Denna studie har undersökt hur digitaliseringen påverkar kundretention i dagligvaruhandeln vilket är ett intressant och aktuellt ämne. I dagens samhälle där det råder mycket osäkerhet kring världsekonomin vilket markant påverkar konsumenters privatekonomi och livsmedelsindustrin, har det varit intressant att undersöka konsumenters köpbeteende och reaktioner till ekonomikrisen. På grund av hur dagligvaruhandeln ser ut har det varit relevant att undersöka hur konsumenter svarar på företags tillämpning av digitala verktyg för att optimera kundretention.  För att besvara undersökningens syfte utfördes en empirisk studie. En litteraturstudie har utförts för att undersöka det studerande fenomenet samt vad tidigare forskning har resulterat i. Efter litteraturstudien tillämpades en enkätundersökning som vidare sammanställdes för att analyseras i statistikprogrammet IBM SPSS. I SPSS skapades bivariata analyser i form av korstabellsanalys, korrelationsanalys och regressionsanalys för att skapa och identifiera korrelationer och samband mellan de undersökta variablerna.  Studiens resultat visar att kombinationen av pris, geografiskt läge samt erbjudanden och rabatter är betydande faktorer för kundretention. Studien visar även att digitaliseringen har en betydande effekt på kundretention. Teknologins ständiga utveckling bidrar till implementering av nya verktyg som effektiviserar hanteringen av kunddata för att stärka kundrelationer och öka kundretention. / This thesis has studied how digitization affects customer retention in the grocery trade, which is an interesting and relevant topic. In today's society, where there is much uncertainty surrounding the world economy, which significantly affects consumers' private finances and the food industry, has it been interesting to examine consumers' buying behavior and reactions to the economic crisis. Due to the circumstances in the grocery trade, has it been relevant to study how consumers respond to companies' application of digital tools to optimize customer retention. In order to answer the purpose of the survey, an empirical study was carried out. A literature study has been carried out to investigate the studied phenomenon and what previous research has resulted in. After the literature study, a questionnaire survey was applied which was further set to be analyzed in the statistical program IBM SPSS. In SPSS, bivariate analyzes were created in the form of cross-tabulation analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis to create and identify correlations and connections between the studied variables. The results of the study show that the combination of price, location, offers and discounts are significant factors for customer retention. The study also shows that digitization has a significant effect on customer retention. The constant development of technology contributes to the implementation of new tools that streamline the handling of customer data to strengthen customer relationships and increase customer retention.

This  research  emphasizes  the role  of  social  media  in  customer  acquisition  retention.Furthermore, it investigates insights that have the potential to benefit tech startups inshaping  their  strategies  and  effectively  allocating  resources  to  achieve  consistentcommunication with their customer base. The field of research is particularly relevant dueto the research gap present in the literature that does not investigate how technologystartups should approach the initial acquisition and retention of the user base, consideringthe limited resources available to these newborn organizations. The research providesinsights into customers' perceptions of brands and companies on social media platforms.It offers intuitions on how to enhance customer trust through these platforms and whichare the preferred way of interaction between customers and companies both on and offsocial media.The study was performed using qualitative and quantitative primary data with the purposeof gaining a deep understanding of the research topic. However, the focus has been puton the quantitative data aiming to create objective and generalizable  results, seekingunbiased findings.The  results  of  the research  showed  how important it  is  to  have  an  effective CRM(Customer Relationship  Management) system as well as  being able to identify  theaudience, understanding, therefore, the communication method that best fit the chosentarget, with the aim of interacting with them in the expected and preferred way, beingthus one step closer on achieving customer retention and acquisition.

