Personal selling strategies and performance of pharmaceutical firms in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Today‟s dynamic business environment is continuously changing because of globalization, regulatory changes, increasing intensity of competition, increasingly demanding customers, new information technology, and mergers and acquisitions. This has resulted in markets that can be characterized as increasingly turbulent and volatile and has caused many organizations to seek competitive capabilities that enable them to exceed customers‟ expectations and enhance market and financial performance. Firms are increasingly adopting personal selling in order to reduce costs, increase market share and sales, and build solid customer relations. When competition is keen and the consumers are faced with brand choice in the market, it becomes imperative for the retailers to understand the major factors that can attract the attention of buyers to their outlets. These then form the basis for personal selling in order to increase the sales and ultimately the performance of the outlet. The objective of the study was to establish the influence of personal selling strategies and performance of pharmaceutical firms in Nairobi, Kenya. The study used descriptive cross sectional survey research design. The population of the study consisted of all the pharmaceutical firms operating within Nairobi. The study used primary data which was collected using self-administered questionnaires. The data collected was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences and presented in tables and charts. The study found out that the pharmaceutical firms were using personal selling strategy to market their products and it resulted in improved performance in terms of greater volume of sales, faster movement of drugs, improved profit margin, pharmaceutical firm education and sponsorship of events and increased financial performance. Canned strategy of personal selling resulted in sales people providing stimuli sought by the buyers until decision is arrived, provides the details that meet customer need spelled out in the script and that it enables salespeople to keep track of buyers‟ mental state. System personal selling strategy to market their products and this enabled the firms to sell products as a package rather than selling them separately or independently, creates a situation for both buyer and seller and customers were increasingly looking for a systems‟ solution rather than the buying of an individual product.