“Relationship Marketing”

RESEARCH PROJECT REPORT

Submitted to

Dr .A. P. J Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow

In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of
Master of Business Administration

Submitted By: Under the Supervision of:

Rahul Singh Dr. Neetu Singh
MBA 4rd Semester Assistant Professor,
Roll Number: 1504070025 Department of Business Administration
Enrollment No. 150407011259

2017
Technical Education & Research Institute
Post-Graduate College, Ravindrapuri
Ghazipur – 233001

1
 Certificate

This is to certify that Rahul Singh, pursuing MBA 4th Semester from
this institute, has prepared the research project report entitled
“Relationship Marketing” in partial fulfillment of the requirements of
the degree of Master of Business Administration from Dr. A. P. J. Abdul
Kalam Technical University, Lucknow, for the session 2016-17.

This report is based on research project undertaken by Rahul Singh

under my supervision during the course of fourth semester and fulfills
the requirements of regulations relating to the nature and standard of
MBA course of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Technical University.

I recommend that this project report may be sent for evaluation.

Rahul Anand Singh Dr. Neetu Singh

Associate Professor &Head, Assistant Professor

Dept. of Business Administration Dept. of Business Administration

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 Declaration

I, Rahul Singh, here by declare that this Research project report

entitled “Relationship Marketing” has been prepared by me on the
basis of research done during the course of my fourth semester of MBA
programme under the supervision of Dr Neetu Singh, Department of
Business Administration, TERI Ghazipur.

This research project report is my bona fide work and has not been
submitted in any form to any University or Institute for the award of any
degree or diploma prior to the under mentioned date. I bear the entire
responsibility of submission of this project report.

1st May 2017 Rahul Singh

MBA 4th Semester
Department of Business Administration
Technical Education & Research Institute
P. G. College, Ghazipur

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 Index of Contents

Page No.

 Preface []

 Acknowledgements []

PART I

Chapter – 1

 Introduction []

 Brief history []

 Definition Participants of Employee empowerment []

PART II

Chapter – 2

 Objectives of the study []

 Importance of the study []

 Scope of the study []

Chapter – 3

 Research Methodology []

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Chapter – 4

 Data analysis & Interpretation []

Chapter – 5

 Findings & Recommendations []

Chapter – 6

 Conclusion & Limitations []

 Bibliography & References []

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 Preface
The research report entitled, “Relationship Marketing” was really a great interest to do. We

really enjoyed working on it. Also, the topic was so interesting that it aroused my interest to do

more and more work regarding it. The first real insight of an organization for management

student comes only during her preparation of project work because student first interacts with

real particle work. This is first introduction to industry and its working. This project work

synthesize the theoretical concept learn in the class room and its particle orientation in

organization.

Research repot are backbone of any management education program. The tool that we learn in

class room, we apply this tool in project work. I have seen the same problem which was taught

by our respectful teacher. A management master should frequently do research work during this

entire course plane.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have the snazziest new toys – it just means that you have

what is needed to do the job in the time allotted and with a high level of quality.

First chapter includes the detailed company profile. It includes the company’s history: its
activities and operations, organizational structure, etc. this section attempts to give detailed
information about the company and the nature of its functioning.

The second chapter deals with performance appraisal. In this section, a brief conceptual

explanation to performance appraisal is given. It contains the definition, process and significance

of performance appraisal

The third chapter is the summary of the various research methodology use for the

development of the project.

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 Data analysis and interpretation of the survey conducted over a group of employees is

providing in chapter four in this various graphs and tables are given as per the research.

Chapter 5 deals with the finding and recommendation related to the project. These

finding and recommendations are based on the data analysis and interpretation done in the

previous chapter.

The conclusion of the project is provided in Chapter 6 and this chapter also deals with the

limitations of the study and research work.

We are confident that anyone who goes through the report will learn how much we have

learnt & benefited during this period.

Rahul Singh
MBA IV Semester

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 Acknowledgement
I sincerely express my deep sense of gratitude to head of department Mr. Rahul Anand Singh,

TERI, Ghazipur, for his extraordinary cooperation, invaluable guidance and supervision. This

thesis is the result of his painstaking and generous attitude.

I would like Dr. Neetu Singh, Assistant professor, Department of Business Administration, who

gives me chance to work on this topic and valuable suggestion and useful comment throughout

this research work. I owe and respectfully offer my thanks to parents for their constant moral

support and mellifluous affection which helped me to achieve success in every sphere of life and

without their kind devotion this thesis would have been a sheer dream.

I am also thankful to my sibling for their constructive discussion, perseverance and

encouragement during this research work.

I sincerely acknowledge the effort of all those who have directly or indirectly helped me in

completing my thesis successfully.

It is the kindness of this acknowledged person that this thesis sees the light of the day.

I submit this thesis of mine whit great humility and most regard.

Ralul Singh

MBA IV Semester

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Chapter – 1
Introduction

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 Introduction

Relationship marketing is about forming long-term relationships with customers. Rather than

trying to encourage a one-time sale, relationship marketing tries to foster customer loyalty by

providing exemplary products and services. This is different than most normal advertising

practices that focus on a single transaction; watch ad A and buy product B. Relationship

marketing, by contrast, is usually not linked to a single product or offer. It involves a company

refining the way they do business in order to maximize the value of that relationship for the

customer.

Relationship marketing was first defined as a form of marketing developed from direct

response marketing campaigns which emphasizes customer retention and satisfaction, rather than

a focus on sales transactions.

Relationship marketing differs from other forms of marketing in that it recognizes the long term

value of customer relationships and extends communication beyond intrusive advertising and

sales promotional messages.

With the growth of the internet and mobile platforms, relationship marketing has continued to

evolve as technology opens more collaborative and social communication channels. This

includes tools for managing relationships with customers that goes beyond demographic and

customer service data. Relationship marketing extends to include inbound marketing efforts, (a

combination of search optimization and strategic content), PR, social media and application

development.

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Relationship marketing best practices

 Conduct regular polls and surveys to solicit feedback from customers.

 Respect that feedback and incorporate it into the company's business practices.

 Use any and all social media outlets to connect with customers.

 Have effective customer monitoring technologies in place.

 Use clear policies to dictate how all company employees should interact with customers in

both positive and negative situations.

 Leverage the value of warm leads – customers who have already expressed an interest in

the company.

 Have a comprehensive customer relationship management strategy.

 Conduct regular training sessions for all members of staff.

 Stay on the cutting edge of product offerings.

 Do not sacrifice quality for innovativeness.

 Maintain a high customer satisfaction rate in all areas of the company.

 Make an effort to inform customers how much they are appreciated.

Relationship marketing mainly involves the improvement of internal operations. Many

customers leave a company not because they didn't like the product, but because they were

frustrated with the customer service. If a business streamlines its internal operations to satisfy all

service needs of their customers, customers will be happier even in the face of product problems.

Technology also plays an important role in relationship marketing. The Internet has made it

easier for companies to track, store, analyze and then utilize vast amounts of information about

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customers. Customers are offered personalized ads, special deals, and expedited service as a

token of appreciation for their loyalty.

Social media sites allow business to engage their customers in an informal and ongoing way. In

the past, it would have been impossible to keep useful records about every single client, but

technology makes it easy for companies to automate their marketing efforts. 

