Strategic Advantages
Sales force automation systems can also create competitive advantage:
- As mentioned above, productivity can increase. Sales staff can use their time more efficiently and effectively. The sales manager can become more efficient and effective (see above). This increased productivity can create a competitive advantage in three ways: it can reduce costs, it can increase sales revenue, and it can increase market share.
- Field sales staff can send their information more often. Typically information can be sent to management after each sales call, rather than daily or weekly. This provides management with current information, which they can use while it is more valuable. Management response time can be greatly reduced. The company can become more alert and agile.
- These systems could increase customer satisfaction if they are used with wisdom. If the information obtained and analyzed with the system is used to create a product that matches or exceeds customer expectations, and the sales staff use the system to service customers more expertly and diligently, then customers should be more satisfied with the company. This can provide a competitive advantage because customer satisfaction leads to increased customer loyalty, reduced customer acquisition costs, reduced price elasticity of demand, and increased profit margins.
Read more about this topic: Sales Force Management System
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