Tag: marketing

A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING

BY

Miss. P. PIRAKATHEESWARI, Lecturer in Commerce,

Sri Sarada College for Women (Autonomous), Salem – 16.

 “You must unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning”.

– Bill Gates

 Introduction

             In the mid 20th century many management philosophers like Peter Drucker, believed that the purpose of a business is to create a satisfied customer.  Prior to the development of the marketing concept, the goal of marketing activity was to produce a sale (and to maximise sales volumes).  Profitability was not a major marketing concern then, as the basic assumption was that the sales volume holds the key to profitability.

             The present day marketing concept is radically different from its easier form as it involves a total organisation commitment, pervasive throughout the firm’s operating systems and culture.

 Relationship Marketing

             The concept of relationship marketing has emerged within the fields of service marketing and industrial marketing.  Gronroos defines relationship marketing as “Marketing is to establish maintain and enhance relationship with customers and other partners at a profit, so that the objectives of the parties involved are met.  This is achieved by a mutual exchange and fulfilment of promises.” 

            The relationship marketing has been defined as attracting, maintaining and in multiservice organisations enhancing the customer relationships.  Here attracting customers is considered to be an intermediary step in the relationship building process with the ultimate objective of increasing loyalty of profitable customers.

 Technologicalship Marketing

             Computerising and electronising relationships could also provide organisations with a powerful tool to profile its existing customer base and to create and retain stronger relationships within it, as well as to find new potential collaborators.  The technologicalship marketing is a marketing strategy based on technology tools used by the firms to acquire and manage their relationships.  For instance, the online marketing permits for one-to-one marketing which gives the companies the ability to establish an enduring relationship with its individual consumers.  In short, the technologicalship is a fully integrated marketing scheme which combines the activities of several marketing tools.

            Examples of the technologicalship partners – Benetton, IKEA, McDonald’s, NORTEL, Procter & Gamble, etc have proven the idea of partnering IT tools and relationship marketing all over the world.

 Integrating relationship strategies with Information Technology

             Many companies believe that blending technology with customer requirements is an important success element in establishing and developing customer relationships.  A partnering of IT, relationship and marketing holds the key in this direction and following are the emerging practises in this regard:

• The company sells directly to customers or uses a multiplayer channel system, direct knowledge of individual customers and their buying behaviours as its lifeblood.
• Information-based targeted marketing is becoming more efficient and effective than blanketed mass marketing.
• Mass marketing strategies that achieve targeted profits by counting on more-profitable customers to subsidize less profitable ones will fail as the more attractive customers are stolen away by the competitors targeted acquisition efforts.
• As customers gain near-perfect information on their alternatives, switching barriers are dropping dramatically.
• Companies can no longer depend on orderly vertical channel systems to control customers buying behaviours.

            In the present scenario, companies that could understand the asset value of each customer, and that tailor their marketing efforts (and their costs) to acquire and sustain the highest-value assets, would trump the less-focused mass marketers.  The free and smooth flow of information about such factors as consumer, product and service performance, operations, logistics, competitive comparisons, suppliers, cost and finance are becoming crucial in creating, developing, and enhancing the long-term relationships in the IT era.

 Advantages of Relationship Marketing

• Most marketers have focussed on attracting customers from its target segments using the tools and techniques developed for mass marketing in the industrial era.
• In the information era, this is proving to be highly ineffective in most competitive markets.
• Slowing growth rates, intensifying competition and technological developments have made business organisations to look for ways that would reduce costs and improve their effectiveness.
• The business process re-engineering, automation and downsizing have reduced the manpower costs. 
• The financial restructuring and efficient fund management have reduced the financial costs.
• The production and operation costs have been reduced through Total Quality Management (TQM), Just In Time (JIT) inventory, Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) and an efficient Supply Chain Management.

            The benefits come through lower costs of retention and increased profits due to lower defection rates.  When the customers enter into a relationship with a firm, they are willingly foregoing other options and limiting their choice.  Some of the personal motivations to do so result form a) greater efficiency in decision making, b) reduction in information processing, c) achieving more cognitive consistency in decisions and d) reduction of perceived risks with future decisions.

 Strategies for practising Relationship Marketing

            Berry (1983) has recommended the following five strategies for practising relationship marketing:

• Developing a core service around which to build a customer relationship
• Customising the relationship to the individual customer
• Augmenting the core service with extra benefits
• Pricing services to encourage customer loyalty, and
• Marketing to employees so that they would perform well for customers

 Conclusion   

            Relationship marketing has the potential to radically transform the company that adopts the principles and practices it advocates.  It involves the ongoing process of identifying and creating new value with individual customers and then sharing the benefits of this over a lifetime of association.  It involves the understanding, focusing and management of ongoing collaboration between the suppliers and selected customers for mutual value creation and sharing through interdependence and organisational alignment.