Branding is the final component of relationship marketing. A company can form a long-term

relationship with a client if that client feels like the brand they purchase reflects who they are or

who they want to be. Customers are less inclined to switch to a different brand if they think that

switch makes a statement about their identity.

Who Employs relationship Marketing?

Many types of companies have something to gain from developing long-term relationships with

their customers. Smaller businesses often serve a steady stream of regulars, and make little effort

to draw in new customers. Imagine a small restaurant that sees a steady stream of business from

the morning commute. Their daily presence is a large part of the business that restaurant does

every day.

Larger companies typically invest the most in carrying out sophisticated relationship marketing

campaigns. In some major companies, relationship marketing is a strategy that affects every

department with a client facing purpose (sales, customer service, shipping etc). Industry leaders

constantly face competition from new companies who claim to provide similar goods with a

higher-quality level of service. Holding onto their existing customers is the only way they can

maintain their position at the top of their industry. This is true for businesses in all industries,

from cell phones to baby food.

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 Ikea – The Swedish furniture maker has a worldwide base of intensely loyal customers.

When the company changed the font in their ubiquitous catalog, Ikea lovers took to the Internet

to air their complaints. Rather than alienate their customers for a trivial reason, Ikea changed the

font back in the next catalog.

 Direct Recruitment – The direct mail marketing firm sends out handwritten birthday

cards to clients and associates every year. This simple, personal touch helps clients feel like

Direct Recruitment cares about them as people rather than simply consumers.

 American Airlines – The airline maintains a comprehensive frequent flyer program that

rewards customer loyalty with the promise of free flights, upgrades, and discounts.

 Dell – Dell computers created a special online store for high volume corporate customers.

By tailoring the ordering process to the specific customer's needs, Dell was able to expedite

many of the hassles corporate technology buyers face. Providing a higher level of service leads

to increased loyalty.

 Vyvanse – The makers of the popular ADHD drug created an extensive online portal that

included videos, forums, expert articles, and mobile apps to help those who suffer from ADHD.

Rather than relying on the strength of the product alone, the drug makers created a place for

users to gather and interact that was linked back to the company.

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How is a Relationship marketing plan developed Implemented

Relationship marketing can involve revising major aspects of the way a company conducts

business. This can be expensive, time consuming, and have serious consequences for both

customers and employees. The only way to carry out a relationship marketing strategy in a

thoughtful and effective way is to follow a comprehensive marketing plan.

Companies must first look at demographic and historical data about their customers to

understand who they are, what they buy, and how to provide for them over the long term. The

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company must understand why a consumers returns for repeate business. There is the tendency

to think that customers return because the company has served them well, but maybe they return

to a store because it is the closest to their house, or the only one in the area that stocks the

product they want to buy. Analyzing the nature of customer loyalty is the best method develop a

working relationship marketing plan.

With a wealth of customer data in place, the company can begin to segment these customers and

develop unique marketing strategies for each segment. A customer who appreciates a product's

value has different qualities than one who has had a helpful customer service experience. These

customers are loyal for different reasons, and require tailored relationship marketing strategies.

Once the marketing strategy has been implemented, it requires constant evaluation to determine

its success. There are a number of hard metrics that companies can use to measure whether they

are holding onto their customers. The most obvious is repeat sales, but they can also look at

whether customers are spending more, opening up email newsletters, referring the company to

friends, or following them on social networks. All of these are indicators of various types of

customer loyalty.

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Review of Literature-

The empirical analysis has to be built on a comprehensive review of relevant researches in the

area of relationship marketing. A review of available literature on relationship marketing is

undertaken with a view to identify possible areas of enquiry. It also provides the necessary

background for the present study.

According to Morgan and Hunt (1994), relationship marketing was defined as all the marketing

activities that are designed to establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relational

relationship with customers. Hougaard and Bjerre (2002, p.40) also defined relationship

marketing as “company behavior with the purpose of establishing, maintaining and developing

competitive and profitable customer relationship to the benefit of both parties”. Due to profitable

relationship on a lifetime basis may also create loss in some stages during the lifetime, Hougaard

and Bjerre (2002, p.40) argued that marketing management must pay attention to three different

objectives in terms of: (i) the management of the initiation of customer relationships, (ii) the

maintenance and enhancement of existing relationships, and (iii) the handling of relationship

termination. Wulf et al. (2001) suggested that different levels of relationship duration would

result in different levels of consumption experience, producing different results, satisfaction and

loyalty with different relationship marketing tactics. Since the final purpose of relationship

marketing is to gain the maximal value of a customer, customer loyalty should be emphasized to

achieve this goal. The benefits of relationship marketing derive from the continuingpatronage of

loyal customers who as a partnership are not sensitive to price cut over time (Bowen and

Shoemaker, 2003). Interdependence, mutual cooperation and commitment between supplier and

customer tend to be essential in relationship marketing, as such whole relationship is viewed as

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the key to competitive advantage (Hougaard and Bjerre, 2002). There have been various ways

for marketers to implement relationship marketing strategies, which are expected to have impact

on customer retention and loyalty. In this regard, Bansal, Taylor and James (2005) identified four

varieties of strategies: service quality, price perception, value offered, alternative attractiveness,

and so on that can be used to execute relationship marketing. Peng and Wang (2006) also

examined the application of relationship strategies in service quality, reputation (brand), price

perception, value offers. Based on the early theories, certain relationship marketing strategies

which are considered of importance in service industry, such as service quality, price perception,

value offers and brand image, will be focused in the following parts.

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Relationship Marketing – Background and Theory

The world of business has altered a great deal in the last few decades or so, globalization and

information technology has produced a young breed of well-informed customers. And so the

marketing theory has also undergone changes. Service based industry is now at the forefront in

the economic evolution.

Therefore, to sustain a loyal customer base relationship marketing along with other marketing

mix forms base of the new marketing world.

Today’s companies want to use relationship marketing to improve customer loyalty, and

generate profits.

Scope of Relationship marketing is as follows:

 Relationship marketing looks at creating an approach and strategy that will generate

customer retention. It makes a shift from traditional marketing which had a single sales

strategy.

 Relationship marketing treats sales as the beginning of relationship with the customer.

The profit from this relationship is a measure of company’s success. Sale alone does not

determine success of the company.

 Relationship marketing looks to create a continuous relationship with the customer. This

could be through proficient after sales service or providing add on features.

 Relationship marketing talks about delivering value to the customer rather than

highlighting the salient features of the product.

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  Relationship marketing believes the customer is the center of the business rather than its

product and offerings.

 Relationship marketing deals with customer by considering a long term perspective rather

than a short term one.

 Relationship marketing looks to deliver a robust customer service which includes pre-

sales, sales and after sales activities.

 Relationship marketing puts emphasis on understanding customer expectation. After

understanding company shows high commitment in delivering to that expectation.

 Relationship marketing is committed towards total quality management. This

commitment towards quality is displayed at each level and across functions.

 Relationship marketing believes pricing of product should not be determined by the

competitive forces but through negotiation and consensus.

 Relationship marketing encourages marketing campaign to focus on the target customer

market, tailoring to the specific needs of the individual.

 Relationship marketing prepares the company to launch products which serve problem

solving capability addressing current as well as future needs.

