ABSTRACT
This chapter brings together a number of disparate threads that need to be considered in planning both strategic and tactical marketing communications activity. Sales and sales management are often neglected in strategic planning, resulting in the link between marketing communication and sales being seen as an afterthought, potentially hindering synergies and, at the extreme, resulting in reluctance by sales staff to actively use marketing communications material that has been created without their input. Each sales person in non-retail environments will generally be allocated a territory a geographical area or a specific number of current or potential customers who are to be the focus of their activity. Additional complexity is provided by the growth in retailer house brands and by retailer co-branding or identification of the source of ingredients for their house brands.
