<p>Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of the link between internal marketing and customer relationship management by conducting a case study of one Nordea call center.</p><p>Background: Keeping existing customers is less expensive than acquiring new ones. Nowadays, up to sixty percent of marketing budgets are being dedicated towards retaining customers. So forth customer relationship manage-ment is slowly beginning to penetrate the banking industry as sustaina-ble relationships between organizations and their customers are becom-ing more evident.</p><p>Theory: The case study is based on an internal marketing model by Bansal et al. (2001) which shows how managers can influence the job satisfaction of their employees through six dimensions. Based on the previously men-tioned model, customer relationship management theory and the service marketing triangle by Kotler et al. (2002), the researchers present their our own model, at the end of the theoretical section, which seeks to en-hance the understanding of the link between internal marketing and cus-tomer relationship management.</p><p>Method: Since there was lacking theoretical evidence in how to link internal marketing to customer relationship management, the study was of exploratory nature. Qualitative data was collected by conducting two fo-cus groups (independently of each other) at one Nordea call center. The first focus group was composed of five managers and the second focus group of three frontline employees.</p><p>Conclusion: Nordea has been used as an example to illustrate that customer relation-ship management, such as using sales opportunities to strengthen rela-tionships with customers, is dependent on managers‟ ability to “sell” the organization‟s customer relationship management ideas to its front-line employees. Moreover managers have the ability through the six dimensions of internal marketing to affect job satisfaction which in turn will determine how frontline employees make use of the sales opportu-nities provided by Nordea‟s content management system (CMS).</p>

South African higher education institutions are facing increasing competition from both local and global competitors. This increasing competitive pressure has forced them to become aware of the importance of building and sustaining a suitable competitive advantage. Adding to this, South Africa’s economy, together with the world economies, has witnessed changing circumstances in relation to consumers’ needs, tastes and preferences. In this light, service quality has been recognised as a means to meet these challenges. As service industries play an important role in many economies around the world, the significance of providing an adequate level of service quality has emerged. Higher education institutions too are now being called upon to account for the quality of the services they provide. As service quality is a key strategic issue and a pervasive strategic force, the methods deployed in measuring service quality is of concern. Traditionally, higher education institutions used measures to account for the academic standards they provide, together with accreditation and performance indicators of teaching and research. However, from the viewpoint of their primary consumers, higher education institutions need to put measures in place to account for their students’ perceptions of service quality as well. Higher education institutions need to concentrate their attention on what the students feel is important in delivering the service. In measuring service quality from the perspective of the students, higher education institutions will be able to improve their service delivery processes, which will help to create consumer loyalty and, in the long-term, build a competitive advantage. The primary objective of this study was to provide a comparative view on the undergraduate students’ perceptions of the service quality delivered by two South African higher education institutions. The study comprised a literature review and an empirical study, and a descriptive research design was employed. The literature review focused on service quality. The literature review did not focus specifically on examining service quality from higher education institutions perspective but rather looked at service quality from the perspective of general service industries. In addition, in order to shape the literature on service quality, an introduction to services and services marketing was provided. Within the empirical portion of this study, quantitative research was applied using the survey method. Two South African higher education institutions formed the two sample groups in this study. A self-administered questionnaire was administered on the relevant first-, second- and third- year business and marketing management students of each sample’s respective faculties. The findings obtained from the main survey questionnaire are discussed in order to provide insights as to how students’ evaluate the service delivery of higher education institutions. Given the limitations and scope of the study, a balanced view of the two sample groups is provided in that the sample groups were split representatively. The recommendations provided in this study provide guidelines regarding the possible ways in which higher education institutions can market themselves in order to build a sustainable competitive advantage. / MCom, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