This thesis aimed to answer the question whether the use of third-party applications, in addition to the original product, have an impact on customer retention at a digital rights management company. The research originated in the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between the dependent variable customer retention and the independent variable usage of third-party applications. To evaluate whether the hypothesis can be rejected or not, the relationship between the two variables was analyzed using logistic regression. The result showed that there was a positive impact, for the chosen set of included variables. Consequently, the conclusion was that there could be a potential positive correlation between the two variables and the null hypothesis could, therefore, be rejected. / Detta examensarbete hade som målsättning att svara på frågan huruvida användandet av tredje-parts-applikationer, utöver användandet av originalprodukten, har en inverkan på kundlojalitet hos ett företag som arbetar med att hantera digitala rättigheter. Studien utgick ifrån nollhypotesen att det inte finns en relationen mellan den beroende variabeln kundlojalitet och den oberoende variabeln användandet av tredje-parts-applikationer. För att kunna utvärdera huruvida hypotesen kan förkastas eller inte, analyseras relationen mellan detvå variablerna med hjälp av logistisk regression. Resultatet visade att att det fanns en positiv inverkan för valt dataset. Följaktligen var slutsatsen att det potentiellt skulle kunna finnas en positiv korrelation mellan de två variablerna och nollhypotesen kunde därför förkastas.

Customer retention also referred to as Customer loyalty has been proven to be an important factor in the success of online retailers. However, recent research has shown that many online retailers are still unenlightened on the elements they need to focus on in order to retain their customers. On the contrary, Amazon which operates in a business ecosystem has been found to have high customer loyalty which means that the company must have been able to modify rightly the appropriate contributors to online customer loyalty compared to the many other online retailers. Studies have been conducted to investigate different variables including customer satisfaction and trust to find out if these variables can be applied to improve online customer loyalty. Still, there has been no research that has investigated how customer satisfaction together with trust in the context of a business ecosystem may influence customer loyalty. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate how online retailers create customer loyalty as a result of online customer satisfaction and trust in the context of the business ecosystem, by applying the case study of Amazon. The most suitable way of conducting this research was to collect quantitative data from Amazon customers who had shopped more than twice within the last two months from the time of participating in the self-completed survey. The questionnaire was distributed in different Facebook groups and was also shared with a number of participants via email. In order to answer the research questions and fulfill the study purpose, the data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, and correlation and regression analyses were conducted. The findings indicated that customer satisfaction and trust in the context of a business ecosystem are the key factors in establishing customer loyalty. In addition, trust in the context of a business ecosystem contributed more to predicting customer loyalty in comparison to customer satisfaction.

In the dynamic landscape of global commerce, the business-to-business (B2B) sector stands out for its significance and changing nature. Traditional values used to evaluate a supplier, such as price and quality, are becoming accompanied by "soft" values, such as cultural and social fit. This change makes the B2B market more intricate and illuminates a fundamental change in how businesses and customers evaluate their relationships. Another factor straining the relationship between companies and customers is prolonged lead times, i.e., when the lead time is longer than usual. Prolonged lead times are an imperative problem for markets and companies, heavily affecting customer retention and relationships, and can result in a loss of business and monetary punishments. Given the changes in how businesses and customers evaluate B2B relationships and the effects of prolonged lead times, companies must evaluate and develop existing customer retention strategies to meet the changing demands. Thus, this thesis explores how B2B companies with long lead times can manage and develop their customer relationships to increase customer retention and decrease customer churn in the long term.  