Relationship marketing- A Collaborative Approach

From above it is clear that relationship marketing overlaps with other marketing strategies like

service marketing, branding, channel marketing etc. However the differentiation comes in focus

of other strategies for example service marketing focus is on intangible services, channel

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marketing looks at the interaction between channel partners. But relationship marketing looks at

enhancing company performance by focusing on improving various relationships.

Relationship marketing’s focus is on improving relationships with supplier market, internal

market, referral market, customer market and business market.

Internal markets: company’s culture, values and belief create the internal market. It includes

people, process and groups.

Supplier Market: the various suppliers and vendor on which company is dependent to create its

final product make up the supplier market.

Referral Market: Satisfied customer, professional advisors, etc. from the referral market. The

satisfied customers are motivated bunch who through word of mouth promote the company.

Business Market: the external business environment forms business market for the company.

They play a significant role in determining the success of the company.

Customer Market: this market consists of not only the end user, but also intermediaries who

purchase products from the company.

The above mentioned markets form basis various relational exchanges around which relationship

marketing is developed.

Conflict and Relationship Marketing

The existing and unresolved conflicts between the various markets and company play a pivotal

role in determining long term success of the company. If any conflict remains unresolved it can

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lead to complete breakdown of commercial interactions between all market players. Therefore, it

is necessary for the company to align its business process with relationship marketing strategy.

The company has to create culture and formal systems where conflict customer issues are

resolved.

Evolution of Relationship Marketing

Marketing Management has evolved to become a multi faceted and all embracing science over a

period of time. Studies in Marketing do not involve the 4Ps anymore. The markets, geographies,

the consumer segments have changed leading to multi tier and complex networks and

relationships.

Marketing Managers of today are no longer following the same rules of game that they followed

two decades ago. Technology has changed the rules of the game and competition has become

more intense. Instead of concentrating on selling the product, the marketing effort is now

directed to expanding the customer base and relationship.

By widening the customer base as well as expanding the depth of the customer base using

relationship marketing, they see the possibility to lengthen the revenue lines. Therefore

Marketing professionals to be will benefit greatly by understanding more about Relationship

Marketing as well as direct marketing, service marketing and CRM etc.

From times immemorial including the times when trading used to happen through the silk

route, the basis of trading was the relationship that was built on trust, loyalty and previous

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history of transaction. Traditionally if you analyze the jeweler’s business, you will see that the

families have always been going to one jeweler for generations together. The same is the case

with banker who would extend loan to a well known individual who was personally known or

referred by a known person. Even while renting out a house, the owner prefers to let out to a

known person or a person referred by a known party where there exists some kind of

relationship. Therefore we can say that relationship has always been the basis of business.

However the growth of Relationship Marketing as a discipline and practice got an impetus post

industrial era. Until this period the products and services were always produced in smaller

quality where things were in short supply and were marketed in the local area. Industrialization

led to mass production as well as standardization of the products and services. The businesses

started expanding their geographic boundaries and exploring new markets where in it became

necessary for them to evolve new methods of marketing. They understood the importance of

having to reach out and build a relationship with a customer and make efforts to retain the

customer rather than keep spending on marketing to new customers every time.

At this stage we do see significant changes that happened at an Organizational level.

Organizations realized the importance of having to put the Customer ahead of its business.

Organizational philosophy seemed to have shifted from profits, products and markets to

Customer first. Right from product design to manufacturing as well as selling began to be

designed around what the Customer wants, his needs, his comfort and satisfaction. Customer

focus and relationship became the Organizational focus and lead to many new trends in

manufacturing methods the most significant being the concept of TQM or Total Quality

Management.

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On the marketing front too, the managers had to come up with new channels for marketing and

sales for they had to reach out to bigger markets and new customer segments. As a result we saw

the emergence of Direct Mailer or catalogue sales was born in the 1960s. Information technology

further enhanced the marketing methods whereby database marketing, direct mailing and

customer loyalty programs along with marketing services came into being. With the advent of

internet we have see several more marketing methods like e commerce, online selling, one to one

selling happening. All these marketing channels have been built around the concept of

relationship marketing. We as consumers have now are used to being courted by the companies

and given individual attention. Most of our purchases of products and services are based on

relationships with companies that make us comfortable and valued.

The management of relationships

An organization has to maintain healthy and fruitful relationships with not just with customers

but also with external and internal stakeholders. These relationships are intervened over various

networks, association, and information management. Through this organization are able to create

and maintain closer link with its market and consumers. The traditional marketing practice is

relevant in scenarios where a customer is much pricier driven rather than relationship driven.

Also relationship marketing takes a back-seat customer acquisition is more in demand than

customer retention.

Therefore, relationship marketing can be used as an extension of traditional marketing practice in

the product life cycle.

Evaluation of Relationship Strategy

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The focus of relationship marketing is to create long term loyal customer. However the focus of

traditional marketing strategy is to bring in more customers. Though these two approaches may

appear too different to each other, but in reality and application both go hand in hand. So

organization uses a mix of traditional marketing strategy along with relationship marketing.

The first stage of any marketing planning cycle is the evaluation of the strategy. In evaluation it

is important to find out whether the customer is interested in having any relationship with the

organization. The relationship would be beneficial to both parties if there were possibility of

success. If customers do not find any value addition in the relationship they will not be ready to

enter into one.

Another evaluation point is the time frame of product utility. If the product is use and throw kind

then it would be less likely that consumers would like to have relationship with the company. On

the other hand, if product usage over a longer period of time, probability of customer relationship

is increased. In case of business to business transaction development of the relationship would be

important.

While evaluating strategy, organization would like to know what sort of customer it is looking to

target; whether the customer is active, low maintenance or high maintenance.

In the current global environment, market dynamics are constantly changing, so organizations

need to evaluate the time taken for execution of strategy and time for it to yield results.

Product

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After evaluating the customers and their behaviors, the next in planning cycle is the product.

Organizations need to take a closer look at the product or services they are selling and whether

they are beneficial for relationship marketing.

The way the products are perceived in consumer mind and how they are able to differentiate

against competition should determine need of relationship marketing. Products like car, bike etc.

are appropriate product for conducting customer relationship initiatives. However, from

commodity types of product like salt, flour customer relationship may not make that much sense.

Organization need to identify the current state of its product in the product life cycle to develop

and determine relationship marketing strategies.

Relationship Options

After the evaluation of customer and product, the next step is looking at different alternates of

relationship to forge with consumers. For that organization need to separate good or bad

customer so that it can manage relationship which can generate maximum profits.

The organization needs to ascertain whether the consumer is deceitful, negligent, naysayer or

makeshift. The next step in developing a portfolio relationships. By developing a portfolio of

relationship, organizations can diversify risk through a mixture of high risk –low risk

relationships. This can be done by getting into relationships which of different categories and at

different stages. Economic consideration should also be considered in developing a portfolio of

relationships.

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There are several types of relationship into which organization can get into with the consumer. A

close relationship is categorized by the high volume of business with a great deal of trust and

commitment. In a re-current relationship business volume is low, but trust and commitment are

high. In a dominant relationship trust and commitment are high but business volume is low.

Similarly, in a discreet relationship everything is minimal.

In balancing relationship portfolio is important for an organization to do key account

management. In key account management few dedicate resources, maintain close relationship

with most profitable customers.