The lack of service delivery by South African municipalities has received much attention in recent years. In South Africa, service quality within local government is perceived as being generally poor. According to the South African Constitution, the mandate of a municipality is to ensure service deliveries through satisfying citizens‟ basic needs. Therefore, an understanding of customers‟ expectations and perceptions is vital for any service organisation’s success. The research undertaken in this study was deemed necessary, given that service delivery by South African municipalities is widely considered to be lacking in various areas. The research was conducted against the backdrop of the White Paper on Local Government that calls for the provision of services to communities in a sustainable manner. The primary objective of the study was to provide a view on the community’s expectations and perceptions of the service quality delivery by the Emfuleni Local Municipality in order to identify any potential service quality gaps. The study follows a descriptive research design approach. The literature review comprised published research relating to service quality and service quality models. The literature review provides information on service quality from the perspective of general service industries, as well as an overview of the current South African local spheres of government. The outcomes of the literature review served to provide the theoretical framework for the empirical study. A questionnaire survey was utilised to gather the required data for the empirical portion of this study. Residents of the Emfuleni Local Municipality formed the sampling frame of this study. The questionnaire included the SERVQUAL measuring scale. Self-administered questionnaires using the mall-intercept survey method were employed as the data collection method. In accordance with the delineated scope of the study, this study was confined to the Vereeniging and Vanderbijlpark pay points of the Emfuleni Local Municipality. The study is cross-sectional in nature (data were collected in December 2010) and, as such, the results are representative of that point in time. The findings indicate that customers of the Emfuleni Local Municipality have negative perceptions of the quality of services delivered by the municipality. A statistical and practical significant difference was computed between expectations and perceptions on all of the service quality dimensions concerning service-quality delivery by the Emfuleni Local Municipality, thereby indicating service quality gaps that need to be addressed. The recommendations provided in this study focus on suggesting possible ways in which municipalities in South Africa in general, and in the Emfuleni Local Municipality in particular, may improve their service-quality delivery in order to decrease the gaps between expectations and perceptions, and doing so, increase customer satisfaction. Recommendations for closing these gaps include increasing marketing research, upgrading and maintaining the physical facilities, improving collaboration, co-ordination and co-operation between departments, keeping up-dated records, improving communication programmes, and implementing management and leadership training for management team. In addition, it is recommended that municipalities recruit qualified personnel who are willing to help, and that they engage in on-going staff training and motivation initiatives. / MCom, Business Management, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

Title: Analysis of customer satisfaction in six selected Expreska fitness premises and their mutual comparison Objectives: This diploma thesis deals with the research of satisfaction and expectations of female customers of the Expreska circle training in selected six establishments in Prague and consequent comparing of these places. Satisfaction is measured using a questionnaire, in which the customers asses the perceived quality of services and the quality of services that is important to them. On the basis of obtained data there is conducted analysis of sociological parameters such as age, occupation, monthly income, etc. The main research is completed with the survey of former Expreska customers and in conclusion there is comparison of the two surveys. Methodology: The survey of customer satisfaction is carried out using questionnaires, which lies in the method of SERVQUAL. It is compared the expected quality and truly perceived quality of the service. Secondary data about the fitness center are obtained through the analysis of documents and author's own investigation at the fitness premises. Results: The outcome of the thesis comprises of the satisfaction of customers in Expreska circuit training. Furthermore, comparing the satisfaction of customers between the various exercise premises, last...

Title: Marketing plan of Lady fitness Objectives: The aim of this work is to create marketing plan for fitness company Lady fitness, which provides fitness services exclusively for women. Hypothesis is that Lady fitness doesn't deal with marketing planning. Methods: Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this thesis. The main methods used in this work include a questionnaire, qualitative interviews, SWOT analysis, an informal interview and STEP analysis. Results: The author made detailed analysis of Lady fitness and it was found the marketing of the company was a great failure. The author created a marketing plan for next year. The plan is for 1st September 2013 to 31st August 2014. Keywords: Marketing plan, marketing mix, marketing strategy, services, fitness

Thesis title: Customer satisfaction of the recreational center Vršasport Goal of the thesis: This thesis focuses on recreational center Vršasport. The customer satisfaction was measured by a survey handed out to the customers of the center. The creation of the survey and following data elaboration was the main goal of this thesis as well. The result of the survey will reflect the customer satisfaction of the recreational center. Based on data extracted from the survey, the center will be able to improve its services to better serve the customers. Methods: Customer satisfaction was examined by the survey that was handed out to customers of Vršasport center between November 2011 and April 2012. The survey focuses mainly on topics related to satisfaction of the customer needs. Results: Customers of sport center Vršasportcentrum are mainly satisfied with offered services. Deficiencies were mainly found in lack of hygiene in locker rooms and in lack of center presentation - both center's wabpages and facebook pages. Overall, the customers are satisfied with offered services. Key words: marketing, services, sport services, loyalty, customers, survey

The Master's Thesis is divided into three parts. In first part it is dealing with particularities of marketing of services and specifically with marketing of language schools. In practical part it is analysing language schools in Prague and Brno by marketing research It compares and evaluates marketing mix of language schools and shows common and different points of the biggest players and defines their market position by value curves. The third part is about concrete language school from the environment of a smaller city in Slovakia. It describes its marketing mix, analyses competition and shows its strong and weak points in market position by value curves.