The importance of understanding the customer requirements is so great that the companies try innovative ways and means to get close to the customer and hear the ‘voice of the customer’. 

Source by P. Pirakatheeswari

Marketing

First, let’s discuss the term marketing, and start by defining what it is not (or at least, what it shouldn’t be). Real marketing is not manipulative. Real marketing is not the slick used car salesman trying to rip you off. Real marketing is not trying to make a trash product look better than it really is. Real marketing is not deceitful.

Real marketing means bringing valuable products and services to the people who need, want, and are able to purchase them. Assuming you have a product or service that is valuable to other people, you already have a market. The trick for you now is finding that market, educating about your product or service, and building trust so that the market will purchase. When this occurs, both parties win – you make the sale, and your market gets your valuable product or service.

It sounds like a simple idea, and in theory, it is. It’s when we need to apply this theory to real world situations and make marketing work that the problems occur. There are many questions to be answered, such as: Who is my market (who needs my product or service)? What will resonate with them? How do I best educate them about my product or service? What are the best channels to reach them? How do I communicate with them in a way that they will understand? What are the ways I build trust with them?

Analytics

Because there are so many variables involved in marketing, it’s not possible to have exact answers to these questions. What’s more, the variables always seem to be in flux and we never have complete control over them, making it hard to find concrete, sure answers. Despite these difficulties, however, it still remains that we need marketing to work.

This is where the analytics enter the picture. Analytics, in practical terms, can be defined as the investigation of available data and facts (be it qualitative or quantitative) to arrive at an optimal decision. The analyst seeks to find true, valuable insight from the investigation of the data and circumstances.

Marketing Analytics

Combining the two terms, we arrive at marketing analytics, or the practice of investigating data and facts to make optimal and functional marketing decisions. The marketing analytics practitioner, then, must not only be able to do this type of analysis and see the data in context to get real insight, but he must also be able to translate this insight into action.

To be successful at marketing analytics, one must draw from a large base of knowledge and skills. An understanding of sociology, human relationships, psychology, communications, and statistics is necessary. Being able to write, educate, make an idea sticky, manipulate data, see data in context, and break down complexity into simplicity is essential. Marketing analytics can span from doing web analytics, search engine optimization, good website or advertisement design, social media, traditional PR channels, content creation, television and radio campaigns, to a myriad of other activities.

In short, it is not something you master in a day. It is a multi-faceted discipline that requires study, practice, and dedication.

Source by Curtis Seare

Car dealerships are involved in one of the most cutthroat businesses there is. Competition is heavy, and there need to be a lot of sales in one year (from a limited pool of potential customers) in order to make projected profits. The most crucial factor in getting those sales is giving people a reason to come through the doors, and this will require a focused marketing campaign. Often these campaigns are multi-pronged; let’s take a look at some ways successful car dealerships have marketed their businesses.

Match the Message to the Target. A successful business person is going to have a different idea of the perfect car than the young mailroom employee just starting out; a senior citizen has different needs than a twenty-something. In any locale, there are going to be a wide range of people with an even wider range of desires when it comes to a dealership. Any advertising that is placed by a dealership should have the demographic of the medium in mind.

For example, if your dealership offers a discount or rebate on some models to post-secondary graduates, it is a good idea to mention the opportunity in an advertisement in a local university or college newspaper. Recent grads jump at the opportunity for a deal, and this type of program always generates interest.

Radio advertising is another area where a target demographic can be identified. Air play formats are designed to appeal to a certain group; listeners will often be very similar to each other in age, lifestyle, and even gender. There is no point in advertising a sale on used or new muscles cars on a station that caters to women with families; in the same vein, there is no better place to advertise truck prices than on a country station.

Create a Memory. Catchy jingles that get stuck in a person’s head may seem cheesy, but they tend to work. People don’t realize that they pay attention to advertising spots until they have a need, and the song they heard about what a great guy the owner of the local dealership is pops into their head. Guess where their first inquiry for a service or sale is going to be? Don’t underestimate the power of a hokey ad.

Try Local Sponsorship. Another method that is successful in promoting a dealership is in sponsorship. There are a lot of charitable causes and opportunities in every community, and it is in the best interests of the dealership to lend a hand through loaning vehicles or providing some aspect of service to these events. Name placement is the key here, and attaching your name to a good cause.

