Digitalization Process of Personal Selling: Drivers and Barriers
Chapter from the book: Fettahlıoğlu, H. S. & Bilginer Ozsaatcı, F. G. (eds.) 2023. Digital Transformation of Marketing: Marketing 5.0.

Erdem Özkan
İstanbul University

Synopsis

Companies have started to use digital technologies in personal sales processes and sales organizations with the expectation of developing effective communication, creating profitable customer relationships, and increasing their performance to keep up with the times. Using digital technologies causes personal selling to be digitalized and further triggers its digital transformation. As technology evolves, the types of digital technologies and tools adapted to personal selling processes and sales force management also change, and options of available technologies are increasingly diversified. However, not all companies can integrate digital technologies into their operations similarly. As the technologies used, the ways of utilizing technology, and the process designs differ, the outputs also differ. These differences between companies in terms of the spread of the digitalization process of personal selling may originate from drivers or barriers of digitalization processes. Identifying and understanding the drivers and barriers in the digitalization processes of personal selling is noteworthy for removing the hindrances and implementing practices that encourage digitalization. Therefore, this study aims to determine the characteristics of the digitalization process in personal selling, define the effects of digitalization on personal selling, and identify the drivers and barriers in the digitalization of personal selling. In this context, based on the literature review, the structure of digitalization in personal selling and the digital technologies used are defined, and the positive and negative effects of digitalization on personal selling are determined. In addition, drivers and barriers to digitalization in personal selling at the salesperson and sales force management level have been revealed.

How to cite this book

Özkan, E. (2023). Digitalization Process of Personal Selling: Drivers and Barriers. In: Fettahlıoğlu, H. S. & Bilginer Ozsaatcı, F. G. (eds.), Digital Transformation of Marketing: Marketing 5.0. Özgür Publications. DOI: https://doi.org/10.58830/ozgur.pub254.c1351

License

Published

October 23, 2023

DOI