Structures and Process for Relationship Marketing

The organization is looking to implement relationship marketing need to develop the following:

 Design and maintain process which is customer focused rather than product focused

 Create a clean and clear communication about its objectives across the organization

 Identify key process which adds value to customers

 Form collaborative relationships across departments and with other organizations

 Restructure and refining organization structure

Implementation, Monitor and Control

After following all the steps which are listed above, the organization is ready to implement

relationship marketing strategy.

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Organization need to make steady effort in monitoring and controlling its relationship marketing

strategies. They need to develop metrics because if the organizations are not able to measure than

they cannot manage.

Importance of Relationship Marketing

The recent trend seen in the Organizations across the world is that they are faced with changing

times and the changing economies and business is forcing them to change themselves too.

Organizations today have no option but to change and evolve. The change has to do with every

aspect of business and not limited to any one aspect of its business. Those who are not able to see

the trends and change themselves are perishing. Technology has been the single most important

change agent. Technology has redefined all aspects of business. What we see today is the

definitive shift of power from the Organization into the hands of the Customer.

Customers today know their position and the power they wield. Especially the medium of

internet has brought the customers closer to the Organisation as well as to the other Customers.

Information, discussions, feedbacks and opinions are now visible and available to one and all

almost instantaneously. Social networking is a medium that the Organizations cannot afford to

ignore. This is both a boon as well as a bane to the Organizations. Marketing Managers are

learning to use this to manage their relationship with the customers at large. Customer redressal

too is another important phenomenon that has contributed to the Customer becoming powerful in

the market place.

The fact that the information and interaction happens on live basis and the customer reactions

can be instantaneous puts a lot of pressure on the Organizations to be on their guard all the time.

27
Any adverse opinion shared or feedback from a dis-satisfied customer can spearhead a word of

mouth campaign that can harm the Organisation. Therefore the internet and social network is a

double edged sword as far as the Organizations are concerned. When used effectively this

medium can help the Organization build a relationship with the customer and strengthen that

relationship. This medium helps the Organization to reach out individually to the customer which

may not be possible otherwise.

The marketing departments are able to not only communicate and address the customer

individually, with the help of technology and data mining techniques, they are able to understand

the customer’s needs and customize solutions as per the specific individual needs of the

customer. CRM packages and technology become the enablers to make this happen. Banks,

Airlines, Insurance as well as Services like Pizza hut, Macdonald’s are some of the businesses

that have developed effective means to recognize and communicate with individual customers

and thereby build an emotional connect with the customers.

Product Companies have begun to use social networking sites effectively as a platform to engage

with customer on technical and product related discussions and build a community around its

products and services. Building relationships in such situations is easier and more effective.

The dynamics in the market is changing, thanks to internet. Marketing Managers can no longer

afford to use the traditional methods of engaging and selling to the customers. Marketing today

demands a customer centric approach. Customer is no longer an entity without a face. Today’s

customer is an informed and intelligent customer who can be reached, who is visible and can be

heard and a relationship with him matters the most to the Organization.

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Relationship Management holds the centre stage to designing Marketing as well as

communication strategies of the organization. It is essential for every student to understand

the dynamics of Relationship Marketing in the present context for this subject will be the key

differentiator for the Organizations in the market place.

The Nature of Relationships

Any relationship involves human element. A human interaction can greatly affect the business

and its relationship with the customer. This fact is the back bone of the services industry. The

customer interaction can be one on one basis, over a phone, email, chat etc. Hence these

interactions are going to determine whether customer is going to have any relationship with the

customer. However human touch does not necessary create problems for the company but can

also serve as a base for strong customer relationship.

Relationship marketing can be utilized to the fullest in certain types of market and develop

customer relationship to business advantage.

Customer Relationship

Customer will enter in relationship with business only if they find value in company’s offering.

This value begins in the mind with perception about the product and the company. Relationship

can add value to customer through following:

 The company needs to get closer to the customer and start interaction with them. Through

the interaction the company is going to understand needs and requirements of the

customer. This understanding of expectation may be through personalized marketing, if

the product is customized.

29
  By close interaction with the customer, company is going working to create a relationship

of trust and commitment. This will help both company and customer make the right

decision.

 As a company progresses it start to look at more standardization and reduce

customization. But through relationship marketing and human interaction this

standardization can be made more acceptable.

Customer Requirements

A market consists of customer with various needs and requirements. In order to achieve

economies of scale, company indulge in mass production, this is applicable to FMCG type of

markets. Relationship marketing helps in bringing customer centric approach back. One of the

ways is through mass customization.

Today’s customers are looking for products which offer a high degree of customization.

Customized product offer a great value to the customer and can help the company give edge over

the competition. There are four ways through which to achieve mass customization. These four

ways are combination of options, personalization, and postponement and bespoke.

Combination of options: this technique lets consumer stack up their individual choices in the

final product, without affect the economies of the scale. This kind of technique is more prevalent

with car manufactures. This allows consumer to create a unique product suiting their

requirements.

Postponement: this technique involves collaboration across supply chain. All components are

manufactured along the supply chain but not assembled till the last moment. This allows retailer

30
to create exactly customer required product. This kind of technique is used by computer

companies. They order different parts from different supplier and then assemble the product as

per the customer requirement.

Personalization: this technique converts a mass produced standard product into personalized

product in one way or another. This kind of technique is often used by cake shops, for example

printing family pictures, favorite cartoon characters etc.

Bespoke: this technique involves creating products and services which suit individual customer

requirements. This technique creates product and services which are expensive compared to

customized product available through other techniques. This kind of technique is used holiday

specialist, tailors etc.

The essence of any relationship is communication. Traditionally marketing encourages creating

communication which target whole audience base rather than individuals. This approach does

not create relationship or value for the consumer. The direct mail is classic example of mass

communication.

Social Network

Companies like to conduct business with people whom they know or are recommended by

friends and family. This introduced the factor of network in building relationships. The network

is extension of relationship through friends and family, with whom there would be no

interactions otherwise. There are broadly three types of networks formal networks, informal

networks and cultural networks.

31
Formal networks or association are developed more at professional level and less at personal

level. The classic example of formal networks are alumni associations, sports club etc.

Informal networks are association made at personal level. The examples of informal network are

friends, family, neighbors, colleagues etc.

Culture networks are association based on place of birth or religion. These networks are formed

based on religion, language, social class etc.

Business Networks

Business networks are kind of extension of social networks, only differentiation here is that there

is interaction among different organizations. But as in any relationship or networking it involves

the human element. A classic relationship example is between the supplier and manufacturer.

There are so many interactions between buyer and supplier at various levels, starting from the

CEO to finance department to quality control.

In this world of competition and ever evolving technologies differentiation is the key to success.

Therefore it is important to manage customer interaction and different types of relationships.

Relationship Marketing and CRM

Relationship Marketing is being spoken of as one key Business Philosophies of the progressive

Organizations who are Customer Oriented or Customer Centric. Companies have realized that to

be successful on the long term trajectory of successful business, they need to be closer to the

market, get under he skin of the Customer, anticipate his needs and engineer products and

services to satisfy the customer and engage his loyalty.