Probably most of these ideas will sound old to you, but the fact is that they are tried and true. All of the methods we list here are part of a successful, integrated marketing strategy that will see customers coming through the doors of a dealership, interested in the stock. Now, it is up to the sales staff to make the pitch and close the deal.

Source by Leaftech

Marketing career can be a real promising and well defined path for a person. In marketing the challenges are different and the methods adopted to treat them and handle them are also widely different. If you are looking for a career in marketing then this article has something really useful and good to offer you. We have listed the top 10 marketing jobs, and you can choose to have a look at it and decide for yourself.

Work of a marketing manager- Conde Naste New York

The work of brand advertising, ROI marketing, subscription marketing, and search marketing work has to be executed by the marketing manager. This work demands a professional who has good analytical skills. The person must have an experience of 3 years in the field of research marketing.

Director marketing professional required for spectrum brands Inc.

A very good level of organizational skill is demanded for this job. The communication and presentation skill should be excellent. A bachelor degree is a must but an MBA degree would be highly appreciated. 7 to 9 years of experience in brand marketing is desired for this job. Location is Bridgetown MO.

For whole food markets marketing specialist is required

Expected to adopt marketing strategies and oversee the food products for the customers. Regional marketing work is expected to be done by them. The person must have an eye for detail and should be flexible if duties are modified to some extent.

Internet marketing specialist required

Canon USA is looking for the above. The person must have some knowledge about product specific marketing in this case. He is required to coordinate with CIG groups. A bachelor’s degree or an experience of 3 to 5 years is demanded for this work.

Marketing coordinator required

For CB Richard Ellis organization a marketing coordinator is required. The person must be proficient with the use of PowerPoint and should have great interactive skills. It is expected that the person should be able to analyze all kinds of business documents.

For university of southern California a marketing coordinator is desired

The salary has been decided as 23 to 26 dollars per hour. The professional is expected to work with the marketing counsel and USC clinical enterprise since it has got to do with the health industry. A minimum bachelor’s degree has been demanded for this job.

For UC San Diego a director marketing and comm. Personnel required.

The Rady School of management is ready to pay an amount of $82,800 to $105,000 for the above post. A minimum graduate degree is required for this job.

Marketing/ communications spec

A salary of $42,000 to $58,671 annually is being offered for this post by the top ranked university of California, San Diego. A bachelor’s degree in communications is demanded with good exposure in public relations for this job.

Consumer marketing manager

Conde Nast’s department of consumer marketing demands the above and a full time job is being offered to candidates who have experience in relevant field for 3 years.

Senior integrated marketing manager at Conde Nast

The candidate must have great project management skill for the above full time post.

Source by Silas Reed

All marketing resources will eventually talk about your marketing mix, but what do they mean exactly? Marketing mix is a term that the marketing world tries to hold as a private term that only the industry knows about, but as a small business owner, you need to understand how to plan and implement your marketing mix.

The marketing mix is defined as the four P’s of marketing: product, price, place, and promotion. These four areas make up the complete outline for product or service marketing. Once you have defined the variables for each P, you have a basis for proper marketing.

Market research will play a major role in each area of your marketing mix. You must understand what you are competing with in regards to products and pricing. Although you may have a new and unique item with an innovative type of distribution, you still must compare your product or service to existing ones.

Here are the four P’s of your marketing mix for small business marketing.

P #1: Product

The product or service or selling must be defined first. What are you selling? How will it be packaged? Determine your product’s features, and then build the benefits from them. At this point, you will make all of the decisions relating to your product or service: style, quality, packaging, warranty, etc.

P#2: Price

Pricing actually plays a vital role in the branding and image of your product. Determining your price can be difficult, especially if you product is in a widely-variable industry. You must determine pricing strategy, retail and wholesale pricing, possible bundling, and any type of discounts.

P#3: Place

Place refers to how you will distribute the product. Will you sell to retail stores, or will you sell directly to customers? Is your product a wholesale item? The decisions made about distribution will affect your marketing mix in terms of how you will warehouse your products, how you will process orders, what types of channels will you use, and how will you cover the market.

P#4: Promotion

Promotion is the area where you will make decisions on how people will learn about your product. What types of sales strategies and promotions will you use? What kind of sales force will you need to sell your product? How will you use public relations and publicity to support your product? There are many aspects of the promotion element of your marketing mix. In fact, the other three P’s will affect your promotion strategy.

Decide on the first three P’s before you tackle Promotion, but ultimately, each P will coordinate with the others. Once you complete your marketing mix decisions, review the entire plan to make sure you have a consistent and precise marketing mix plan in order to properly sell, distribute, and promote your product.

Source by Nate Stockard