell And Cross Sell
Up-selling is getting your customers to buy a better, more expensive, or more sophisticated
product that genuinely adds value to their transaction.
Cross-selling is getting your customers to buy an additional product or service that will give
them a superior outcome and virtually every penny of the extra profit goes right to your bottom
line.
2. Packaging products or services
Combining a group of individually desirable products or services that naturally compliment
each other and offering the complete package for a single fixed price that represents almost
irresistible value to your customers, compared to buying the components separately.
This is definitely a win-win situation for both you and your customers. They get a simplified
purchasing process and a discount on a complete solution, while you increase your sales.
7. 3. Offer larger units of purchase
Increasing the size of your minimum purchase unit is a powerful and remarkably easy way for
you to increase your average transaction value. If people buy a one week supply, you can offer
them monthly, quarterly or annual consumption units at an attractive and advantageous price.
Your customers will appreciate the extra value, the tremendous savings and the extra convenience
of buying in bulk, while your average unit of sale will be increased substantially.
4. Increase your pricing and margins
People will willingly pay more for most products or services as long as they believe they’re
getting better value. The more distinctive you make your product or service, and the better you
educate your customers, the more valuable your marketplace will perceive you to be. Raising
your prices typically means that you can afford to service your customers better. This will set you
and your business apart in a favourable way in the eyes and minds of your customers and will
allow you to charge what you’re really worth.
8. 5. Positioning yourself further up-market
The more you raise your market positioning, the more your existing customers are likely to
respect and appreciate what you do, which frequently results in even more loyalty and referrals. If
you’re good at what you do, moving your products or services further upmarket and positioning
your business at a higher level of distinction or quality than your competition can improve your
business dramatically.
6. Point of sale promotions
Offering additional products or services to every customer right at the point of sale is one of the
simplest, most instant and predictable techniques for increasing your average unit of sale. You
can grab their attention by displaying “impulse” items, or by using signage, literature and
displays.
9. 7. Increase your horizontal penetration
Educating customers to use your full range of products and services using a simple yet powerful
matrix will immediately allow you to focus on the penetration of each of your products or
services into your existing customer base. It will also identify all the opportunities for increasing
your product or service penetration, for strategic alliance opportunities and increasing both your
average unit of sale and your profits.
8. Increase your vertical penetration
Similar to above, but instead of focusing on the penetration of your products and services into
your customer base, this technique uses a simple but powerful matrix and a two-step
implementation process that helps you to focus on the penetration of your products/services by
customer.
10. Validity of Transactional Marketing Today
As the world changes its operations gets faster and it is better to acquire the trend.
Many analysts have said the following:
“Transactional marketing fails to work in today's world”.
New technologies such as Internet, mobile phone and other handheld devices are the greatest
innovations, and have became few of the most important needs of human being and those things
have helped the marketers to build a relationship with the customers which was previously not
easy. Not even companies but consumers are increasingly using these communication tools to
take care and control of their relationships with those companies whom they buy their products
from.
Tim Kitchin says,
“The certainties of the transaction age are being replaced by the subtleties of the relationship
age.”