32
As competition is increasing, product innovation is definitely one of the key important elements

that the Organizations need to depend upon to steer themselves ahead in the market. Along with

the technical leadership the companies necessarily need to know how to reach out to the

Customer.

Engaging the Customer, Understanding the Customer and building relationship has become the

need of the day.

No wonder that every individual today is bombarded with calls, emails, personal visits, mailers

and all sorts of marketing communications from different companies trying to vie for your

attention. From the Credit card Company, bankers to the shopping mall as well as the local

restaurant you frequent try to engage you into a relationship that goes beyond a single

transaction.

One of the outcomes of the evolution of Relationship Marketing has been the birth of CRM

solutions. Besides CRM we have also seen the birth of new departments and disciplines in

Organizations namely Customer Service Department as well as Key Account Management.

It is very easy for students to equate RM with CRM and that both are one and the same.

Relationship Management forms part of the vision and business ethics that the Company

envisages to imbibe as its core value system. When an Organization chooses to build its

business blocks around Relationship Management, the Organization is marrying its Profit

Making goal with Customer Relationship to build a synergy by which all the divisions as

well as the functions of the Organization look at their function and business through the

RM lens. This helps build a strong customer orientation and culture of Customer Sensitivity

across the Organization at all levels, branches and functions. In any Organization several of its

33
departments are involved with the external customers. Starting with Marketing, Sales,

Distribution to After Sales Service, Quality as well as Finance Departments are involved with

Customers and their orientation towards the Customer interaction is fashioned by the RM

outlook of the Organization.

CRM on the other hand can best be described as an enabler of RM in any Organization. CRM

involves process including software and hardware components that automates and helps manage

customer engagement. While RM works at a strategy level, CRM helps implement the Strategy.

The success of CRM as a concept is widely seen due to the aggressive marketing of CRM

solutions by the IT companies who have developed the CRM packages. This has helped the

Multi National Organizations to implement standardized process of Customer management on

large scale across geographies and markets.

Besides Software driven Packages, there are several services and schemes that are available

locally that are tailor made to suit particular industry. In a market place where every company is

vying for space in the minds of the customer what helps the company gain that customer loyalty

is the RM outlook that comes across via the CRM channel.

Organizations and Relationship Marketing

Traditionally with Organizations the customers belonged to and were the responsibility of the

Marketing Department alone. Organizations probably had too many constraints on meeting the

demands and were saddled with limited product range that did not require them to look out and

reach out to the Customer. However with evolution of technology, mass production processes as

well as expanding geographical markets, the Organizations began to realize the need to reorient

34
their understanding of the business and the way to manage the business. To a large extent we can

very well say that the Customer Relationship Marketing did not originate only in the marketing

department. It developed as an Organizational approach and management thought.

Management experts and Organizations have come a long way in terms of their outlook to

the internal and external environment. Today Organizations have begun to understand

and recognize the relationship that exists between the Stockholders, the Employees and the

Customers who provide the reason as well as the resources for the Organization to exist

and grow.

There exists a mutually inclusive relationship between all the three factors. Organizations need to

manage the relationship dynamics on all the three fronts. This understanding has further brought

about the Management thought and approach to orient and imbibe Relationship Marketing as an

Organizational Philosophy.

An Organization does not recognize the customer in the market to be the only stake holder in its

relationships. The Company has ongoing relationships both internally as well as externally at

many levels and tiers. The Company strives to build excellent and long term relationships with

its strategic suppliers as well as the intermediaries important for its business. Sales and

Distribution partners including whole sales, channel partners as well as point of sale retailers

form a part of the chain which needs to be handled via the relationship platform.

The number of relationships that the Organization is required to manage are spread over several

areas. Ongoing Relationship Management with Current Employees as well as prospective

employees becomes very important for the Organization as the Human resource is a key

resource for its business. Besides the employees, suppliers, as well as the Customers and

35
intermediaries, the Organization has a relationship that needs to be managed with the public,

Government as well as media too.

Therefore it should be very clearly understood that Relationship Marketing is a business

philosophy and not a marketing strategy. Of course Marketing strategy and plans are built around

this Organizational philosophy and value of Relationship Marketing.

Managements have successfully adapted to the concept of internal and external Relationship

Marketing and have benefited immensely from it. Internally the concept of internal customer has

yielded tremendous advantageous and brought about efficiencies in operations. TQM, JIT, Six

Sigma philosophies have been successfully implemented thanks to the fundamental concept of

internal customers and customer satisfaction.

Apart from marketing and sales functions which are exposed to the Customers and markets and

hence need to be sensitized and oriented towards relationship management, the Organizations

have realized the need to sensitize the other departments including Finance, HR, Technical

Service, Customer Service as well as the Product Development and legal departments towards

relationship Management with he customers. This orientation has benefited the Organizations

immensely besides changing the service dynamics for the customers.

Organizations and Types of Relationships

Organizations today live in highly dynamic environments. Essentially the existence and growth

of the business is dependent upon several external and internal factors such as highly segmented

geographical markets, aggressive competition and shorter life cycle. These and many more

factors exert a lot of pressure on the Organizations to innovate both in terms of its product

36
offering as well as in its organizational development and ways of conducting business. Revenue

and profits do form the primary basis of its business transactions. However in the long term

growth perspective Organizations have got to be able to manage both external and internal

relationships on the basis of the values and culture on which it is founded.

Share Holders

Gone are the days when share holders were a community content with the returns they received

from the Company and went along with whatever the Managements thought good. Managements

today are seen becoming increasingly answerable to the share holders.

Recently we have seen several cases where CEOs of the Companies having been voted out by

the share holders for not falling in line with the thought process of the Organization and the share

holders. We saw major changes in Hewlett Packard wherein the shareholders took the call to

change the management and the strategic approach of the Company to business.

Organizations today exist in a situation which demands that they extend products and

services as well as keep investing into building products and technology for tomorrow. If

the business needs to exist and grow there is no option but to invest into the future. Therefore the

shareholders take the centre stage when it comes to approval of and financing the Organisational

business and growth plans. Shareholders today are aggressive demanding that the Organization

walk the talk when it comes to the bottom line as well as in terms of its culture. Brands like IBM,

HP and GE etc are more vulnerable to the stake holders as well as to the public as an

Organization. These and other Corporate are using internet, Multimedia and websites to speak to

the investors and extend the relationship with the share holders and investors. Internet platform

37
allows the corporate open up relationship with the share holder community on an interactive

basis thus giving the Company the control on how to manage the relationship as well as build

investor confidence.

For Companies that are looking for investments to fuel their growth engines, there exists a need

to demonstrate and cultivate the right corporate image and capability besides the past

performance figures which alone will not help attract investors. Companies are therefore engage

in Public relations as well as corporate communications to reach out to the prospective investor

public as well as institutions to build the right kind of corporate image. Image building and

relationship building become the long term strategy of the corporate communications of the

Organization.

Social Responsibility

In the recent times the social responsibility and attitude of the Companies towards their

responsibilities is becoming more and more visible and public. NGOs and specific interest

groups are taking the lead in keeping track of and benchmarking social responsibility

performance of the Corporate thus making them accountable. The brand image of the

Organization is definitely affected by the way it is managing its social responsibility with the

community, investors as well as policy makers being active participants as watchdogs.