[pt] Este trabalho tem como objetivo final identificar atributos que determinam a fidelidade de empresas aos seus fornecedores de serviços de consultoria em informática. O estudo inicia com uma pesquisa bibliográfica sobre os conceitos de serviços, qualidade, satisfação, fidelidade, relacionamento, retenção, customer bonding e características do mercado de consultoria. Em seguida, são realizadas entrevistas com executivos de diversos segmentos que serviram de base, junto com a pesquisa bibliográfica, para a elaboração e aplicação de um questionário. Elaborou- se um modelo de fidelidade utilizando as variáveis independentes imagem, relacionamento com a equipe de vendas, suporte, relacionamento com a equipe de consultores, preço, serviço e barreiras de mudança e a variável dependente fidelidade, resultante da aglutinação das variáveis satisfação, recompra e recomendação. A análise dos resultados da pesquisa mostrou que os atributos imagem do fornecedor, relacionamento da equipe de consultores, preço e serviço foram os mais importantes para explicar a fidelidade. O estudo mostrou que 54% dos clientes são fiéis, 19% como prisioneiros (fidelidade espúria), 6% como acessíveis (fidelidade latente) e 21% como de alto risco (ausência de fidelidade). Ele mostrou também que o setor público apresenta menor fidelidade (25%) em relação a outros setores. / [en] The purpose of this study is to identify the attributes that determine the customers loyalty to its IT consulting services suppliers. We started this study with a bibliographical research on the concepts of services, quality, satisfaction, loyalty, relationship, retention, customer bonding and characteristics of the IT consulting market. After that, it carried through interviews with executives from different segments. A survey was elaborated based on the bibliographical research and the interviews. A loyalty model was created using the independent variables brand, relationship with the sales team, support, relationship with the consultants team, price, service, switch barriers and the dependent loyalty variable, resultant of the agglutination of satisfaction, repurchases and recommendation. The research findings showed that the attributes brand, relationship of the consultants team, price and service had been most important to explain the loyalty. The findings showed that 54% of the customers are truly loyal, 19% as prisoners (spurious loyalty), 6% as accessible (latent loyalty) and 21% as of high risk (loyalty absence). It also showed that the public sector is less loyalty (25%) than other sectors.

A interação entre consumidores no encontro de serviços é parte de sua prestação. Essa interação é mais importante em serviços de alto contato. Um dos fatores que influencia na opinião quanto ao comportamento de outros consumidores no ambiente de serviço é a idade. Este trabalho teve como objetivo principal identificar e analisar as atividades de marketing referentes ao encontro de serviços quando tratam de consumidores de diferentes idades com verificação de campo em cursos de idiomas. Para atingir esse objetivo, realizou-se, primeiramente, um referencial teórico, abordando serviços, marketing de serviços e o setor de cursos de idiomas. Como método para a pesquisa de campo, utilizou-se o estudo de caso. Tendo em vista que cursos de idiomas é um serviço de alto contato, em que há interação de consumidores de diferentes idades, este trabalho teve aplicação nesse setor. Três cursos de idiomas - Instituto Cervantes de São Paulo, Associação Alumni e CNA Pinheiros - foram analisados, tendo em vista as seguintes atividades de marketing: sistema de informação de marketing, segmentação, posicionamento e composto de marketing de serviços. É possível concluir que as atividades utilizadas pelas empresas para gerenciar o encontro de serviços em que há consumidores de diferentes idades são as mesmas. Há variação em como elas executam essas atividades. Há empresas em que as atividades de marketing são complexas e conforme a teoria, em outras as ações são mais indutivas. Foi possível relatar que, quando as empresas identificam um maior número de segmentos, as atividades de marketing são mais adequadas para atender às necessidades de consumidores de diferentes idades. / Consumer\'s interaction during the service encounter is part of the service delivery. This interaction is more important in high-contact services. One of the factors that influence the opinion regarding the behavior of other consumers in the service environment is age. This study aimed at identifying and analyzing marketing activities for the service encounter in language courses when dealing with consumers of different ages. To achieve this goal took place first a theoretical framework, covering services, services marketing and the industry of language courses. The method used for the field research was the case study. Given that language courses provide high-contact services, with interaction among consumers of different ages, this research was done in this sector. Three language courses - Instituto Cervantes de São Paulo, Associação Alumni and CNA Pinheiros - were analyzed in view of the following marketing activities: marketing information system, segmentation, positioning and service marketing mix. It was concluded that the activities used by companies to manage the service encounter in which there are consumers of different ages are the same. There is difference in how they perform these activities. There are companies in which marketing activities are complex and similar to the theory, while in others actions are more inductive. It was possible to describe that when companies identify a larger number of segments, marketing activities are most appropriate to meet the needs of consumers of different ages.