Given the comprehensive scope of the thesis, the literature review assumes a pivotal role. It provides the foundation for answering the purpose and research questions, including relationship marketing, organizational buying behavior, switching behavior, and customer success management. In addition to the literature review, 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect primary data. The primary data was later analyzed through thematic analysis to assist answering the purpose and research questions. A descriptive purpose and deductive and qualitative approach characterize the thesis.  The thesis reached the following conclusions concerning factors affecting the willingness to remain in a long-term B2B relationship: Delivery and track record are standard evaluation criteria for customers evaluating a supplier, heavily affecting the willingness to remain in a long-term B2B relationship. Relationship value dependence is critical in the willingness to remain in a long-term B2B relationship. Relationship development affects commitment, trust, communication, transparency, and customer satisfaction, which are critical factors. Non-task dimensions, such as the degree of innovation and values, are becoming more prevalent concerns for customers evaluating their suppliers. Value in Use monitoring and Value in Use enhancement measures, i.e., value measurements during and after a process, affect the willingness to remain in a long-term B2B relationship. Co-creation is increasingly prioritized and positively affects the willingness to remain in a long-term B2B relationship. / I globala handelns dynamiska landskap sticker B2B-marknaden ut för sin betydelse och förändrande natur. Traditionella värderingar använda för att utvärdera en leverantör, till exempel pris och kvalitet, blir numera en del av en större utvärdering, där mjuka värderingar, till exempel kulturell och social lämplighet, blir allt vanligare. Dessa förändringar gör B2B-marknaden mer invecklad och belyser den fundamentala förändringen i hur företag och kunder utvärderar sin relation. En annan faktor som påverkar förhållandet mellan företag och kunder är förlängda ledtider, det vill säga när ledtiden är längre än vanligt. Förlängda ledtider är ett signifikant problem för marknadsförare och företag som påverkar kundretention och förhållandet, samt kan medföra risken att förlora en affär eller monetära bestraffningar.  Givet förändringarna i hur företag och kunder utvärderar sitt förhållande samt effekterna från förlängda ledtider måste företag utvärdera och utveckla sina befintliga kundretentionsstrategier för att möta kundernas förändrande krav. Således undersöker denna masteruppsats hur B2B-företag med förlängda ledtider kan hantera och utveckla sina kundrelationer för att öka kundretention och minska kundomsättning på lång sikt.  Givet studiens omfattning ges litteraturstudien en betydande roll. Litteraturstudien är basen för besvarandet av syftet och forskningsfrågorna, och inkluderar relationsmarknadsföring, organisatoriskt köpbeteende, bytesbeteende och customer success management. Utöver litteraturstudien genomfördes 19 semi-strukturerade intervjuer för att samla in primärdata, som sedan analyserades med hjälp av tematisk analys för att underlätta besvarandet av syftet och forskningsfrågorna. Uppsatsen karaktäriseras av ett deskriptivt syfte med deduktiv och kvalitativ ansats.   Studien resulterade i följande slutsatser avseende vilka faktorer som påverkar benägenheten att stanna i en långsiktigt B2B-relation: Leverans och historisk framgång är vanligt förekommande utvärderingskriterier för kunder som utvärderar en leverantör med stor påverkan på benägenheten att stanna i en långsiktigt B2B-relation. Beroendet av värdet från förhållandet är kritiskt när det kommer till benägenheten att stanna i en långsiktigt B2B-relation. Utvecklingen av relationen påverkar de kritiska faktorerna engagemang, tillit, kommunikation, transparens och kundnöjdhet. Olika roller inom köpprocessen är unika och mötesdeltagare bör anpassas. Non-task dimensioner, till exempel grad av innovation och värderingar blir alltmer vanligt förekommande kriterier när kunder utvärderar sina leverantörer. Value in Use monitoring och Value in Use enhancement, det vill säga mätningar under och efter en process, påverkar benägenheten att stanna i en långsiktigt B2B-relation. Samskapande blir alltmer prioriterat och påverkar benägenheten att stanna i en långsiktigt B2B-relation positivt.

