SALES MANAGEMENT

Assignment#2

SUBMITTED BY: MUHAMMAD BILAL

ENROLLMENT NO: 01-111081-082

CLASS: BBA 7

SUBMITTED TO: SIR Atif

DATED: 23-4-2011

Case 1-1

Scripto, Inc.

Question#1: Does the announced new marketing orientation represent any real change from the company’s historical orientation?

New market orientation brought significant change, in the past Scripto had placed greatest emphasis on sales. This often resulted in the overall marketing plan being formed around the sales plan with marketing relegated to a position of less significance than sales. The company eliminated market research and the advertising program was greatly curtailed. Since there was something of a preoccupation with sales at the expanse of marketing, there was no market orientation and thinking uniting the various element of the marketing mix into a coordinated program. After Scripto was acquired by Tokai seiki the management orientation shifted from sales to marketing. Due to this change in market orientation the company had writing instrument and lighter’s sales of $170 million in 1984. In 1980 it had only 8 percent of that market but by 1985 it sold 24 percent of the 500 million lighters sold nationally. Before the advent of Electra Lighter Company did not spent that much amount on advertising but after the announced new market orientation company introduced new Electra lighter with an advertising budget of $ 5 million it’s more than had been spent on lighter advertising.

Question#2: To what extent the historical boom and bust performance of Scripto in its markets been the result of managerial mistakes or is it characteristic of the industries involved?

Managerial performance had huge impact on boom and bust performance of Scripto. Until the late 1950s Scripto was successful and profitable in the writing instrument industry however due to managerial deficiencies and ill advised decision on capital expenditures and new product at time when competition made such decisions crucial, the company began to slide downward. Due to these managerial deficiencies by 1964 Scripto’s share of the writing -instrument market had declined to 10 percent from high of 16 percent few year earlier and at the same time Scripto dropped from second to fifth place in sales volume. After 1964 under new management Scripto spent heavily to improve production facilities, diversified its investments, reorganized management personnel and positions and gave new emphasis to the marketing program. The result was a reversal of Scripto’s slide with sales increasing by 40 percent in two years. All this shows that managerial expertise and managerial deficiencies result in the boom and bust performance of scripto.