Organizations have had to engage with the communities by way of participative activities

as well as using communication strategies and by maintaining and managing relationship

to be able to get across the right perspective as well as the right information. The recent

example of GAP having had to withdraw from sourcing clothing from Indian Companies and

38
suppliers who engaged child labour in the production lines is an ideal example which showcased

the power of the community and the stake holders forcing the Company to take immediate action

and use its relationship to project the right image for itself. The recent oil spill of BP in the west

coast is another ideal case for study of how BP manages the relationship with the Govt, with its

share holders, with the affected communities as well as manage its social responsibility.

Relationship Marketing - Company and Marketing Perspective

We are living in the high tech times. Technology and changing economy have changed the rules

the way a business is done. Business organizations have to tune in to various markets and know

the customers well. The successful companies are those who have been able to anticipate the

customer need and innovate future products leveraging on technology. In a global as well as

local scenario, customer holds the key to the growth of business and organizations. No wonder

that when you open your mail box or your email, you are always flooded with marketing

communication from all possible companies trying to build a relationship with you. Take a look

at the cards in your wallet and you must be holding quite a few membership cards that make you

feel privileged and keeping bringing rewards and prompting you to extend your relationship with

them.

Relationship Marketing has never been more important for the Organizations as it has been now.

In the field where competition is intense and life cycle of products and services is very small,

customer relationship has emerged to be one of the key drivers to contribute a large chunk of

sales revenue. When we talk of relationship marketing, we are not referring to customer

39
service. Customer service refers to the quality of service on a transactional mode. By

Relationship Marketing, we are referring to the level of Relationship that exists between

the customer and the company.

In terms of Relationship, there can be several ways of defining or measuring the quality of

relationship with the Customer. Understanding of the depth of relationship and qualifying can

help the Company in improving its reach to the markets as well as work towards increasing the

depth of the relationship with the customer. In the first instance, we have a happy customer who

has bought the product or a service and found it satisfactory.

When the Company reaches out to communicate with him and anticipate his future needs, he can

be converted to a faithful customer. A faithful customer may be a repeat customer who does

continues to buy the product from the company on repeat basis without making an effort to look

at alternatives. However, at this stage the customer can be influenced and be vulnerable to

competition as well as price sensitivity. Relationship marketing by the Company can help

convert this customer from a faithful customer to a loyal customer. A loyal customer is one who

has made an informed decision to go with the particular Company, is happy with the product, is

loyal to the brand and is likely to advocate the same brand to friends and family because he

believes in the Product as well as the Company and values the relationship. Apart from customer

service, there are several marketing programmes and loyalty programmes besides brand

advertising that the Companies carry out to build the relationship with the customer.

Relationship marketing gets translated and implemented through the marketing strategies,

promotional programs as well as through marketing communication programs. When

40
implemented as a part of marketing strategy, the relationship is normally focussed on leveraging

the brands and products of the Company with the customer. Besides the marketing activities, the

Companies implement internal and external corporate communications too keeping in view the

Customers.

Marketing strategies are required to define the relationship marketing strategies for each of the

product or service category taking into account the geographies, the customer profile as well as

the overall RM objective of the Company. The RM strategy in case of a product company would

be different from that of a service company and the element of communication design strategy

would need to be different for a product from that of a service. In case of a product, the

Customer is likely to respond in terms of brand, tangible and quantifiable performance of the

product and the satisfaction derived from post sales service. In case of service, however, there is

no tangible product and the customer’s expectations are different when it comes to service that is

mainly concentrated around his perceptions and experience.

Therefore understanding the concept of Relationship marketing, the difference between RM

and Customer Service as well as the ways and means of implementing or achieving RM

objectives through effective marketing strategies is important for all the marketing

managers and students who are going to be the drivers to defining, planning, detailing and

implementing marketing strategies. An effective Marketing Manager should be able to

effectively design marketing policies and strategies that are aligned with the Company’s RM

objective and help build the relationship between the Company and Customer, Partners as well

as the intermediaries who are critical to one’s business.

41
Relationship Marketing Sells

Marketing is a subject that draws a lot of students who find it most interesting and challenging.

No doubt marketing is a challenge. Students who study Philip Kotler will definitely become

proficient with the basic foundations of marketing and concepts. However to be able to take up a

marketing responsibility in an Organisation or to go one step further in the profession, there is

yet another essential subject that one needs to master which is Relationship Marketing.

For any Organisation and more so for the Marketing person the customer is God. Many

academicians have begun to define Marketing as the art of ‘Creating And Sustaining Network of

Relationships’. This is apt for the modern day marketing function. The beginning and end of

selling has to do with establishing and managing a relationship with the customer. Besides the

Customer, there are several networks within the Organisation as well as outside the Organisation

in the form of Suppliers, Vendors, Sales partners, sales channels, whole sellers and so on.

Organisations will need to choose their marketing and sales strategy based on the kind of product

and the market that they are in. Companies like Boeing, Volvo and Ericson etc, engage actively

in relationship management with the prospective buyers who may be Government Organizations

as well as Defence Organisations to market their products and solutions. You can call their sales

persons as relationship managers rather than sales managers. They operate in markets were the

lead time for selling is very long. The marketing team has got to build the right contacts, position

themselves right and build the relationship with the prospecting customer organizations for a

number of years with no active selling happening in the near future.

42
The pre selling process can take several years and the sales contracts can be long drawn

spreading over a number of years. Whether Boeing is selling planes to a country or Volvo is

selling vehicles to Government and Defence sector is not a onetime transaction. Post sales

service and maintenance also plays an important role to ensure future business. When in case of

sales to Defence as well as Governments in international markets calls for dedicated and

intelligent management of relationship at various levels involving political as well as other

considerations.

The industry leaders form associations and groups with similar business interests and engage the

Political leadership in helping open doors in international markets with other countries. When the

President of a country travels to another country, the visit brings about opportunities for several

business relationships including bi lateral trade relationships. The individual countries embassies

as well as trade councils often engage in exchange of and trade promotions with other countries

where the Governments of both countries are engaged in a favourable relationship.

A Marketing professional needs to recognise that he needs to first create a base and build a

relationship with his markets and customer. It is the ongoing relationship that will open doors to

and lead to opportunities for business. The more one invests in building the relationship with the

proposed and existing customer, the more one gets to engage in business. Relationships build

bridges and help prepare ground for long term associations. When in a relationship, Selling

happens automatically.

If you look at a typical product selling environment where one is selling through an established

channel, you can see the value of relationships in the existing sales cycle. It is the strength of the

relationship that will determine how well the product is pushed in the market, how the retailer

43
takes interest in selling the product and building the brand etc. It is based on the strength of the

network and the relationship with the dealers and retailers that the marketing and sales managers

are able to expand their markets.

Chapter -2

Objective Of The Study

44
 Scope Of The Study

Importance Of The Study

Objective Of The Study

 To study about and concept of the relationship marketing.

 To find out the focus on changing relationship marketing.

 To find out relationship marketing principle and orientation.

 To find out role of RM competitive marketing strategy.