As a significant distribution of ambient music and the emergence of companies offering the environmental-musicalization service could be noted, this thesis aimed at investigating the roles of music in service environments. Herein, it was presented the evolution and application of music in marketing and services marketing researches in order to contextualize the state of art of the literature, such that the functionalities of music could afterwards be identified and categorized into roles. Moreover, the study discussed the market practices related to the utilization of music in service places and had these practices compared to the literature. It is important to mention that in this thesis, the service environments were found to be the restaurants and clothing stores, once the participants of the study brought cases and examples related to these contexts. Also, it is relevant to say that the thesis was conducted from the qualitative methodological approach and its design was based on the content analysis analytical approach. By this, a systematic review of the literature was conducted in the way the selection of music-in-marketing scholars followed some criteria and the thesis\' analytical goal of operationalizing the functionalities of music in service places could be justified. The field phase of the thesis\' content analysis was characterized by the in-depth interviews with marketing specialists that had been being dealing with the environmental music in service places and the operational observations in some musicalization providers and clients. Hence, three main roles could be identified to categorize the functionalities of music brought by the interviews and observations: the role of being a commodity, the role of being a sound, and the role of being inspirational. As a theoretical implication, it can be highlighted the influence of music on the service environment\' employees and vice-versa. As a practical implication, it was suggested to the musicalization providers and clients to target the consumer outcomes other than the stay duration. / Como pode ser notado um significativo valor financeiro relacionado à distribuição de música ambiente além do surgimento de empresas oferecendo musicalização ambiental, esta dissertação objetivou investigar os papéis da música em ambientes de serviços. Assim, foram apresentadas a evolução e as aplicações da música nas pesquisas de marketing e de marketing de serviços a fim de contextualizar o estado da arte da literatura, de maneira que as funcionalidades da música pudessem ser posteriormente categorizadas em papéis. Além disso, o estudo discute as funcionalidades da música praticadas no mercado e as compara com as apontadas pela teoria. Vale notar que, para esta dissertação, os ambientes de serviços foram operacionalizados como sendo restaurantes e lojas de roupas, haja vista que os participantes deste estudo trouxeram casos e exemplos relacionados a esses contextos. Também se faz necessário mencionar que esta dissertação trata-se de um estudo qualitativo sob o design da abordagem analítica de análise de conteúdo. Por meio dessas abordagens, foi realizada uma revisão sistemática a fim de selecionar autores e estudos relevantes para a dissertação, e, consequentemente, justificar o objetivo analítico de operacionalizar as funcionalidades da música nos ambientes de serviços. A fase de campo da análise de conteúdo desta dissertação foi caracterizada por meio das entrevistas em profundidade realizadas com especialistas de marketing que vinham lidando com a musicalização de ambientes de serviços, e por meio das observações operacionais conduzidas com algumas provedoras de ambientação musical bem como com alguns de seus espaços clientes. Logo, três papéis puderam ser identificados na categorização das funcionalidades musicais apontadas pelas pesquisas de campo: o papel de ser uma commodity, o papel de ser um som, e o papel inspirador. Portanto, a influência da música nos funcionários de um ambiente de serviço e vice-versa é apontada como uma implicação teórica. Nas implicações práticas, é sugerido de os provedores e clientes de musicalização ambiental focarem em reações de consumidores além do tempo de permanência nos ambientes de serviços.