Reference no: EM132222509

Please read the case study and answer the questions below based on your opinions. You should be able to answer all of the questions in a detailed manner but all questions in total should not exceed more than one page. Please provide support of your answers with information we have learned in chapters one and two:

Building Trust

Because the National Copier Company (NCC) has only been in business for five years, Brenda Smith is concerned that most of her competitors are older than she is. The prospective customers she has been calling on the state that they know they can count on her competitors because they have a long track record. As NCC expands into new markets some of her prospects are not familiar with her company. One prospective customer, who works for one of the most prestigious and largest medical offices (30 doctors) in the area, told her he has been buying copiers from the same company for over twenty-five years. He also told her that his sales representative for the company has been calling on him for over seven years, and he knows when he calls on his copier supplier for advice he can count on him for a solid recommendation. Brenda realizes these are going to be tough accounts to crack.

Brenda does have an advantage due to the high quality of NCC products. In a recent trade publication, NCC’s copiers tied for first in the industry on ratings of copier quality and dependability. NCC was also given a high rating for service. Brenda has had this information for two weeks now and has brought it up in conversations with her prospective customers without much success. To make matters worse, one of her competitors must have started rumors about NCC. In the past month, she has heard the following rumors:

“NCC is going out of business because of financial troubles.”

“NCC has missed several delivery deadlines with customers.”

“NCC’s copiers have a software glitch that cannot be corrected.”

“NCC has cut its service staff.”

Brenda knows these rumors are not true, but prospects might believe the rumors. At a recent sales meeting, Brenda’s manager suggested that their competitors must be getting nervous about NCC’s success, causing them to start such vicious rumors. Brenda is sitting at her desk trying to figure out what to do next and she is not exactly sure how to proceed.

Questions

What would you recommend Brenda do to handle the challenges she faces?

Brenda appears to have an advantage with her products and services. Develop a plan for Brenda to build trust in NCC with prospective customers.

What do you recommend Brenda do to compete effectively against competitors that have a long and successful track record?

How should Brenda go about handling the rumor mill?