45
 Scope Of The Study

Relationship marketing has also been strongly influenced by reengineering. According to

(process) reengineering theory, organizations should be structured according to complete tasks

and processes rather than functions. That is, cross-functional teams should be responsible for a

whole process, from beginning to end, rather than having the work go from one functional

department to another. Traditional marketing is said to use the functional (or 'silo') department

46
approach. The legacy of this can still be seen in the traditional four P's of the marketing

mix. Pricing, product management, promotion, and placement. According to Gordon (1999), the

marketing mix approach is too limited to provide a usable framework for assessing and

developing customer relationships in many industries and should be replaced by the relationship

marketing alternative model where the focus is on customers, relationships and interaction over

time, rather than markets and products.

In contrast, relationship marketing is cross-functional marketing. It is organized around

processes that involve all aspects of the organization. In fact, some commentators prefer to call

relationship marketing "relationship management" in recognition of the fact that it involves much

more than that which is normally included in marketing.

Because of its broad scope, relationship marketing can be effective in many contexts. As well as

being relevant to 'for profit' businesses, research indicates that relationship marketing can be

useful for organizations in the voluntary sector and also in the public sector.

Martin Christopher, Adrian Payne, and David Ballantyneat the Cranfield School of

Management claim that relationship marketing has the potential to forge a new synthesis

between quality management, customer service management, and marketing.

.Importance Of The Study

The fast changing trends in lifestyles, food and eating habits of consumers have contributed

largely to the growth and development of organised food and grocery retail formats in India.

But, this sector is predominantly (99.2 percent) dominated by the traditional kirana stores,

which have strong relationships with the customers for various technical and functional

quality benefits extended to them.

47
This posed a great challenge to the organised retailers for customer acquisition and retention

of loyal customers in this fierce competition. The paradigm shift in marketing practices from

the traditional marketing to reactive marketing and then to relationship marketing have

reiterated the significance of leveraging firm–customer relationship for reaping mutual

benefits.

Thus relationship marketing has come to the fore and occupied centre stage as one of the

strategic tools for organised retailers to develop ways for attracting and motivating potential

customers to remain staunch loyalists forever However, little is known about the actual

influences of the cornerstones of relationship marketing on relationship quality and customer

loyalty from an empirical analysis in the context of changing trends in food and grocery

retailing. This study seeks to investigate the influence of relationship marketing cornerstones

viz., Customer Satisfaction, Trust, Commitment, Communication on Relationship Strength

which further explore the affect on attitudinal outcomes like relationship quality and

behavioural outcomes such as customer loyalty. The study further examines an influence of

the relationship quality on customer loyalty. This study is purely based upon the primary data

and necessary secondary data to reinforce the model.

48
 Chapter -3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

49
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH

A Systematic search for an answer to a question or solution to problem is known as

RESEARCH.

The marketing research process that will be adopted in the present study will consist of the

following stages

a. Defining the problem and the research objective:

b. Developing the research plan:

c. Collection and Sources of data:

d. Analyze the collected information

50
e. Report research findings:

RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is defined, as the specification of methods and procedures for

acquiring the Information needed. It is a plant or organizing framework for doing the study and

collecting the data. Designing a research plan requires decisions all the data sources, research

approaches, Research instruments, sampling plan and contact methods.

Research design is mainly of following types: -

1. Exploratory research.

2. Descriptive studie

Exploratory Research

The major purposes of exploratory studies are the identification of problems, the more precise

Formulation of problems and the formulations of new alternative courses of action. The design

of exploratory studies is characterized by a great amount of flexibility and ad-hoc veracity.

Descriptive Studies

Descriptive research in contrast to exploratory research is marked by the prior formulation of

specific research Questions. The investigator already knows a substantial amount about the

research problem. Perhaps as a Result of an exploratory study, before the project is initiated.

Descriptive research is also characterized by a Preplanned and structured design.

The research design used in this project is a DESCRIPTIVE DESIGN.

51
DATA COLLECTION

Research will be based on:

 SECONDARY DATA When an investigator uses the data that has been collected by

others is called secondary data. The secondary data could be collected from journals,

reports and various publications. The advantages of secondary data can be economical,

both in the term of money and time spent.

SECONDARY DATA

Sources of Secondary Data

Following are the main sources of secondary data:

1. Official Publications.

2. Publications Relating to Trade:

3. Journal/ Newspapers etc.:

4. Data Collected by Industry Associations:

5. Unpublished Data: Data may be obtained from several companies, organizations, working in the

same areas like magazines.

NOTE – In this research report I have used the Secondary data from the different source of

secondary data.

52
 Chapter -4

Data Analysis and Interpretation

53
 Data Analysis and Interpretation

1- To study about and concept of the relationship marketing.

CONCEPT OF THE RELATIONSHIP MARKETING

Relationship marketing is about forming long-term relationships with customers. Rather than

trying to encourage a one-time sale, relationship marketing tries to foster customer loyalty by

providing exemplary products and services. This is different than most normal advertising

practices that focus on a single transaction; watch ad A and buy product B. Relationship

marketing, by contrast, is usually not linked to a single product or offer. It involves a company

54
refining the way they do business in order to maximize the value of that relationship for the

customer.

Relationship marketing was first defined as a form of marketing developed from direct

response marketing campaigns which emphasizes customer retention and satisfaction, rather than

a focus on sales transactions.

Relationship marketing differs from other forms of marketing in that it recognizes the long term

value of customer relationships and extends communication beyond intrusive advertising and

sales promotional messages.

With the growth of the internet and mobile platforms, relationship marketing has continued to

evolve as technology opens more collaborative and social communication channels. This

includes tools for managing relationships with customers that goes beyond demographic and

customer service data. Relationship marketing extends to include inbound marketing efforts, (a

combination of search optimization and strategic content), PR, social media and application

development.

Relationship marketing best practices

 Conduct regular polls and surveys to solicit feedback from customers.

 Respect that feedback and incorporate it into the company's business practices.

 Use any and all social media outlets to connect with customers.

 Have effective customer monitoring technologies in place.

55
  Use clear policies to dictate how all company employees should interact with

customers in both positive and negative situations.

 Leverage the value of warm leads – customers who have already expressed an

interest in the company.

 Have a comprehensive customer relationship management strategy.

 Conduct regular training sessions for all members of staff.

 Stay on the cutting edge of product offerings.

 Do not sacrifice quality for innovativeness.

 Maintain a high customer satisfaction rate in all areas of the company.

 Make an effort to inform customers how much they are appreciated.

Relationship marketing mainly involves the improvement of internal operations. Many

customers leave a company not because they didn't like the product, but because they were

frustrated with the customer service. If a business streamlines its internal operations to satisfy all

service needs of their customers, customers will be happier even in the face of product problems.

Technology also plays an important role in relationship marketing. The Internet has made it

easier for companies to track, store, analyze and then utilize vast amounts of information about

customers. Customers are offered personalized ads, special deals, and expedited service as a

token of appreciation for their loyalty.

Social media sites allow business to engage their customers in an informal and ongoing way. In

the past, it would have been impossible to keep useful records about every single client, but

technology makes it easy for companies to automate their marketing efforts. 

56
Branding is the final component of relationship marketing. A company can form a long-term

relationship with a client if that client feels like the brand they purchase reflects who they are or

who they want to be. Customers are less inclined to switch to a different brand if they think that

switch makes a statement about their identity.

 To find out the focus on changing relationship marketing.

Focus on changing relationship marketing-

While traditional marketing is focused on marketing to strangers (prospects and leads),

relationship marketing is focused on marketing to customers.