This study examines customer service in selected restaurants in the Tshwane area. It is aimed at establishing criteria for excellent customer service in restaurants, which can serve as the basis for building good relationships with customers. An extensive literature study was undertaken and aspects that were discussed in the secondary research include the various components of customer service, as well as the marketing environment of restaurants in South Africa and the Tshwane Area. An empirical study was conducted to namely to investigate customer service in selected restaurants in the Tshwane Area, with the aim to establish criteria for excellent customer service as a benchmark for establishing relationships with customers, by means of an exploratory study. A self-administered survey was conducted whereby questionnaires were handed to restaurant patrons with the restaurant bill folder. Based on the research results, criteria were developed for excellent customer service which can be used as a benchmark for establishing relationships with customers, by providing customer satisfaction, which leads to customer retention, loyalty and ultimately profitability for an organisation. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

品牌權益的相關研究與實務已經做了許多年，但對於一個包涵面更廣的管理概念－「顧客權益」的相關研究，則是一塊比較新穎的研究領域。「顧客權益」的觀念能幫助企業更加了解、管理和維持舊有的顧客，並積極爭取新顧客，而且又將顧客視為一項重要資產，以審慎的觀念與態度加以管理。 根據Rust, Zeithaml和Lemon（2001）提出的顧客權益架構，即價值權益、品牌權益、關係權益三個構面所形成之構念，本研究將其與傳/直銷商五大類活動相結合，即核心表現、對會員貢獻之肯定、會員間相互依賴之加強、傳播組織知識及招攬外部會員之需求，使顧客權益的模式應用到傳/直銷業者舉辦的活動上，藉以了解在傳/直銷業中，顧客權益是如何藉由互動活動來影響組織的顧客經營績效，即顧客取得、連帶銷售及顧客維持。 本研究採便利抽樣法，選取美樂家、安麗、玫琳凱及如新等四家傳/直銷公司之會員為研究對象，共回收有效問卷306份進行LISREL統計分析，得到以下結果﹕ 一、核心表現對社群建立及知識建立的影響效果有顯著差異﹔對會員貢獻之肯定對特別的辨識及對待和認同感的影響效果有顯著差異﹔會員間相互依賴之加強對社群建立的影響效果有顯著差異﹔傳播組織知識對認同感、社群建立和知識建立的影響效果有顯著差異﹔招攬外部會員之需求對品牌知曉度及忠誠度回饋的影響效果有顯著差異。 二、價值權益中的認知價格對顧客取得、品質對顧客維持的影響效果各有顯著差異﹔品牌權益中的對品牌的態度對顧客取得、企業倫理對顧客維持的影響效果有顯著差異﹔關係權益中的忠誠度回饋和社群建立對顧客取得的影響效果皆有顯著差異﹔知識建立對連帶銷售的影響效果有顯著差異﹔社群建立和知識建立對顧客維持的影響效果亦有顯著差異。 三、核心表現會透過影響社群建立，再從社群建立影響顧客取得及顧客維持，亦可透過對知識建立的影響，再從知識建立影響連帶銷售及顧客維持﹔會員間相互依賴之加強會透過影響社群建立，再從社群建立影響顧客取得及顧客維持﹔傳播組織知識可透過知識建立來影響連帶銷售的提升及顧客維持，亦可透過社群建立來影響顧客之取得及顧客之維持﹔招攬外部會員之需求可透過忠誠度回饋進而影響顧客取得。 / Although many researchers have done lots of researches and practices about brand equity for many years, there is a new and scarce researching area called customer equity, which contains wider managing concept more than brand equity. The concept of customer equity could help the company to know, mange, and retain their customers more and to acquire the new customers aggressively as well. Moreover, it helps company to view customers as an important asset and to manage them in a cautious way and attitude. According to the structure of customer equity proposed by Rust, Zeithaml and Lemon in 2001, which is the concept including value equity, brand equity, and retention equity, this study combines it with five major activities between the multi-level marketing operators and companies, which are, core service performance, recognition for contributions, member interdependence enhancement, dissemination of organizational knowledge, and external membership requirements, to know that how does it work to influence the customer acquisition, add-on selling, and customer retention by which kind of activities. This study takes four companies’ members as researching subjects. With collecting 306 valid samples, this study uses LISREL as a tool to analyze the data. The results are as follows: 1. Core service performance has significant influence both on community -building program and knowledge-building program. Recognition for contribution has significant influence both on special recognition and treatment and affinity program. Member interdependence enhancement has significant influence on community-building program. Dissemination of organizational knowledge has significant influence each on affinity program, community-building program, and knowledge-building program. External membership requirement has significant influence both on brand awareness and loyalty program. 2. Price has significant influence on customer acquisition and quality has significant influence on customer retention as well. Attitude toward the brand has significant influence on customer acquisition and corporate ethics has significant influence on customer retention as well. Both loyalty program and community-building program has significant influence on customer acquisition. Knowledge-building program has significant influence on add-on selling. Both community-building program and knowledge-building program has significant influence on customer retention. 3. Core service performance will influence customer acquisition, add-on selling, and customer retention indirectly by community-building program and knowledge-building program. Member interdependence enhancement will influence customer acquisition and retention indirectly by community-building program. Dissemination of organizational knowledge will influence customer acquisition, add-on selling, and customer retention indirectly by community-building program and knowledge-building program. Finally, external membership requirement will influence customer acquisition indirectly by loyalty program.

