Bundles and Communication : A Successful Concept

Abstract: This research has been done on a mission from Atlas Copco Secoroc AB, DTH department. The focus and purpose of the study is to acknowledge the important factors you need to take advantage of when it comes to offering bundles. There is also a theoretical purpose, which is to investigate if communication together with bundles can create loyalty and, how this three factors affect each other. This is a somewhat overlooked research area within the bundles theory and is therefore of keen interest for this case. The research has been conducted through seven in-depth interviews with people related to Atlas Copco Secoroc and the sell-buy transactions.  The interviewed people were customers, sales persons, service technician, distributions co-ordinator and price department personnel. There was also investigative quantitative research done, where nineteen customer centres were asked to reveal competitor’s customers net price on different products. The interviews could not have been conducted without a literature review done within the subjects of bundles, communication, loyalty and price strategies. These four topics together with how the order works and the contact between different instances worked as the base for the interviews. The literature review plus learned information on Secoroc was the basis of the knowledge needed to conduct the interviews. The key factors found in the research that Secoroc needs to take advantage of are communication within the company, and with the customer and also the importance of relationship building. This is something a majority of the interviewed persons believe is missing, or hard to have time for, and something that theory puts a lot of pressure on. Better communication will lead to easier sales, better relationships and through that, increased loyalty. It will facilitate the sales of bundles and the communication will help in the creation of bundles. The findings include a suggestion where the mission is to involve Secoroc deeper with their customers. The findings suggested that a reason for the missing contact is because lack of resources. Therefore the solution is to employee service technicians in high-loaded areas. Through that a more regular and close contact will be established. Customers can concentrate on the drilling and Atlas Copco Secoroc will take care of the administrative work. Further research has to be done within subject of how to divide the invoice when more then one product company is involved in the bundle. Connected to this is how the reward should be divided between involved sales persons. A redevelopment of the system is needed and therefore more knowledge and research over how that can be accomplished must be acquired.