Depending on the organization, this could be the responsibility of the product marketing, growth

marketing or customer marketing teams.  

Instead of trying to move one of those strangers further down the funnel, relationship marketing

is focused on creating a long term, valuable relationship with an existing customer — an

ultimately getting more revenue out of that customer or account.

57
The Future Of Marketing

Back in 2009 when we started Performable and throughout our time at HubSpot, we focused on

the top half of the marketing funnel — building tools that helped marketers attract more leads

and sales reps convert more leads. Today, those tools have been used and loved by tens of

thousands of customers.

But there’s one thing that Elias and I kept coming back to: if customer experience is the new

marketing, why does marketing end when someone becomes a customer?

And this is a big part of what we’re focused on today at Drift. Building tools that can help

marketers transform the relationships that they have with their customers.

This is something that modern businesses are all thinking about today, from Slack to Buffer to

Quip to Trello and more.

Those modern businesses believe helping is the new selling.

And they certainly believe that customer experience is the new marketing. They have changed

the way they do marketing and sales to match the way that people actually want to interact with

a business today.

58
59
 Chapter -5

Findings

Findings

Relationship marketing refers to an arrangement where both the buyer and seller have an interest

in providing a more satisfying exchange. This approach tries to transcend the post purchase-

exchange process with a customer to make richer contact by providing a

more personalised purchase, and uses the experience to create stronger ties.

From a social anthropological perspective, relationship marketing theory and practice can be

interpreted as commodity exchange that instrumentalise features of gift exchange. It seems that

marketers — consciously or intuitively — are recognizing the power contained in 'pre-modern'

forms of exchange and have begun to use it. This perspective on marketing opens up fertile

60
ground for future research, where marketing theory and practice can benefit from in-depth

research of the principles governing gift exchange.

According to Liam Alvey, relationship marketing can be applied when there are competitive

product alternatives for customers to choose from; and when there is an ongoing desire for the

product or service.

The practice of relationship marketing has been facilitated by several generations of customer

relationship management software that allow tracking and analyzing of each customer's

preferences, activities, tastes, likes, dislikes, and complaints. For example, an automobile

manufacturer maintaining a database of when and how repeat customers buy their products, the

options they choose, the way they finance the purchase etc., is in a powerful position to develop

one-to-one marketing offers and product benefits.

In web applications, the consumer shopping profile can be built as the person shops on the

website. This information is then used to compute what can be his or her likely preferences in

other categories. These predicted offerings can then be shown to the customer through cross-sell,

email recommendation and other channels.

Relationship marketing has also migrated back into direct mail, allowing marketers to take

advantage of the technological capabilities of digital, toner-based printing presses to produce

unique, personalized pieces for each recipient through a technique called "variable data printing".

Marketers can personalize documents by any information contained in their databases, including

name, address, demographics, purchase history, and dozens (or even hundreds) of other

variables. The result is a printed piece that (ideally) reflects the individual needs and preferences

of each recipient, increasing the relevance of the piece and increasing the response rate.

61
Approaches Satisfaction

Relationship marketing relies upon the communication and acquisition of consumer requirements

solely from existing customers in a mutually beneficial exchange usually involving permission

for contact by the customer through an "opt-in" system.With particular relevance to customer

satisfaction the relative price and quality of goods and services produced or sold through a

company alongside customer service generally determine the amount of sales relative to that of

competing companies. Although groups targeted through relationship marketing may be large,

accuracy of communication and overall relevancy to the customer remains higher than that of

direct marketing, but has less potential for generating new leads than direct marketing and is

limited to Viral marketing for the acquisition of further customers.

Chapter -6

Conclusion
62
 &

Limitations

CONCLUSION

The fast changing trends in lifestyles, food and eating habits of consumers have contributed

largely to the growth and development of organised food and grocery retail formats in India.

But, this sector is predominantly (99.2 percent) dominated by the traditional kirana stores,

which have strong relationships with the customers for various technical and functional

quality benefits extended to them.

This posed a great challenge to the organised retailers for customer acquisition and retention

of loyal customers in this fierce competition. The paradigm shift in marketing practices from

the traditional marketing to reactive marketing and then to relationship marketing have

63
reiterated the significance of leveraging firm–customer relationship for reaping mutual

benefits.

Thus relationship marketing has come to the fore and occupied centre stage as one of the

strategic tools for organised retailers to develop ways for attracting and motivating potential

customers to remain staunch loyalists forever However, little is known about the actual

influences of the cornerstones of relationship marketing on relationship quality and customer

loyalty from an empirical analysis in the context of changing trends in food and grocery

retailing. This study seeks to investigate the influence of relationship marketing cornerstones

viz., Customer Satisfaction, Trust, Commitment, Communication on Relationship Strength

which further explore the affect on attitudinal outcomes like relationship quality and

behavioural outcomes such as customer loyalty. The study further examines an influence of

the relationship quality on customer loyalty. This study is purely based upon the primary data

and necessary secondary data to reinforce the model.

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 LIMITATION

All the economic / scientific studies are faced with various limitations and this study is no

exception to the phenomenon. The various limitations of the study are:

1. At various stages, the basic objective of the study is suffered due to inadequacy of time

series and data. There has also been a problem of sufficient homogenous data from

different sources.

2. This report cover working environment and workplace management which very difficult

to get actual data.

3. Above all, since it is a M.B.A. Project and the research were faced with the problem of

various resources like time and money.

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4. In a rapidly changing industry analysis on one day all in one segment can change very

quickly. The environmental changes are vital to be considered in order to assimilate the

findings.

5. Limited resource is available to collect the information about the work place

management.

6. Some of the aspect may not be covered in my study it gives knowledge about dispute

procedure work place management.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS/MAGAZINES REFERRED

 Kotler, Philip & Armstrong, Graw- “Principle of Relationship

Marketing”, Pearson Education, New Delhi 2007.Publisher- Dorling

Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd.

 Kotler, Philip- “Relationship Marketing Management”: Analysis,

planning, Implementations & control, Pearson Education, New Delhi

2003, 11 t h Edition.

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  Kothari C. R. – “Research Methodology” 2 n d revised edition 2004

published by New Age International Ltd.

 Beri- “Relationship Marketing Research” (Tata McGraw-Hill), 1993

2 n d Edition.

 “Marketing Strategy and Management”- Mr. Michael J. Baker.

 Gupta CB-“An Introduction to Statistical Method (Vikas)”, 1995,

9 t h Edition .

 Eveready In-house Newsletters.

BUSINESS MAGAZINE & NEWS PAPER

 The Times of India

 The Economic Times

 4Ps, Pitch, Business & Economy

 Business Word& Business Standard

 Business Today

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  Business

INTERNET

 www.google.com

 www. scribd.com

 www. presscounsil.nic.in

 www. worldpressinstitute.org

 www. google.com.

BOOKS

 Encyclopedia, The world book, volume 14

 Encyclopedia, Britannica, Napoleon Ozonolysis, volume 16

 Gupta, s.p., “ Statistical methods”, s.chand& sons, New Delhi

Kothari, C.R, Research methodology

Internet sites-

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• www.google.com

• www.answer.com

• www.indichem.com

• www.study.com

• www.knowledge.com

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