Executive summary Relationship marketing is emerging as a new phenomenon even though it was predominant in the pre-industrial era. Now, it is suggested as one of the new market paradigm.The concept relationship marketing has emerged within the fields of service marketing and industrial marketing. The growth of relationship marketing isdue to the re-birth of direct marketing between producers and consumers. The core of relationship marketing is relations, a maintenance of relations between the firms and the actors in its micro-environment that is the suppliers, market intermediaries and the customers as the important actor. The strengthening of strategic network competition has given a remarkable development to the rise of relationship marketing.
By definition, relationship marketing is an approach that is used to sustain loyalty among a company’s customers. Relationship marketing has a host of advantages. First, relationship marketing helps a company yield massive returns on its investment (Wiersema 1983). Maintaining previous customers helps company reduce unnecessary advertisement costs since previous customers frequently repurchase company products. The company can thus focus on new customers to enter into their fold through a multiplicity of marketing strategy, but the old customers need not be enticed again.
Further it was also demonstrated that measurement of the underpinnings of relationship marketing can predict customer loyalty. Therefore, firms intended to nurture customer loyalty must pay close attention to various aspect of relationship marketing viz. trust, commitment, communication and conflict
Marketing refers to what an organization must do to exchange and create value with the customers. Marketing has a main role to play in the setting of a firm’s strategic way. Successful marketing requires both a great skill in developing an organization’s power so as to serve customers profitably and the deep knowledge of customers,competitors and collaborators. Marketing, is a broad general management responsibility , not just a function related to specialists. Anyone with career interests that lead to the setting of the strategy of an organization, regardless of its type or size, will require marketing skills and insight.
INTODUCTION Relationship marketing requires the adaptation of practices and methods of marketing communications. The author will define relationship marketing and the importance of relationship marketing. The author will also discuss characteristics of a relationship marketing programme and important factors that should be addressed when undertaking such a programme for the organization. RELATIONSHIP MARKERTING Kotler, (2007) defines relationship marketing as the process in which the construction, cultivation and strengthening of strong value laden relationships with customers and other stakeholders occur. (Kotler et al.
Relationship marketing takes marketing back to its basic principles by acknowledging the deeply entrenched importance of maintaining customer relationships in order to generate loyalty and repeat business (Drummond et al 2008). The importance of the relationship between the seller and buyer is the key feature of relationship marketing. This differs from the traditional 4Ps approach (product, price, place, promotion) where the focus is on the products and services and a short term transactional orientation between the buyer and seller (Baines et al
This is attained by a mutual exchange and fulfillment of agreements”. Relationship marketing is a key factor in the market, it create customer impression and loyalty. Relationship marketing also helps to create good relationship between customer and sellers. A mutually satisfactory relationship makes it possible for customers to avoid significant transaction costs involved in shifting supplier or service provider and for suppliers to avoid suffering unnecessary quality costs. Long-term relationships where both parties over time learn how to best interact with each other lead to decreasing relationship costs for the customer as well as for the supplier or service provider.
The ability to analyse the emerging opportunities for the business is availed by making use of effective marketing activities. Moreover, the marketing activities also help the firms in analysing the competitors because it is the important phase of promoting a brand. Effective marketing strategies not only focuses on meeting the needs of the consumers but it also consider the competitors because these two are the main aspects of achieving organisational goals (Budhwar & Debrah,
As communication is the engine which drives relationships, managing communication in an integrated manner becomes a priority. The bank must be able to send out the same message to the customers regardless of whether it is from an advertisement, a front office clerk or a newspaper insert. Taking into consideration the above mentioned and the fact of rapid sector development, the importance of relationship marketing in the banking area becomes obvious. In comparison to transactional marketing, relationship marketing concentrates rather on cooperation, than on conflict. This permanent relational exchange is exactly what creates value for bough parties and ensures customers’ satisfaction.
One of the best definitions that we have come across is ‘Marketing is the act of connecting customers to products’ Speaking about connecting, advertisement is one of the important means of making that connection. The traditional form of advertising generally comes into picture when the company launches a new product or looks to promote special