傳統上透過行銷研究，如設計問卷透過市場調查、問卷調查等等活動來取得消費者資訊，但在資訊化的時代，利用POS系統所收集到且存在於資料庫中的銷售資料，忠實紀錄所有消費者的消費行為，其中亦隱含著消費者對品牌忠誠度、產品偏好性、價格敏感度等等消費行為。藉由著這些基礎，可進一步探索顧客輪廓(Customer Profile)、顧客忠誠度(Customer Loyalty)及顧客保留率(Customer Retention)，同時預測未來各種行銷活動的可能結果；進而擴大其應用範圍，進行新客源、新產品的開發工作。本研究以資料庫行銷、資料探勘等等理論基礎、統計學技術等等方法，以居家用品業為例，進行資料庫行銷(Database Marketing)的實證工作。實證資料來源為「生活工場」連鎖居家用品店現有之基本資料。並以此資料為基礎，探究顧客購買的消費特性，並以其類別、系列分析其產品關聯性審視其產品組合類別。另外一方面，利用資料庫中的銷售資料及VIP基本資料，以RFM(Recency, Frequency, Monetary)顧客分群方法，分離出不同的顧客族群，並在每一個族群中作交差比對(Cross-Checking)，探究各族群的顧客輪廓及其消費特徵。利用門市基本資料、銷售明細資料等，分析出地域消費特徵。最後，再以金卡、貴賓卡、生活卡三大族群的消費特性及與RFM族群之交差比對，並計算出不同卡別的顧客終身價值(Customer Lifetime Value, CLV)，以期提供「生活工場」與國內連鎖零售體系之產業，未來在對顧客關係經營之參考。 / In tradition, marketing research acquires the information of consumers through questionnaire design, marketing survey, etc. However, in the information age, the POS system is capable to collect the sales information and record them in the data base. It precisely records the consumer behaviors which include the brand loyalty, product preference and price sensitivity. Based on the information, it could more deeply discover the customer profile, customer loyalty and customer retention. It can also forecast the possibility of marketing event for the future and expand to other applications such as new customer creation and new product development. This research, based on the theory of database marketing, data mining methodology and statistic technology, substantiates database marketing in a case study of a home center. Actual data are provided by Working House, a home center chain store. Those data bases establish a foundation of exploring the consumer purchasing characteristic, analyzing series of product classifications and examining the product association and combination. On the other hand, based on the sales information and VIP database, RFM (Recency, Frequency, and Monetary) is utilized to cluster customer segments and research the customer profiling and shopping characteristic by cross checking each shopping group. Data from store locations and sales information are thus employed to explore the geographic characteristic of shoppers. In conclusion, based on the usage data of Gold Card, VIP Card, and Working House Card and cross checks with RFM clustering groups, the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) of each card will be calculated and accumulated to provide Working House and other retailers the reference for managing customer relationship in the future.

