Sborník 2009 díl 2. - Fakulta informatiky a managementu - Univerzita ...

Dr Grazyna Rembielak-Vitchev RELATIONSHIP MARKETING AND ITS IMPORTANCE
IN THE CONTEMPORARY MARKETING MANAGEMENT
3. Ghost shopping – companies can hire person to pose as potential buyers to
report on strong and weak points experienced in buying the company’s and
competitors’ products. These ‘mystery shoppers’ can even test whether the
company’s sales personnel handle various situations well. Thus, a mystery
shopper can complain about a restaurant’s food to test how the restaurant
handles this complaint.
4. Lost customer analysis – companies should contact customers who have stopped
buying or who have switched to another supplier to learn why this happened.
Not only it is important to conduct exit interviews when customers first stop
buying, but it is also necessary to monitor customer loss rate. If it is increasing,
this clearly indicates that the company is failing to satisfy customers.
In addition to improving their relations with their partners in the supply chain many
companies concentrate their efforts on developing stronger bonds and loyalty with their
ultimate customers. The task of creating strong customer loyalty is called Relationship
Marketing.
3. Relationship Marketing
The relationship marketing approach acknowledges the need to retain customers and
contrasts with purely transaction-based marketing. According to Blythe [1: 309]
traditional marketing is concerned with the exchanges between organizations and their
customers. Most of the marketing transactions in a traditional firm are undertaken
anonymously, and the customer is reduced from being an individual person, with needs
and wants and problems, to being a member of market segment. Gronroos [2: 231]
highlighted that traditional marketing activity treats all people the same – there is little
or no distinction between first-time and repeat/long-standing customers – in traditional
marketing, everyone is treated as a prospect for recruitment, even if they have already
traded and established a relationship.
Blythe [1: 309] says that relationship marketing looks at the customer as an individual
and tries to establish a relationship. Relationship marketing is concerned with the
lifetime value of the customer. Jagdish N., Sheth and Rajendras S., [5: 48] define
relationship marketing as ‘long term, mutually beneficial arrangements in which both
the buyer and the seller focus on value enhancement through the creation of more
satisfying exchanges. Varey (table 1.) specifies differences between transaction and
relationship marketing.
TAB. 1: Differences between transaction and relationship marketing
Transaction marketing Relationship marketing
- Focus on recruitment of customers
for a single sale
- Focus on customer retention
- Orientation on product features - Orientation to product benefits
and system solutions
- Short-time horizon
- Long(er) time horizon
- Little attention to customer service - Customer service considered very
important
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