Mountain Bell Telephone Company

1. Mountain Bell Telephone Company Kevin Gansky Justin LaJevic-Augustine

2. Background • Telecommunications company • Sells equipment and services • Focuses on the Health Care industry • Based in Denver • Rising competition compelled them to start focusing on their sales force and ways to better prepare and train them

3. Jim Martin and Andy Smyth • Jim Martin is the Research Marketing Director. He studied the old research survey and realized changes had to be made. • Andy Smyth is the Health-Care Industry manager. He has overall responsibility for the marketing effort towards the Health-Care Industry. He prepared the marketing action plan and implemented it.

4. The Marketing Plan The Marketing Action Plan Covered: 1. Sales objectives by product and by segment 2. Sales training programs 3. Development of sales support materials and information

5. Sales Force Problems • Oldest sales force member have three years of experience with the company • They do not understand their customers needs, wants and problems • They were responsible for designing responsive communication systems

6. Problems with the Old Survey • The questions were too general Ex. What basic issue confront the Health-Care area? • The questions were too difficult to answer. Ex. How much do you budget monthly for telecommunications equipment or service? • Conducted group surveys, Smyth felt individual surveys would be more effective.

7. New Objectives for the Survey • What are the awareness and usage levels of competitive telecommunications products by the hospital? • What is the perception of Mountain Bell’s sales force capabilities as compared to other telecommunications vendors? • What is the decision making process as it pertains to the identification, selection and purchase of telecommunications equipment • What concerns/problems most directly affect the hospital’s daily operations? • What are the perceived deficiencies and suggestions for improvement of work/information flow?

8. Research Design • Conducted in Seven Denver Hospitals • Conducted with the Financial Officer, Hospital Administrator and the Telecommunications Manager • 14 interviews are planned by appointment • They will only respond to the questions that most appropriately coincide with there position responsibilities • Cost $6,500 - $8,500 depending on the time involved to complete the interviews

9. New Survey Topics • Awareness and Usage of Competitive Telecommunications Equipment • Perceptions of Mountain Bell’s Sales Force • Purchasing Decision • Specifications of the most important problems or concerns relation to effective hospital management • Achieving Maximum Utilization of Hospital Facilities • Efficient Use of Labor Resources • Reimbursement and Cash Flows

10. Will the New Survey Achieve the Goals that they Set? • Yes, they will. They are more specific and easier to answer. Telecommunications managers will not have to answer Financial Officers questions. The survey is geared toward each individuals contribution to the Telecommunications purchase decision.

11. Will Mountain remain competitive? Is this survey effective in understanding their competitors? • Yes, because it asks specific questions about what departments use Non-Bell equipment and why that equipment was selected over Mountain Bell. • No, because the survey in general is focused toward preparing the sales force for the needs of their consumers not the understanding of their competitors goals and operations.

12. What Changes would You Make to the New Survey? • Instead of one survey make three different surveys for each Managing individual involved. One for the Financial Officer, one for the Telecommunications Manager and so on. • Create a database for the answers to the questions. Have easy reference to the database for the other departments in Mountain Bell. • Run the survey once a year in order to understand changing trends in the market place.

13. Questions and Discussion