This study examines customer service in selected restaurants in the Tshwane area. It is aimed at establishing criteria for excellent customer service in restaurants, which can serve as the basis for building good relationships with customers. An extensive literature study was undertaken and aspects that were discussed in the secondary research include the various components of customer service, as well as the marketing environment of restaurants in South Africa and the Tshwane Area. An empirical study was conducted to namely to investigate customer service in selected restaurants in the Tshwane Area, with the aim to establish criteria for excellent customer service as a benchmark for establishing relationships with customers, by means of an exploratory study. A self-administered survey was conducted whereby questionnaires were handed to restaurant patrons with the restaurant bill folder. Based on the research results, criteria were developed for excellent customer service which can be used as a benchmark for establishing relationships with customers, by providing customer satisfaction, which leads to customer retention, loyalty and ultimately profitability for an organisation. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

ВКР (магистерская диссертация) состоит из введения, трех глав, заключения, библиографического списка, включающего 60 наименований. Работа включает 8 таблиц и 26 рисунков. Общий объем ВКР (магистерской диссертации) – 76 страниц. Ключевые слова: оптимизация бизнес-процессов, чат-бот, план проекта, организационная структура, удержание клиентов, повышение лояльности. Актуальность исследования заключается в необходимости использования онлайн-сервисов для взаимодействия между организацией и клиентами в целях сокращения временных издержек текущего бизнес-процесса по консультированию пользователей, а также для повышения лояльности существующих клиентов и привлечения новых с помощью ИТ-решения как конкурентным преимуществом. Цель исследования построение проекта и разработка чат-бота для оптимизации бизнес-процесса консультирования клиентов. В соответствии с темой и целью работы были поставлены следующие задачи: изучить теоретические основы о видах чат-ботов и их применении; составить описание рабочей деятельности технических специалистов на портале «Пульс цен»; построить модель AS-IS бизнес-процесса консультирования клиентов в нотации IDEF0; построить модель TO-BE бизнес-процесса консультирования клиентов в нотации IDEF0; составить план проекта по разработке чат-бота для автоматизации бизнес-процесса консультирования существующих клиентов площадки MS Project; проанализировать возможные риски проекта и предложить решения; провести расчет экономической эффективности проекта; реализовать проект согласно приведенному плану. Объектом исследования выступает технология чат-бота для консультирования клиентов по работе с торговой площадкой «Пульс цен». Предмет исследования: бизнес-процесс консультации клиентов. Научная новизна исследования состоит во внедрении технологии чат-бота в процесс консультирования клиентов торговой площадки «Пульс цен», что будет значимым преимуществом по сравнению с конкурентами. Практическая значимость исследования заключается в применении авторских предложений по оптимизации бизнес-процесса консультирования клиентов. Эффективность рекомендаций – предложенные автором рекомендации по внедрению ИТ-сервиса для предоставления ответов на запросы клиентов торгового портала позволят оптимизировать процесс консультирования клиентов техническими специалистами. Прогнозируется повышение лояльности клиентов, за счет чего будет увеличен процент удержания пользователей в положительном исходе во 2 квартале 2022 г. процент коэффициента удержания клиентов составит около 75%. / The WRC (master's thesis) consists of an introduction, three chapters, a conclusion, a bibliographic list including 60 titles. The work includes 8 tables and 26 figures. The total volume of the WRC (master's thesis) is 76 pages. Keywords: optimization of business processes, chatbot, project plan, organizational structure, customer retention, loyalty increase. The relevance of the research lies in the need to use online services for interaction between the organization and customers in order to reduce the time costs of the current business process for consulting users, as well as to increase the loyalty of existing customers and attract new ones using an IT solution as a competitive advantage. The purpose of the study is to build a project and develop a chatbot to optimize the business process of consulting clients. In accordance with the topic and purpose of the work, the following tasks were set: to study the theoretical foundations of the types of chatbots and their application; create a description of the working activities of technical specialists on the portal "Pulse of Prices"; build an AS-IS model of the business process of consulting clients in IDEF0 notation; build a TO-BE model of the business process of consulting clients in IDEF0 notation; create a project plan for the development of a chatbot for automating the business process of consulting existing clients of the MS Project platform; analyze the possible risks of the project and offer solutions; to calculate the economic efficiency of the project; implement the project according to the given plan. The object of the research is the chatbot technology for advising clients on working with the Pulse of Prices trading platform. Subject of research: the business process of consulting clients. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the introduction of chatbot technology into the process of consulting clients of the Pulse of Prices trading platform, which will be a significant advantage compared to competitors. The practical significance of the research lies in the application of the author's proposals for optimizing the business process of consulting clients. Effectiveness of recommendations-the recommendations proposed by the author on the implementation of an IT service for providing answers to customer requests of the trading portal will optimize the process of consulting clients by technical specialists. It is predicted that customer loyalty will increase, due to which the percentage of user retention in a positive outcome will be increased in the 2nd quarter of 2022.The percentage of customer retention will be about 75%.