Demand Forecasting

Field sales intelligence is gathering information about your markets and customers that impact future product demands. These market condition modifiers are information about near term future demands that you know will happen but have no influence over. Field sales intelligence is another form of forward looking demand components.

This information is usually organized by product and/or market category and provided by your field sales force. It describes key events or business elements like competitive impacts or economic conditions that impact your product demands. These market condition modifiers must be integrated into the statistical forecast and the sales tactic modifiers to create the Strategic Forecast. Most importantly, this information is provided by the people who know your customers best, your field sales force.

Understanding your markets and customers is best accomplished through a network of field sales information gathering methods. The company sales plan however can play a significant role in organizing this important information. For example the formal customer survey program should be established and administered as part of the sales planning process.

You should be in constant touch with your customers. Every customer contact should include an inquiry about their satisfaction with your products, the company, your people, and their customer service experience with their last transaction.

A formal survey that samples your customer base should be completed two or more times per year. The objective of this process is to find key issues about the performance of your company, your products, and how you service your customers. There are many different mechanisms to implement this important activity.

The sales plan should identify the objectives, audience, timing and general approach to the customer survey. An example of objectives for the customer survey includes:

Three customer surveys will be completed during the fiscal year. They will evaluate our product and customer service position relative to our competition. A sample of at least 300 key customers will be selected. A minimum response of 25% is required for these surveys. The focus for this planning period will be the industrial and consumer product groups. Questions and survey purpose will be reviewed and approved by senior management staff before surveys are released to customers. Results will be published to the senior executive staff by no later the third quarter.

The results of the survey should be incorporated into near term operational improvement plans. It is not unusual for people to be surprised about the results and opinions from their customers. Your two most valuable resources are your people and your customers. You must constantly maintain communications with these resources to understand their needs and requirements. The formal customer survey, assuming it is carefully designed to reveal the right issues, is the best method to stay in tune with your markets and customers.

Sales tactic modifiers are best defined and managed using the sales plan. Demand programs should be defined and managed within sales planning. These important forward looking demand compo­nents are integrated into the Strategic Forecast. Their accuracy and effectiveness are based on the clarity of their purpose and objectives. Their performance is usually measured, validated, and enhanced by the filed sales intelligence gathering system.

To be Continued

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