Ch. 17 - Personal Selling and Sales Management 

It is quite uncommon for customers to come face-to-face with sales representatives of Proactiv solution during the buying process. As mentioned in previous posts, Proactiv is mainly sold online, via telephone order or at kiosks. A limited amount of the solution is also carried in certain stores around the country. All of these methods of purchase are carried out using self service. Personal selling is all about getting to know your customers which in turn allows you to perfectly customize an approach needed in getting the customer to buy a  product/service. A salesperson should also be able to show how the product can be beneficial to the consumer. The sellers of Proactiv have a rather unique and advanced way of conducting personal selling. The infomercials/advertising shown on T.V are very informative and actually give detailed explanations and demonstrations on how to use the solution. Also when a prospective or returning buyer logs on to their website, an online sales representative can be reached at anytime via a live chat. They are real life people behind computers attending to online shoppers needs by answering any questions or addressing concerns that the customers may have.  Customer service can also be reached at anytime of the day by dialing an 800 toll free number. These methods communicating with customers is now very common and as Technology is becoming more and more advanced, consumers are becoming heavily dependent on the net for shopping needs. It is very important for companies like Proactiv to follow course and take advantage of growing trends.

Ch. 16 - Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

So far the sellers of Proactiv have been very successful in implementing and executing their advertisement strategies. Guthy-Renker Corporation, the direct advertising company that introduced Proactiv to the world over 20 years ago mainly specialize in direct-response advertising using widespread television advertisements like infomercials and magazine and web commercials as well. This allows direct contact with their niche market resulting in immediate responses from the consumers of the solution. Back when they first introduced the solution, there wasn't much competition and even now that the acne treatment market has grown and competition multiplied, Proactiv has remained consistent in keeping their product desirable and fresh in the eyes of the public.

Guthy-Renker spends about $110 million to $120 million a year on advertising. A good share of that amount goes towards payment of celebrity endorsements. One could say that Proactiv have mastered the art of rigidly positioning their brand in the ever growing acne treatment market, mainly with the help of their celebrity endorsers. 

In the past, most Proactiv infomercials consisted of the announcer repeating consistently the lines "call now" or "order now" or "limited time offer" or "free shipping if orders are made within the next 10 minutes" and offering other incentives to lure consumers. However in recent times, a slightly different approach has been taken. Those announcements have been limited and the price is less stressed on. More focus is shed on testimonials by both celebrities and other users of Proactiv, all who claim that the solution has worked for them and in some cases, have been life savers in terms of gaining back confidence and embracing blemish free skin. This allows consumers to connect a great deal with the product and feel more confident that the solution would work for them instead of feeling like they are rushed into buying the product. Overall this leads to them feeling like they have value for their purchase.

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