Date:20/01/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/01/20/stories/2005012002460200.htm

Back TNT turns to territory management to increase customer base

Our Bureau

Bangalore , Jan. 19

TAKING the cue from the success of its new marketing strategy to increase its customer base in the UK, B2B express distribution company TNT India has embarked upon replicating the concept of `Territory Management', which focuses on converting prospective customers through regular contact programmes and propagating its salient service quality and features. The customer base burgeoned by 194 per cent in one year during 2000-2001 from its base customer level of about 14,000.

Mr Sanjiv Kathuria, Head (Sales and Marketing), told Business Line that about 70 per cent of the customers using the express courier service have the potential to become regular customers.

However, the tendency to concentrate on the 30 per cent customer base yielding 70 per cent revenue has made the service providers complacent.

But, he added, with the competition intensifying, companies were facing pricing pressure due to increasing costs, particularly with TNT's network concentrated in Europe.

Maximising the use of resources, time and infrastructure to strengthen customer base would prove to be an effective marketing strategy to expand revenues and bottom line. The territory management concept, launched in Bangalore after its successful venture in Mumbai and Kolkata, has helped in evolving a uniform sales process and system through technology to bring prospective customers into TNT fold.