BUS305A Case Study - NutRICA Pty Ltd Background You have recently been appointed as a Senior Sales Executive at NutRICA Pty Ltd, a privately owned medium sized business situated in North Ryde, NSW, Australia. NutRICA uses traditional channels to service its business-to-business (B2B) sales, utilising intermediaries such as distributors and large retailers. It also has an underperforming business-to-consumer (B2C) channel. A recent push into the on-line space has failed to produce the results the owner had hoped for. The business has increased the sales team budget for the year ahead to focus more heavily on selling their extended range of products. The products created include a large range of organic, vegetarian and vegan ingredients and the recently introduced pre-cooked meals. You meet with the owner of the business to discuss the market, competitive threats and customer trends, as well as the strategic direction of the business for the year ahead. You discuss the following information with the owner in detail to get a good understanding of the current business. Market, Competitors and Customers Whilst international sales seem to be growing, the past year has shown that the majority of sales is attributed to strong domestic performance in Australia. Business to business sales has increased, and for some reason, business to consumers has declined; falling well short of previous forecasts. Both the Australian and overseas market needs a more targeted sales plan which includes a well-planned advertising and promotions strategy. Page 2 of 7 ASSESSMENT BRIEF Locally, there are other companies beginning to sell similar products in Australia. This is posing an external threat to the company. The ease of setting up a competitive threat via an on-line platform is also cause for further concern. Competition can certainly heat up quickly. Past Sales Performance Historically, staff turnover within the sales team has been very high with a lack of experienced sales people in the current team. Not all news is negative, as a successful strategy has been the steady performance of a small but dedicated internal sales team (tele-sales). The least successful strategies include advertising and sales promotional campaigns. This could be due to the lack of experience in the team. The monthly average of sales revenue per sales team member over the past year was $10,000. This is a major concern for the businesses as it struggles to meet its overhead expenses at this current rate. The sales conversation rate is approximately 1 sale for every 30 customer visits or calls. This low number is likely to be due to poor induction and training processes, and the lack of motivation and leadership provided to date. The high staff attrition rate is also a contributing factor here. Customers In Australia, the key target consumers (excluding business to business sales) are predominantly females (aged 18-45), and reside on the east coast of Australia (from Geelong Victoria, Northern Beaches in Sydney to the Gold Coast in Queensland and other pockets across these three states). Many of the customers are interested in good health, the environment, sustainable practices, and alternate ways of living. There has been a steep increase in "ready to eat" meal suppliers in recent times as high growth opportunities have been identified. Revenue in the Ready-to-Eat Meals segment amounts to US$3,387m in 2020. The market is identified. Revenue in the Ready-to-Eat Meals segment amounts to US$3,387m in 2020. The market is expected to grow annually by -0.7% (CAGR 2020-2025) (Statista, 2020). B2B customers include some of the leading grocery and supermarket chains such as Coles, Woolworths and IGA. Some discussions with Aldi had commenced to produce some private label products however discussions had stalled due to the lack of resources and a small restructure of the sales team prior to your appointment as Senior Sales Executive. Strategic Direction The owner has recruited you to focus on the struggling business to consumer (B2C) sales channel in Australia. The owner would like to personally continue with the current overseas activity as their focus. They have however, committed to you, their willingness to invest resources into the Australian operations to grow the domestic sales contributions. Your allocated territory is the east coast of Australia including Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. You have been provided with a support team consisting of 5 sales support team members responsible for managing the sales process for the company under your direction as the Senior Sales Executive. Success here for you may lead into a promotion as National Sales Manager - Business to Consumer division. ASSESSMENT BRIEF The following objectives have been created to be consistent with the strategic direction: Find new customers for the B2C and B2B markets (expand to secondary market segments and target customers) To increase Australian business to consumer (B2C) sales by 25% per sales team member in the first 2 months, then 100% after that To make a total sales revenue of $1,200,000 for the FY 2020-2021 (annual combined team target) To develop an advertising and promotional strategy aimed at the targeted customers To improve sales team performance and standards - reduce staff turnover Sales Team Compensation Plan The owner has decided that the sales team members will receive a base salary, with a compensation plan. Different levels of commission will be applied in accordance with a levelled system approach. If the sales revenue targets change, then a new compensation and salary system will be negotiated with the sales team. The following sets out the commission that the sales staff will receive. The commission will only be paid four weeks' post sale. This is to ensure that the customer has not returned the product and final payments have been made. Sales Team Compensation Schedule Faye Ji Amount 5-15% above the set target 15-25% above the set target 26-50% above the set target 51-75% above the set target 76% or more above the set target Commission $200 $400 $600 $800 $1000 Note: Refer to your notes and PowerPoint presentation slides for each of the topics covered in class from weeks 4 You will also nood to conduct your own independent recogarch. It is expected that your onewors ore ASSESSMENT BRIEF Questions: 1. A sales process is a set of repeatable steps that a sales person follows to take a prospective buyer from the early stage of awareness to a closed sale. As the recently appointed Senior Sales Executive, briefly identify each of these steps - paying particular attention to describe the sales process required for the NUTRICA sales team to follow under your guidance and example as a role model. Provide sufficient specific detail and relevant examples where practicable. 2. Analyse the Case Study, then complete a SWOT analysis of the current market and sales performance. Ensure you fully address each of the internal and external SWOT factors in full structured sentences/short paragraphs. Provide between 3 to 5 points in each quadrant, explaining their inclusion (i.e. justify why you have included). Internal to NUTRICA Weaknesses Strengths What sales strategies that have been working well? Which market or customers are the products selling to the most? Opportunities What are the market needs? What are the market opportunities? What sales strategies have not been working well? Which market or customers are the products selling to the least? External to NUTRICA Threats What are the threats to sales internally and externally? 3. Based on the case study and lessons on target markets and market segmentation (T2), provide a detailed analysis of NUTRICA target market(s), customer characteristics and how the company targets each of their chosen markets. (350 words) 4. Outline your account relationship strategy as the Senior Sales Executive. Part A: Briefly outline your: a. Sales strategies b. Sales tactics c. Sales action plan Part B: List a strategy used to do each of the following: d. Manage customer accounts e. Build customer goodwill f. Develop customer loyalty Page 5 of 7